AFC PINE AM

  We finally got to play in some puddles this morning! Since it rained too hard yesterday to enjoy the rain, we decided that we could try again today. Some of the boys were more interested in others, but all in all it was fun to splash around and get messy.  J even found a new way to use the chalk! He picked some up and brought it over to a small puddle. J took his favorite color, green, and began vigorously rubbing the chalk into the pavement. It was like magic! The chalk sort of turned into a paste and the color became vibrant and thick. It was so cool looking! I always enjoy the different ways the boys use materials. So innovative!  Have a great weekend! 

  I am disappointed to say we were not able to go play in the rain today! Unfortunately it was raining way too hard for us to go out and splash in puddles. Huge bummer! Hopefully we can try again in the upcoming weeks. After snack is typically a time we settle down to engage in some more turn taking and calming activities. For the last couple of days the boys have been really enjoying playing this pancake game. Yes, you read right- a game involving pancakes!  The boys took turns carefully stacking one pancake on top of each other to create a giant stack, but occasionally it would fall over and we needed to start again.  The two boys tried their best to use the spatulas to put the pancakes on top, but it was so hard! There were many frustrating moments and many times we had to keep trying, but all in all the boys were satisfied being able to stack, flip, and "eat" pancakes. 

Wowie we worked all of those little legs this morning! We took a nice long walk with the Dogwood class down to the sculpture park. Always a good time at the sculpture park. Although the big ceramic bird is the main attraction, B, & T enjoyed playing amongst the growing bushes and grass. We named it "the jungle."  B was down on all four legs growling like a lion.  "RAWR!" He would exclaim as he crawled along the dirt.    T noticed B and started giggling. The two boys laughed for a minute before T picked up a stick to be an elephant!  "Trunk!" He yelled as he lifted the stick high into the sky. So creative!  B watched as T lifted his stick into the air like an elephant's trunk. He looked around and found a nice long stick and began to do the same thing.  The two boys stomped their feet and yelled "elephant!" as they giggled and stomped around. 

We have been looking forward to these warm days! This time of the year is the best for many reasons, but one reason in particular is all of the messy play we get to engage in. This morning out on the hillside we got to do all kinds of fun messy things.  To start, some of the boys picked up spray bottles full of colored water. This is one of our favorite ways to "paint" and talk more about colors. As the kids sprayed the sheet, they watched as the white turned into blue, red, green, and eventually just all purple.  J found that although the sheet was turning several different colors... so were his hands! He was cracking up as the green color stained his little hands.  With each spray he became a little more curious. He tested the colors out on the sheet first, but seemed to be dissatisfied with the product. That's when he started spraying his hands a little more. The colors were much more vibrant on his hands than the sheet! With green and purple hands J happily played wit...

  Happy Thursday! We ended our week with a pretty funny and happy accident in the beginning of our day. As you can imagine any time we play with playdoh it is inevitable some or all will fall on the floor. Not a problem since we tend to embrace messes. There are times, however, that playdoh is intentionally thrown on the floor and that's when things tend to get interesting... like today!  While playing at the table B, T, and W were happily making all kinds of molds, cut outs, and whatnot with their individual playdoh piles. After a few minutes, there was a decent amount of playdoh on the floor which T found particularly entertaining. He decided he too would put his pile of dough on the floor. I watched as he dropped it, climbed off his chair, and then deliberately stepped on it. At first, I was ready to ask him to pick it up off the floor and place it on the table, but then I took a moment to just watch and wait to see what happened.  T picked up his playdoh and brou...

  Finally, our day to play on the slide! It has been highly anticipated all week as the boys have been asking to go down the slide since Monday morning. But, before heading outside we had a little meeting with Ms. Kari where we focused on the word 'stop.' During our meeting we talked about different times we could use the word and then practiced stopping and going with our bodies. Always an interesting time! The boys put their jackets on and where ready to go right out and door and down the slide.  As soon as the door opened to the playscape the boys ran over to the slide cheering with excitement. There was one issue though... it was full of water from the snow yesterday!  "It's wet!" T exclaimed.  "Uh oh." W remarked as he saw the droplets of water rolling down the slide.  We came all this way to GO and ended up having to STOP! Did I think we would be practicing 'stop' on the slide? Absolutely not, but it happened to work out quite nicely since ...

  We were so lucky to get out before this rain/snow mix started happening. Although it was much colder than it has been the last couple of weeks, it was still nice to get out and stretch our legs. The sandbox is typically a place where the boys enjoy, but today they weren't ask excited to get to digging in the sand. I don't blame them, the sand felt so cold! Some of the boys didn't give up on playing however, they just found a different way to engage with the space.    Along the edge of the sandbox are large boulders that create a barrier that will hopefully encourage kids to keep the sand in 😁 Those large rocks, however, served more than just their intended purpose for the Pine room today! Throughout our time outside a few of them tested their balance by trying to walk along them without falling off. This is something a few of them have done in the past, but today they were determined to make it all the way around without falling off. Some of those rocks are slippery so...

  Welcome back to a brand new week! Looking ahead at the weather, we noticed that we have some cooler temperatures and possibly snow?! It was obvious we had to take advantage of this sunny day. After morning meeting we headed outside to spend the rest of our day playing near the cave, digging in the rocks, and getting into all sorts of good trouble.  A surveyed the space for a little bit. He took his time walking around and checking out the different things his friends were doing. Then his eyes grew big and a smile spread across his face. He noticed the red bucket swing gently swinging back and forth from the wind, and it was empty! A quickly made his way over and plopped down. T watched A and decided he was going to be a good friend and give him a few pushes on the swing. Within a few seconds both boys were smiling, giggling, and enjoying the gentle sway of the swing. Once A was finished, T took his turn. It was clear A was more interested in the swinging rather than the push...

  We ended Week of the Young Child with Artsy Thursday! Today was so great to spend outside and create a more nature related art project. Before heading outside though, W took some time at the playdoh table to create some stacked playdoh balls. Very artsy! Once we headed outside and took a look around to see what kind of materials we could use to create a collaborative art piece. The only real obvious thing I saw were the dandelions. Have you ever scraped them across a surface? They leave a yellow pigment behind! The boys thought it was hysterical to be able to rub dandelions across the canvas and have yellow pigment magically appear!  This week was so fun to celebrate these kids. Looking forward to continue to do so in the weeks to come. 

  It's official, spring has sprung in the Pine room! Today the boys were engaging in so many different springtime activities. For the last few weeks our classes have been watching the transformation of caterpillars turning into butterflies! Today was the first day our little morning guys noticed the creatures. It was too cute. There was so much language and just overall excitement over the winged bugs. You can watch in the video below as they cautiously approach, but then erupt in giggles once they began to flap their wings. They examined them very closely and noticed that several of them were climbing up the netted walls.  "Up!" B would exclaim as the bugs moved slowly up the side of the net.  "Butterfly!" W cheerfully exclaimed as they started to flap their wings.  "Orange!" T commented when he watched as the biggest of the butterflies slowly opened his wings to show it's gorgeous colors and patterns.  We didn't forget about Work Together Wed...

  Today we are celebrating Tasty Tuesday! A day I think all of the boys were looking forward to, because who doesn't love an extra snack? Yesterday our PM friends took some time out of the afternoon to make popsicles for both classes. Our boys this morning were ecstatic!  "Popsicle! Popsicle!" B yelled as I entered the room with the frozen treats.  "YES!" T exclaimed in joy.  J's eyes lit up, "Red popsicle!"  Although not all of our friends enjoyed the sweet treat, it was still fun to watch the boys try them and exclaim in happiness after the first bite. There were lots of red stained faces and sticky sticky fingers. A great Tasty Tuesday! 

  Welcome back! It feels so good to be back in the classroom with all these boys, especially for Week of the Young Child! This we we are celebrating every day with a different theme each day. Today was musical Monday! The boys played with all kinds of instruments this morning in addition to being able to dance and sing to some of our favorite songs. Such a great way to start the week! 

  Good morning and welcome to another week! Today I wanted to share with you a quick video on how our little caterpillars our doing. Since last Thursday, these fuzzy worms have turned into chrysalises! One thing I have noticed in particular about these hard protective shells is the the color and and shine they give off. It seems as if these once soft brown chrysalises have become hard and flecks of a shiny substance polka dot the surface. I wonder what those shiny parts could be? Hopefully I can find an answer soon, but am curious as to what all of you think too! Let me know in our next virtual session if you find anything out 😊