By: Miss Christa
What a great group of friends we have today! We made creamy pumpkin dip as a group we all took turns adding ingredients and mixing them together we talked about the different colors we were adding together and what color they made after we stirred the for a while. Everyone was so patient and respectful of each other.

By Miss Kerri Ann
Today, I brought a tub of snow into our clssroom.  I asked the children to find animals around the classroom and to make tracks in the snow with the animal's feet.  I thought we would have a nice conversation about animal tracks in the snow.  The children had different ideas about how to experiment with snow.  Jada decided to wash her snow in the sink.  Soon, we were all washing balls of snow and talking about what happens when you wash snow.  Here are a few of our observations:
Jada:  "It sneaks down!"
Deia:  "Mine dried up!"
Daniel:  "Mine melted!"
Often, the activities we plan in our classroom turn into something different than we imagine.  By listening to the children and following their thought processes, however, we are all able to learn something new!

By: Miss Christa
Today we explored a little about what each other like by reading a few of our All About Me Binders. Here is Daniel and Peter sharing their binders. In the near future we will be sending home a VIP (Very Important Preschooler) bag or basket and give them all a chance to  

By: Miss Christa
This morning Daniel, Jada, and Violet were experimenting with two identical tin cans one was empty and in the other one they stuffed a scarf, Jayla's slippers, and a pretend piece of wooden food. They each took turns listening to the different sounds they are making. Video will be available to be seen soon 

By Miss Kerri Ann
We got into the holiday spirit today with a jack-o-lantern project.  We talked about the different shapes we used in this art project and learned a new song about pumpkins which focuses on learning directionals and oposites (up, down; high, low etc).  We all had a blast!

Also today, I worked with Georgia and Daniel on writing their names.  You can see the samples of thier work in the slideshow.  It's so fun to watch as three-four year olds progress in their ability to write their own names!  I'm so exctied to see these two showing so much interest in learning how to write!

After lunch we decided that we were cowgirls and cowgirls.  I transcribed this funny exchange between Grayson and Georgia when they were riding our giant stuffed horse together:
Georgia:  Welcome to the wild west!  Hop on back, I'll take you for a ride."
Grayson:  "You find me Elk?"
Georgia: "Yes!"
Grayson: "A bear! A bear!  That a monster!"
Georgia:  "Thank you for the ride"
Grayson: "Hold on tight!"
Georgia: "We fell down, Miss Kerri Ann.  I can't get up!  We fell down again!  How do we get up?"

This afternoon we will be heading to the Clark Store for thier annnual pumkin carving/ painting gathering.  What a fun day!

By Miss Kerri Ann
I love taking out the projector from time to time to play with shadows.  We used leaves, branches, stencils and out bodies to make shadows on the wall and the floor.  Its always interesting to me how the light from a projector creates a quiet atmosphere.  We spent most of the morning working on art with stencils, water colors and tape (body art for Jada).  
What a treat to have Miss Rachel substitute today while Miss Christa took a personal day.  The kids were so excited to see their old teacher and Miss Rachel couldn't believe how grown up they all seem!  There were plenty of hugs to go around!

By: Miss Christa
This morning I encountered a preschool teacher moment. Daniel and Jayla were coloring with stencils on the light table, Jayla pointed over to the horse Daniel had just colored and said "moo" Daniel simply said "It says neigh not moo!!" she then replied "oh neigh". this was a great opportunity for a older child to help mentor the younger child. After we ate snack we decided to play in the toddler room Jayla was drawn to the play dough, she then found a horse cut out and said "neigh". It often may seem like it takes a while for a child to learn something new however by learning the same thing over and over it strengthening that connection in their brains and insures it will be a lasting knowledge.   

Here are some other pictures I captured this morning.

By Miss Kerri Ann
Library Storytime has begun again!  Jennifer Harbison is our new storytime assistant from Bud Werner library.  New this year, we will be joining the kindergarten class at the Charter School for storytime on the third Thursday of every month.  Our Preschoolers loved visiting the big school and getting to see their kindergarten friends.  Lots of hugs were traded as we settled onto the rug.  There were three sets of siblings (preschool/ kindergarten) there today!  Jennifer read us a story about bears and one about a jack-o-lantern.  She also taught us two new songs!  I can tell we will be looking forward to these visits in the months to come!

By Miss Kerri Ann
In the Reggio Emilia classroom, we often talk about the environment as a third teacher.  We spend a lot of time choosing classroom materials and deciding how to decorate in a way that promotes development and learning.
In this picture, Daniel uses this number poster to teach himself to quantify objects.  He went through the entire poster counting objects 1-20 (not all correctly, but that's ok).  Then, he spent several more minutes tracing the numbers on the poster.  Peter is standing just outside of the picture watching and correcting Daniel.  After Daniel was done, Peter repeated the activity.  Miss Christa and I did not get involved, we chose to simply observe.  Sometimes the children can learn just as much from the environment and from each other as from us!

Ever wonder what your child does while they are at preschool, today during open play time I observed a few of the children playing house, Jada is the owner and Peter and Jayla are doggies. Later Delia joins in and they all take a pretend nap.