Hide and Seek

My little friends love this game!  Today the children took turns being the teacher.  It was lots of fun to see how they talked and took turns playing the game. 

Here is what we do... 

I have some pieces that we put on a table or in a pocket chart (as shown).  I have colors, shapes, numbers, letters, and sight word pieces to use depending on the level of the children that I have at the time.  I will hide a seasonal picture behind one of the pieces.  The children need to take turns trying to find it. 

Today, I have colored paint cans in the chart.  The children hide a tulip behind one of the paint cans.  The other children take turns guessing where the tulip is at and use the word "behind".  When the tulip is found, they all cheer and the child that finds the tulip was the next teacher.

Try this at home for a cheap game that will keep your child interested for a really long time.  :} 

Eagle Cam... We have baby eaglets!

We have been watching the Decorah Iowa Eagle Cam for a couple of weeks now.  Yesterday afternoon an egg hatched.   This morning when we turned it on, there was a second one that hatched.  We were able to watch the eagles this morning while we played.  I turn the eagle cam on in the morning while we are playing. 
It is fun to hear the sounds of nature while we play.  Once in awhile one of the children will notice something when they glance over at the screen.  This morning we saw the mommy eagle feed the baby some fish for breakfast.  Follow the link to see what we are watching. 

Spring Cleaning

It is that time of the year again.  At home and in school I get the urge to tidy things up and get rid of the winter dust and clutter.  We will be spending the week cleaning up our classroom.  Ok....  bear with me.  Before I hear phone calls saying "WHAT!!!  You mean my child is going to go to school to clean?  I thought he was supposed to be learning something!!!" let me tell you a little bit about what we will be learning this week.   

• Children will learn vocabulary related to cleaning and messes.  (ie. clean, neat, mess, tidy, vacuum, cleaning spray, wipe, sweep, mop, etc)
• We will be covering our early learning social studies standards, (sharing responsibility in taking care of the environment and beginning to participate successfully as a member of a group) We will be working together to achieve a common goal. 
• We will work on math standards of sorting and counting as we sort tubs of toys and put them where they belong. 
• We will work on concept/positional vocabulary like "put it beside the barn" or "it goes on the middle shelf"'
• We will talk about sequencing and order of events (like steps to wash a window) using words like first, then, next, last. 

PS...  it would be GREAT if you would help your child practice our theme this week at home.  Have them tidy up their room or pick up their toys.  Talk with them about what they are doing.  An added benefit...  a neat and clean house!!!

WOW!!! I have so much to share :}

It has been a really busy week for me and I have not had a chance to update you on all the fun things that we are doing in school this week.  Stay Tuned....

REMINDERS!!!!!!

There will be no school on Monday, March 26.  This is a Teacher Workshop Day. 

There are conferences in the Elementary on 3/29 and 4/3 after school.  I will not be having formal conferences with everyone because many of us have met in the last couple of months.  I will contact you if I need to meet with you directly.  I will be in the building so if you have specific questions, please stop in and visit.  

Flower Shop Donations Requested....

I would like to make a flower shop in our dramatic play area this spring.  I am in need of a few things though.  If you have any of the following around the house that you are wanting to get rid of please send them our way :}

• artificial flowers
• pretty ribbon
• tissue paper
• plastic flower pots/vases
• seed/flower catalogs
• magazines with lots of pictures of flowers