3-Day: Walking in a Winter Wonderland
It may not look like winter outside, but we are catching snowballs, ice skating and making snowmen here in 3-Day. The children are really enjoying learning about the temperatures dropping, snowflakes, and the magical mysteries of winter animals.
Unfortunately we have had a very small group all week. Runny noses, fevers, colds and the flu have touched almost all of us! Mayson and Anna Dalnes began the week by reading The Mitten by Jan Brett. The second time reading the story, Mayson reported that the children were very observant of the animals. They figured out that on the side of each page was a clue about which animal was to snuggle up next in the mitten and we introduced the word prediction!
Our discovery table was filled with pretend snow, forest animals and some knit mittens. The children enjoyed seeing how many animals they could fit in the soft and stretchy mittens. It was a wonderful extension of the literature. Our art activity was to construct and paint our own mittens. It turned into a two-part process as we added soft cotton and some string to keep our pairs together.
We had a special visit from Puddlestompers on Monday. Melissa taught the children all about winter birds. She played games with the children and had them hunting for food for winter. Mayson was thrilled at how well it connected to our curriculum. When I returned to school, the children were still talking about blue jays and cardinals!
On Wednesday, it was really great to be back with the kids! We finished our mittens and continued our play in the discovery table with winter animals and the stretchy mitten. We made some snowy playdoh and gave the children buttons, pretend coal, twigs and carrot noses to construct a unique collection of snowmen. The children practiced rolling the dough in their hands to make a ball. It's hard work! We used pretend ice cubes to trace a variety of shapes at table number 3. Many of the children independently explored the concept of area by filling the shape with the cubes. We were quite impressed!
We filled our library with many winter books, both fiction and nonfiction. The children enjoy browsing books during choice time and after snack. On Wednesday, after we turned our ice skating rink into a cozy snow fort, some children spent the entire playtime inside listening to stories!
On Friday, although it started to feel like spring outside, we kept things cold in our classroom. Children used aluminum foil, glue and lots of frozen sparkly sprinkles to create icicles that are on display throughout our classroom. Also, at table number one, we painted with popsicles! Don't worry, they weren't real popsicles, just frozen watercolors on popsicle sticks. Children worked together using a variety of colors to create a beautiful, collaborative classroom painting.
Our sensory activity at table 2 was so cool! We filled large Ziploc bags with hair gel, some twigs, googly eyes, carrot noses and some buttons. Children used their fingers on the surface to carefully move the items through the bag to create a snowman.
Friday's warm temperatures allowed for some great playground time. Children spent time making sand snowmen, swinging on the tire swing and playing hide-and-go-seek and tag! I'm sure they went home tired because Coach John had them playing indoor hockey, too.
Mayson and I are hopeful that all of our 3-Day friends will be back next week. We are greatly looking forward to the Bowen Annual Pancake Breakfast next Friday! It's such a fun morning at our school! We will be sure to be wearing our pajamas and hope that all our 3-Day friends are, too!
Have a restful weekend and stay well!
Karen and Mayson
