Today was a beautiful day for enjoying the outdoors, and that is exactly what we did! Half the class went to Huntley Meadows this morning, while the other group had small group time and played on Toad Mountain. From what I understand, the Huntley Meadows group saw a lot of Canadian Geese, as well as two ducks, possibly mallards. They enjoyed the walk and came back worn out.

For small group at Frog Pond, we read a book called The Keeping Quilt. It talked about a quilt that was special to an immigrant family from Russia. Then we cut out squares for our own quilt… to be decorated at home. We then enjoyed the great outdoors at Toad Mountain! The children dug in the muddy digging pit, played on swings and; monkey bars, etc. We also took a little time to watch the bird feeder that was placed in the meadow, just on the other side of the fence from Toad Mountain. We saw and heard some chicadees! We used my bird field guide to identify them. The children played their own running games, and then of couse, we all played Turtle Flop.

It was such a glorious day today that we decided to have a picnic outside! So the children all ate together outside and played some afterwards, before coming in for table toys. During table toys time, we played a variation of the animal habitats game. This was a “race to the finish” type of board game that required drawing a card from the pile and identifying whether an animal was a mammal, fish, bird, amphibian, reptile, insect, or arachnid. Once that was determined, The child would move his/her marker to the next space depicting that type of animal. We talked about the different coverings those animals had, such as scales, fur, feathers, wet skin, etc. Some of the children really caught on to identifying what types the animals were!

This morning’s centers were stringing beads, rice with cooking utensils, occupational dress-up, and building things with junk. One child built a very creative garbage machine. Others really enjoyed cooking things with rice, using muffin tins, egg beaters, funnels, bowls, etc. Some of them also had a great time playing doctor, using doctor toys and helping a “sick” child. We also enjoyed music time, singing and dancing to silly songs.

Diana Lead Frog Teacher

During small group time today, one group learned about their hearts by doing exercises and using a stethoscope, the same activity a different group did yesterday. They had a great time! Another group learned about how their noses spread germs! They mixed white, yellow, and green paint to make “mucous.” Then they went around the room, touching things and playing with toys, while their hands were covered in “mucous.” What a mess they made! They cleaned it all up with warm water and soap and sponges in the media table.

Outdoors today some children expressed an interest in drawing on the tunnel walls. So we got out the chalk and let them have at it! Some children extended their artwork to some wood panels and other playground equipment. They were decorating for a pretend bubblegum festival. They are pretty resourceful people! The rule for chalk was that each child could have only one piece at a time. So, several children each got one piece of a different color, and pooled their resources so several colors were available, and they didn’t have to go running back and forth!

Other frogs rediscovered the joy of sliding down the slides on Toad Mountain. They tried going down many different ways, including sideways, backwards, upside-down, on their tummies, etc. Then they made it a dirt slide by sliding down with rocks and dirt! Other frogs challenged themselves on the hand-over-hand bars. They loved the challenge of height and skill, with the safety of a teacher there to catch them if they fell. Some frogs finally roped me into playing turtle and chipmunk flop–again! Others wrote stories which we then acted out on Story Mountain. One was about Skooby-Doo, and the other about a girl and her adventures.

We danced to silly songs after breakfast again this morning. They enjoy getting out their wiggles in this way! Centers this morning were glue with craft sticks and scraps, sand with animals, woodland stuffed animals, and colored blocks. It was another fabulous and beautiful day!

Today was another fun day at the Pond! In small group some of the children helped Science Sarah make pine cone bird feeders to hang on the trees outside. Hopefully we’ll  be able to attract and start identifying many different birds! They also boiled a type of animal fat called suet and made mini-muffin-size cakes of suet and birdseed.

The other group acted out a firefighter scenario, in which some children were residents at the loft house in the back room. Their house caught on fire and they had to call 911. The rest of us in the group were firefighters and drove there in our truck to rescue the people and put out the fire. It was great fun! The children learned the procedure for calling 911 as well. Now would be a great time to help your child memorize his/her address and phone numbers.

Outdoors we found all kinds of ice and icicles! I took down a ton of them from the outdoor classroom roof and barn roof for safety reasons. The children loved handling, observing, and even tasting the ice! They also finished the suet cakes outdoors. They played chasing games and other exciting things.

Diana,
Lead Frog Teacher

Today the Tadpoles watched a video of firefighters putting out a small fire. They also played with musical toys, farm animals, and barns. They danced around to music and popped bubble wrap. At different times throughout the day 4 different Tadpoles were singing and dancing to their own tune. It made me smile every time.

Outside, the Tadpoles played follow the leader, pushed each other in a small wagon, and played in the houses. At one point, a few Tadpole had moved the castle/slide next to the window of a house and climbed through the window to slide down the castle.

Inside, the Tadpoles played with babydolls and animals. They also talked about what they were thankful for with each other.

Heather,
Lead Tadpole Teacher

A favorite from Easy Vegan Cooking: Over 350 Delicious Recipes for Every Occasion by Leah Leneman.

This is great for children who cannot have eggs or dairy.  With a gluten free flour substitution it could be gluten free also.

Apple Coffee Cake
Topping:
½ cup raw cane sugar
I tsp cinnamon
2 tbs. vegan margarine
3 tbs. whole wheat flour

Cake:
2 cups whole wheat flour
Pinch sea salt
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
⅓ cup raw cane sugar
1 ⅓ cups soya milk
4 tbs. vegetable oil
¾ lb. apples

1)     Mix the topping ingredients in a small bowl until crumbly and set aside.
2)     Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and sugar in a bowl.  Stir in the milk and oil.  Spoon into a greased pan.
3)     Peel, core and slice the apples. Press them on top of the batter.  Sprinkle with the topping.
4)     Bake at 350 F for about half an hour.

Have a great kid-friendly recipe to share. Please tell us about it in the comments.

There are three things animals do to survive the cold winter months—migrate, hibernate or insulate.

For kids and their families I would add one thing more: stimulate.

Winter can be boring if we hole up in our dens all day. But if we learn to appreciate winter outdoors, and all the discoveries it holds, winter can be a time of beauty, fascination and fun. My favorite book for winter time is Stokes Guide to Nature in Winter by Donald Stokes. This book is full of fascinating information about winter trees, insect galls and cocoons, snowflake crystals, animal tracks and much more.  A winter walk armed with this book can be an adventure.

Without their leaves, trees show off their graceful silhouettes—which are distinctive for different species. You can also see birds’ nests and squirrels’ nests in the branches, which were hidden when the trees were in leaf. A fresh snowfall captures the delicate footprints of squirrels, birds and rabbits as well as larger prints of foxes, deer, and raccoons.

If hibernating is boring and we don’t plan to spend the winter in Disney World or some other warm place, the remaining option is “insulate.”  Children and their parents need to be well-dressed for the cold in order to stay comfortable outdoors for any length of time. The longer we stay out, the more insulation we need.

Since the weather in Virginia is very changeable, you should stock your child’s cubby with clothes for a variety of weathers. Polyester fleece and microfiber fabrics are great, because they are warm, lightweight, and dry quickly.  Wool stays warm even when wet, so washable wool is good if it isn’t scratchy. I love wool socks. Cotton fleece (sweatshirts, etc.) is not a good winter choice, because as soon as it gets wet it is cold, not warm, and it takes forever to dry. A selection of fleece jackets in different weights, with a tightly woven, waterproof jacket with a hood may be more flexible and comfortable than one heavyweight parka that is bulky and hard to move in.

Don’t forget that legs need to stay warm too! Fleece over pants worn with long underwear or regular pants are my favorites. Long underwear is harder to take off indoors.  A hat and plenty of gloves or mittens and extra socks are important. The Tadpoles, especially, suffer from cold hands in the winter.  Gloves and socks get wet and dirty so easily in the winter, we can never have too many.  If you put your child’s name on socks and gloves with permanent marker we can make sure they get back to the right cubby. Rubber boots for warm rainy days and snow boots — waterproof and insulated — for cold, wet days complete the ensemble.

Science Sarah

Today was a mild winter day, with warm sunshine. Our thermometer at Toad Mountain read 65 degrees! We decided to have a picnic in such nice weather! Other outdoor activities included the game “Run Rabbit, Run!” (their new favorite running game), drawing and coloring on stumps, petting and feeding the goats, turning over logs and boards to observe earthworms and grubs, and hiding under tarps (with eyes exposed).

During small group time some of the children learned about how some animals eat a lot to make more fat under their skin. This insulates them from the cold. The children put on disposable gloves and coated them in Crisco. Then they put another disposable glove on the Crisco-covered one to be the “skin” Then the children put their insulated hands in icy water. They noticed that it still felt cold, but not as cold as just bare hands! The other group had Al’s Pals today. They learned about the feelings happy and sad and how to recognize it in others’ facial expressions. They also sang a song to help them remember the lesson.

Centers this morning included sleepy-time dress-up, stringing beads on yarn, building 3-D structures with junk, and flour with woodland animals. The children found some beans later in the day and pretended to be squirrels, eating a lot, and then sleeping in the cozy blankets. Some children loved making “snow” mountains in the flour. Others made very long strings of beads to wear. It was another day of creativity and fun!

Diana
Lead Frog Teacher

“A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.” – Horace Mann

No, I do not have a background in welding, but it doesn’t take an expert on hot and cold to know that cold iron cannot be shaped. Furthermore, it doesn’t take a blacksmith to tell us that iron doesn’t get warmed without a nice, consistent fire.

Such is the same with our classrooms and our families. As we explore the theme of “hot and cold” I propose that we consider the wisdom of Horace Mann, an education reformer who may or may not have agreed with the styles of Dr. Becky Bailey and Conscious Discipline but whose wisdom is useful to us nonetheless.

Looking at our classrooms this month, it is important that we work together to keep the child’s desire to learn nice and warm and under constant fire. Fire can often be seen as a forceful analogy (and the welding image probably doesn’t help) but overall, fire teaches us to be well-timed, use our resources wisely, and be consistent. This is in direct contrast to what can often happen at pre-school (or at home) where we are constantly “putting out fires” of chaos rather than “creating fires” of warmth.

For currently enrolled families, here are three tips for “warming the creative classroom” so your child will stay inspired and the teacher’s guidance about social and emotional intelligence will be gently received:

1. Talk about your school family with your child.

The child’s respect for the school family starts at home. Simply changing your language from “day care days” to “School Family Days” or “Frog Pond Family Days” will support your child’s healthy connection to the classroom: Only you can teach them that it is a “home away from home,” where they are nurtured and guided by caring teaching staff.

2. Read your daily emails and reflect on them with your child.
   The daily reflection email will highlight child-directed play, books of interest and games that the children experience daily. This is especially helpful for children who are not full-time. Imagine how much more integrated their play could be if you tell them what their peers did while they were away!
3. Schedule time to review the Conscious Discipline videos by Becky Bailey or attend a Becky Bailey viewing party.

   The 8-part video set is now available for weekend use, free of charge, to all currently enrolled families. Your awareness of our Conscious Discipline and commitment to this technique is crucial for your own success in the home and ours in school, so please familiarize yourselves with this philosophy.

Overall, we are not shaping the child directly with this analogy, but we are all responsible for the environment in which our children are being taught. The teachers have the primary responsibility during our operational hours but outside of those hours, there are endless ways for you to “warm that creative classroom.” As we work together to tend to this fire, we can expect 2012 to be a year that celebrates classrooms that are ablaze with creativity, compassion and curiosity.

Gail
Director of School Family/Center Operations

A sneak peak at what our Tadpole students are exploring this month:

In keeping with the themes hot, cold, fire, and water, the Tadpole class will be exploring all through water in all its states and we’ll explore fire. We will have books to read and ice to hold and we will feel the differences between warm and cold water.

To bring the concept of fire to life, we will talk about firemen, ambulances, and the danger of fire. For hot and cold, we’ll discuss appropriate clothing for different temperatures and how animal fur helps keep some animals warm during winter.

One of my favorite states of water is solid in a fine crystaline form (also known as snow). I look forward to making snow angels and engaging in snow ball tosses with the Tadpoles. The snow provides a great opportunity to discuss appropriate winter clothing, as well.

Water is one of the most fascinating (to me, at least), and most abundant, resources on the planet and I look forward to exploring it with the Tadpoles.

Heather
Lead Tadpole Teacher

A sneak peak at what our Frog students are exploring this month:

Hot and cold. In the middle of winter we can more readily experience both extremities. Cold weather will not keep our Frogs from playing outdoors. They will experience the chill of the wind on their noses but at the same time feel warm inside their coats, hats, and gloves. We look forward to cooking warm soups, building fires, and finding out how physical activity affects one’s body temperature. At the same time we’ll experience the cold of ice, both outside and in, figure out how and why it forms, what causes it to melt or to freeze, etc.

This month we’ll also begin to learn about the community outside just our own families. We hope to have a visit from a real live firefighter, and learn about what an ambulance does. Children who are familiar with these community helpers will be more comfortable in an emergency situation. Having these concrete experiences can also spark a child’s imagination, creating engaging pretend play. Perhaps some children might take on the roles of firefighter and ambulance driver for themselves.

Diana
Lead Frog Teacher