X Marks the Spot

Today was a lot of fun with the letter X.

Miss Hiedi had a really simple lesson plan, that the kids loved!

They did so well.

We started out with a couple activities as we waited for our friends to arrive.

The kids reached into a bag to feel different shapes. They were looking for a pig, square, etc. and had to match it with the shadow.

They also got to dress some dolls. 

Jerry really liked the firefighter. 

Then during circle time we practiced raising our hands.

The kids are really doing well holding still and practicing taking turns.

Then each child got a turn picking out a letter out of the alphabet bag.

It was a great review of all the letters.

Then we finally found the purple X!

Lexi felt special because she is the only one with an X in her name.

After talking about X, each child got to make a LOT of X's.

Big X's out of sticks and pipe cleaners, and little x's out of cut pipe cleaners.

We had to learn about where to cross our sticks, in order to make an X.

If we crossed them too high, it looked like a V.

If you cross too low, it could look like a T.

Right in the middle, makes an X!

Then we learned about XOXO, and how it's a fancy way to say "hugs and kisses"

or tell someone that you love them.

 It was fun to see the pattern, XOXOXO...

Then each child got to write their own "love note" and sign XOXO.

Carly was awesome at this!

Then we got to break into two teams, the X team and the O team, to play 

TIC TAC TOE.

We learned about three in a row...some kids had played before.

The diagonals were a little tricky! 

Then each child got a treasure box with a skull X on it...to get ready for our treasure hunt.

Miss Hiedi showed them the map and told them what was going to happen.

She had planned 8 stations for each child, and there was an X at each station. 

At the X, the child could sit and play a game for siX minutes, then rotate to the next game.

It was the perfect blend of independent play/learning.

Caterpillar game

Stacking cups and beads...

Domino patterns...

Shapes and colors...

Letters and alphabet practice...

Monkeys on the tree...

Colors with Blockus...

Each child had their own FAVORITE game...

They rotated through the stations, and each time the buzzer went off they got a gold treasure to add to their box.

Six minutes times eight stations, it took a long time and they loved it. 

Miss Hiedi and Miss Jill would walk around and help them with their patterns, shapes, or letters.

It kept them interested and entertained! 

Then it was snack time!! 

They had cheese and crackers and apples. 

They even got to stick a pirate ship flag into their cheese to make boats!

Carmen with her C apple

Then they got to go outside to play!!

Love this shot of the CAR, CARmen and CARly! ;-) 

Thanks for a great day Miss Hiedi!

Wonderful "W"

Miss Jenni had us singing and laughing to "Willouby Walloby Woo"!
The kids loved changing their names to Werry instead of Jerry and Wevi instead of Levi.  W is wonderful fun!

Playing with letters!

Carmen - counting the days on the calendar

Jerry rolling the dice to see what color and number he gets!

Everyone tried "W" actions.  Here they are winking!  They also wiggled, walked, waved etc.

The coolest W action was WALTZING!!! Miss Jenni put the 6 foot counts on the floor in the pattern for each gender. They tried waltzing by themselves and then to music.

Then they tried waltzing with a partner!  Soo cute!

Snack was Watermelon and Whales!

They loved the water science!  They got to pick an object and guess if it would sink or float!  They were amazed that the watermelon didn't sink!

Miss Jenni put drops of water on a dime.  Believe it or not- the dime held 18 drops of water before it splashed off.

Then the kids got to put drops of water on a filter paper and make the W's disappear.

They made beautiful works of art!!

"Uu" is for UNIVERSE!

Today the kids seemed to be especially engaged in the subject matter!
They were all really attentive and eager to learn about the universe and where we live in all of it. We sang songs gathered around the piano as we waited for everyone to come. We missed Robby and Carmen and Miss Jill and Nora but it seemed very manageable to do it with just six kids by myself.

After the opening circle time I had them put the Train puzzle together to find out which letter we were working on today.  Letter U had an umbrella on it.  I pulled out an umbrella and we talked about UNDER and over.  We then laid on our backs and pretended that we were Under a night sky.  I held up a large black poster board and asked them to tell me what they would see in the sky.  They said stars!  I drew stars and then we made the UNIVERSE out of play dough and talked about the planets and solar system.

They enjoyed making their own replica of the universe!

They also got to design their own planet!!

We talked about how we could see planet Earth.  The kids made things out of play dough that could take them to the sky.  A kite, a hot air balloon, a plane, a rocket, a bird and a space ship.  We pretended to be very high and looked at maps of planet Earth.  We saw the world and then the United States.  The kids zeroed in on Texas and then found Belton and pointed to where we live!

We then switched gears a little bit and talked about the UNITED STATES and our flag that represents where we live and the freedom that we are so fortunate to have!  The kids painted a replica of the flag.  Some of the kids really got the idea and did stars and stripes.  Jerry used all colors and when I asked him about it he said it wasn't the flag but a Map of the United States.  Very Clever kids!

I told them about how the whole world unites for the world games!  We then had our own Olympic games!

I didn't get pictures of all of our contest; however, it was raining out side so we had to improvise.  Each child won a medal!  We were United!!!  It was a very fun day!