G is for Giraffe

Did you know that Giraffes are the tallest of all animals? They can grow to be 18 ft. tall and weigh over 4,000 pounds. They have short upstanding manes, the same number of neck bones as all other animals, sharp eyesight, and unique pattern of patches on them. They eat leaves from acacia trees and twigs from the top of the trees. They live in Africa and travel in herds. This is what we learned this week for letter G day. We also read a book called "The Unhappy Giraffe" that Miss Julie wrote in Junior High. Afterwards we made our own giraffes which the kiddos were so excited to see stand up on their clothes pin legs. It was a fun day!

Watch out it's about ready to BLOW!

This week was a lot of fun! We had a lot of activities to do. Thursdays are always the busy days trying to do music, science and cooking all in an hour but the kiddos just love this day and I enjoy watching their smiles on their faces. This last Thursday we made spider cookies for cooking and then we did a couple of experiments for science. Our first experiment was with pepper and dish soap. Apparently pepper repels the dish soap when they touch. Then we made our very own volcano and made it erupt. It was so much fun and the kids wanted to keep doing it over and over again. Each time the screams got a little louder.

Will it Sink or will it Float?

This week was Fall Break so we only had class on Tuesday. I made sure I got cooking and Science in since we had our field trip last week and because these are the FAVORITES for the kiddos. For science we played a little game of will it sink or will it float? They got so excited to pick an object out of the bag and make a guess before putting it in the water. I was really surprised by a few of the results. I had thought for sure the chapstick would sink but it floated and the cotton ball ended up sinking once it was filled with water. :0 It was a lot of fun! For cooking we made Carmel Apples with candy corns. They were tasty and everyone loved dipping and decorating.

Chip Clip floated
Action Figure sunk very quickly!
Potato sunk to the bottom.
Apple floated, anyone want to bob for apples?
The whistle sunk.
The small dish floated high.
Of course the nail polish sunk.
The empty pill bottle floated.

Field Trip to Vineyard Nursery

We had a lot of fun at out field trip to Vineyard Nursery in Orem. The kids got to make their way through a corn maze and then played in some fun little houses and tunnels. They went through a "light alley" which they all thought was neat. We ate lunch together and then picked out a pumpkin to take home. Thanks for a great day! It was so fun to see everyone have a great day.

Fall is here

Last week we talked about the leaves changing and the different things that happen in Fall. I had collected some leaves while hiking over the weekend to let the kids use to make artwork. They turned out really cute and they loved looking at real leaves that were different colors. On Thursday we learned about bats to go along with the month of October. We looked at real pictures of bats and then made bat books. Afterwards for cooking we made dirt with worms in it since bats like to eat insects. All the kids wanted to eat them right away but waited to have them for when they got home. Next week is our field trip to Vineyard Nursery. I am so excited for it. To end this post I had to end with a cute story about one of the kiddos. Last week one of the little girls in the class hurt her finger while playing. I gave it a kiss better and let her put it under cold water and she eventually stopped crying. On Thursday I was going to pick something up and hit my head pretty hard on the table. The same little girl looked at me and said, "It's not bleeding, You're ok!" I thought it was so funny since she had been so upset when she got hurt. Kids are so cute and fun. I love the funny little things they say.

Cookie Day :)

Today was a great day. Everything ran smoothly and all the kids had a great time. We made sugar cookies and frosted them. We also learned about Flowers and how they drink water through their stems. We started a science experiment to watch the food coloring go up the stem and change colors of white carnations. They took longer than I expected they would so the kids will get to take them home on Tuesday next week. On a good note: Everyone is doing better at writing their name! I'm so happy that more kiddos are learning how to do it and becoming more independent. It makes my job a lot easier.

Letter C Day!

Well I am so bummed, I went hiking with my dad on Monday and left my camera with him so unfortunately there aren't any pictures for this day. I will try to update some pictures tomorrow as we continue with letter C week. We started the day normal with circle time and then learned about the 9 basic colors and colored Caterpillars. For science we learned about how mixing colors can make a new color. The kids absolutely loved being little scientists and watching the colors change right before their eyes. On Thursday we will be watching and learning about carnations and how they drink through their stem. I have been putting carnations in colored water all night and just hoping that they have changed enough by tomorrow to show the kiddos. More to come tomorrow! I can't believe it is almost the end of September and that the first month is almost done. I just love these little guys in my house. They make me so happy with all their little hugs and hearing them call my name out all day. I'm so glad I decided to do this although it has been pretty busy lately doing school and teaching piano. But I am happier than I ever thought I could be :)

Letter B Day :)

Wow, I think I have definitely learned my lesson today that Preschool is nothing like 2nd grade. I found these cute bear patterns online to make puppets for letter B day. There was a lot of cutting involved but I thought I would be able to handle it. Well before making them we played Pappa Bear Are you Sleeping? for PE. The kids were so tired by the time we were done. We then started cutting and there were a few who were fine to cut but most of them needed A LOT of help. It took a lot of time and by the end 3 or 4 kids were sleeping on the table or had migrated to the couch. :) They still turned out cute though and we had a puppet show at the end of the day that they enjoyed. We also made homemade butter and had it on blueberry bagels.

Apple Day

Last Thursday was our apple day to go along with learning the letter A. We had a little story about a mom that tells her son to go find a little red house with no windows, no doors but has a star inside. He looks and looks but still can't find it so he decides to take an apple to his mom so she won't be mad. When he gets home his mom is excited because he found the little red house with no windows and no doors, she cuts it open and the star is inside. I have never seen kids so excited to cut open their apple. We then made them into little carousels. The kids absolutely loved them, they were pretty tasty as well. YUM!

The First Day!

Wow I can't believe it finally came. I have been getting ready all summer and was so excited to start. All the kids were a little shy when they first came but you could tell they were excited. We started things off with naming our pet fish. There names will be Bubbles and Squirt. We learned all about the letter A and made alligators and played some games. The most difficult part was at the end when it was time to leave. I had no idea how long it would take to get there backpacks ready and get there shoes back on. We will start a little earlier on Thursday. Overall it was a great day and we had a lot of fun.