Spring!

Today the Turtles were busy, inside and out! Inside, a group worked with Carol on our second digital story book! The Turtles got to see the "first-cut" of the first group's story, "When Are We Going on a Trip?" And the next group was eager to ger started. First, Carol led the group in doing a Round-Robin Story, with each child contributing. Then they started the ink and watercolor drawings. So far, it looks delightful!

Outside, the children worked in the garden with Tamara dividing clumps of perrinials  to make a new little garden and spread the lillies all over! It was hard an dirty work, but they soon got the hang of dividing up the clumps, digging a hole, placing the clump in and firming the soil back over the new plant.

Movement with Missy was great! We did more Tee-Ball, went on a "bear hunt," and learned a new game called Jack Be Nimble.
And today was George Katherine's Treasure Box Day! She shared a myriad of headbands, and a magic wand!

Slip Sliding Away

The Turtles started their day with a very involved game of Caribou. They very much enjoy the challenge of matching shapes, colors, and letters. The prism circle builders continue to be a big hit as well.
During Choice Time, we continued the Smart Board writing. Writing and drawing on the large surface is so exciting for the children, and it builds the postural and hand muscles used in writing. The easel was another popular choice and the children continue to work collaboratively on puzzles.
The snow fields were amazing today as Carol developed a snow chute! They didn't even need a sled, they could just slide down on their snow pants!
Maggie's dad Daniel brought in his baritone! It was so cool to see him play, and the children got to press the buttons to make different notes. He could play piano and forte and he played several songs including "Happy Birthday."

Making Faces

The Turtles had a lot to do today, so we got started right away. First, we had to get our Fall Festival shirts ready for tie dying, so each Turtle carefully (or not so carefully) twisted their shirts and wrapped them in rubber bands.
Meanwhile, Choice Time was filled with a wide variety of artwork and dramatic play - including more music and even a magic show.

At Morning Meeting, we had a special visitor - headless Bob, our scarecrow. Bob expressed his ongoing concern about his lack of head, and the Turtles were eager to help. To help decide what Bob's new face should look like, we got to use an exciting new tool - our Smart Board. While we have used the Smart Board a couple of times before to watch ourselves on video, this was the first time that the Turtles got to actually move things around on the board. First, each Turtle got to "make a face," by choosing from various mouths and eyes. Then, we talked about each face and what the person might be feeling or thinking. Next, all of the Turtles helped decide what Bob's face was going to look like.

After a delicious snack of broccoli, pita, hummus, ranch dip and bananas, we headed outside. While some Turtles played on the playground, others went in to tie dye their shirts. Naomi's mom, Michelle came in to help us get our shirts together. After they were all finished, she stayed to read us a "Toot and Puddle" book. The Turtles enjoyed having Naomi's mom with us.