Polar Bears!

This week our theme was polar bears.  We made a super cute polar bear project that required LOTS of cutting and several of the pieces were pretty small.  The kids did an AMAZING job with the cutting!  They didn't complain and most of them were almost completely independent!  An Occupational Therapist was visiting in our classroom while we were working and she was very impressed with their cutting skills...and so was I!  All of our practice is definitely paying off!  

The next day we assembled the polar bear.  For the afternoon class, we showed them a sample of what the finished bear should look like and let them glue it independently.  Then, they used a marker to add eyes, any other details they wanted, and write their name.  

With the morning class, we showed them the sample and then Mary and I went around and placed a few pieces at a time on their paper and gave them some guidance on where each piece went, but let them have final say.  

See, aren't they super cute?!  

The afternoon class also had time to make polar bears out of cotton balls and a paper plate.

I think these turned out pretty cute, too!  They all have such personality!

During circle time, we read Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? and then used Unifix cubes to measure the animals in the story.  They are really starting to understand this concept and loved getting to measure the different animals.

My friend, Ms. Suzanne, had the great idea to put polar bear paw prints on the floor into our classroom that were life-sized.  Each paw print also had a fact about polar bears on them.  The kids loved stomping in on them each day!

On Thursday we walked on each paw print and talked about the fact on each print and then looked at how big a polar bear's foot is compared to our feet.  

We ended the week celebrating this cutie's birthday with some yummy Birthday Cake flavored Oreo's!

We also celebrated our Cadet Teacher's birthday!  

And, this handsome fella got glasses this week, so to celebrate Ms. Mary and I wore our glasses that day, too!  

In other news, our letter for the week was "M" and didn't this cutie do an awesome job writing one independently?!

And, last but not least, a few weeks ago I told you about the penguins that we made, well I finally remembered to take a picture of the finished product!  To see the post about this project, click here. 

Have a great week!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Beth

Valentine's Party!

Here's a look at our Valentine's Day activities!  We started the day by coloring hearts.  

During circle time we matched valentines.  Half of the valentine was attached to a file folder and the other half of the valentines were placed in the sensory box.  Each cutie came up, reached in to grab a valentine, and then matched it up. 

Then, we went to the table and sorted candy hearts by color.  Of course, after we sorted, they were able to eat some of the candy.  :)

The afternoon class graphed their hearts.  With both groups we discussed which color they had the most of and least of.  

After that, it was time for heart shaped pancakes!  They gobbled these up and were asking for more before the next batch was ready!  

One of our morning sweeties brought in these awesome mustache jello jigglers!  He also had on the cutest shirt that said "I mustache you to be my valentine." This group was definitely in the valentines spirit--they all had on red, pink, or purple!  

Then, it was time to pass out valentines!  We had the class watch a valentine video on the TeamBoard while we called them over to pass out their valentines.  This year it dawned on me that if I put their yearbook picture on their bag that the kids could identify the bags on their own.  So, Mary and I were able to tell them the name on the valentine and the little cuties were able to find their friend's bags on their own!  Why did it take me so long to think of this?!  :)

The afternoon class even had time for a science experiment!  I poured baking soda into heart-shaped cookie cutters and added red food coloring to vinegar.  Then, we used an eye-dropper to drop some vinegar onto the baking soda.  They loved seeing the mixture foam up!  After I modeled it a few times, they each had a turn to drop some vinegar onto the baking soda. 

After everyone had a turn, we collected all of the baking soda up and poured it into the vinegar and watched it explode.

As you can see, I think it's safe to say they liked this experiment.  :)

What great way to end the day!  I hope you had a fantastic Valentine's Day!  

Thanks for stopping by! 

~Beth

More Fun With Penguins

Man, working a full week is exhausting!  After four snow days last week, it was a little bit of a shock to work all week.  :) So, our second week of penguins was extended a little with some valentines activities mixed in.  Last Monday we started the day by playing in shaving cream.  The kids loved it and luckily it cleans up pretty easily because they pretty much had shaving cream everywhere!  

We also painted paper plates to make into penguins.  Each cutie painted a large plate with a V-shaped cutout and a small plate. 

This week we stapled a full paper plate behind the plate with the V-shape cutout and also stapled the small plate to the top.  Then, the kids glued on the penguin's beak, feet, and eyes.  They chose what color ear muffs they'd like and then waited as we attached them with hot glue.  All of that waiting led to things getting real crazy real fast, so we didn't get a picture of the finished product.  

Ms. Mary B. came in for language group this week.  We worked on following directions and position words.  The kids had to identify the big and small icebergs, penguins, and fish and then glue them where Ms. Mary requested. 

During table time on Tuesday we decorated bags for our valentines.  The kids drew pictures, added stickers, and glued on a few paper hearts.  Then, I wrote their name on their bag and added one of their yearbook pictures.  

On Wednesday the morning class assembled these heart penguins.  They did a great job following directions!

For the afternoon class, we taught them how to cut out a heart.  They were able to cut out a large and small heart.  We gave each cutie a piece of paper with words like "I love you" and "Be mine" and encouraged them to make a valentine for someone.  They were so excited that they were able to cut out a heart all by themselves!  Also, this week our Cadet Teacher, Ryleigh, joined our class.  She is a high school student who is interested in becoming a teacher and will be helping us for the rest of the semester.  

Yes, it was exhausting, but it was a fun week!  I'll post pictures of our Valentine's Day party later today.
To see that post, click here.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Beth