What a month it has been in our classroom! Celebrating Week of the Young Child, the Book Fair, our practicum students finishing up their lead teaching experiences, we’ve been learning a lot! This month a lot of our activities have been based around emotions. As toddlers, we are teaching them different ways to express themselves that are safe for them and for others. This can be different ways to act or ways they can verbally express themselves to let others know how they are feeling.
Week of the Young Child
Thank you to all the families that donated fruit to our classroom to make smoothies, and to those that may have donated treats for the teachers throughout the week. In addition, we had a few families that read to the classroom, virtually or in person. This was a nice touch to the week and we were so glad to be able to have you read to us!
On Music Monday, we celebrated by using instruments and having a parade through the halls of the center with Toddler 2. The children were able to venture to the other side of the center, a side that many children have never seen. A few of the older classrooms sat in their doorways to see the two rooms come through.
Tasty Tuesday was probably a favorite for the children. We used the fruit families donated and made smoothies with the children. In the morning we made a peach, pineapple, and banana smoothie. Not many children liked the taste and/or texture of that one. In the afternoon, we used blueberries and strawberries to make another smoothie. This one was enjoyed much more by the children! Those that wanted to had the opportunity to help blend the smoothie by pushing down on the button that caused the blades to pulsate. At first, the majority of the children seemed a little taken back when they first pushed the button, but when they pushed it again, they smiled. 
Work Together Wednesday resulted in us planting plants for our classroom. We used shovels to scoop dirt into pots to plant succulents for our classroom. In three other pots, we planted daisy, marigold, and cosmo seeds. The children really had to use their fine motor skills to pinch these out of Ana and Krysten’s hands to get them into the pots. We are keeping them inside on a window ledge right now due to the cold temperatures, but will bring them outside once it’s warm enough. We have been watering them and watching them grow over the past few weeks. The seeds have begun to sprout and we can see some green! No flowers have formed yet, but it is exciting to see the progress so far.
Arty Thursday was a lot of painting activities! Tape has always been a common interest for the children, being able to peel it, feel the stickiness, and stick it on to various surfaces. Our classroom used blank white canvas’ and allowed the children to put the tape wherever they wanted. The children then painted over the tape. Once the paint was dry, the children pulled the tape off their canvas’ to reveal white spots. The children really had to use their fine motor skills to remove the tape, picking and peeling the tape off. We also painted picture frames that we were able to add a picture of the children to as a keepsake for you, the families.
To end the week, we enjoyed having a few families read to our classroom and play with us on the playground for Family Friday. The children enjoyed visits from their family and getting to spend some time with them during the school day.
Outdoor Exploration
This month has brought various weather climates. We’ve had snow, rain, wind, warmer weather, we’ve experienced it all! As of lately, the children have grown to show interest in worms and centipedes on the playground. Each day when we go outside, the children have been running to the tree stumps on the playground, wanting to flip them over to see what may be underneath them. They have been learning that when it’s dry, there haven’t been many bugs under the stumps. However, on days that it has rained, they’ve found multiple worms under the stumps! Some children are brave in touching them, and squeal when the worms then sink some into the ground. A few children have said that the worms hiss like a snake, as they are close in resemblance. They’ve been able to see the centipedes when they are long and moving, but also see them coiled up as soon as the children touch them. They’ve sat and watched the centipedes slowly crawl down the side of the tree stump as well.
The end of the semester is approaching and we are so thankful for all the children in our classroom. They bring joy to our lives every day. We’d also like to thank our three practicum students, Emily, Jazmin, and Khamrym for all of their hard work this semester. We wish them the best of luck in their future as they will be graduating! We also have had some amazing student workers this semester. Yizel (‘Gigi’), Tiffany, and Jordan are finishing up their time with us at the CDFC. They have been a great addition to our classroom that the children absolutely love. We’ve appreciated all of their help in the classroom and wish them the best of luck as they move on in their college career and graduate!
Reminders
- We apply sunscreen to the children May-September when we go outside. As May approaches, if you have a specific sunscreen you would like your child to use, please bring it to the center. As of right now, the brand the center provides is on back order, so we will only apply sunscreen to your child if you provide us with the sunscreen.
- Interim is May 16-June 3, 2022.
- For those returning for summer semester, if your child is not potty trained and still wears diapers, you will need to provide diapers and wipes for them as we move up to the 2/3s classroom!
We are looking forward to a fun summer with your children!
Ana, Ecila, and Krysten
