Space

What a fun week learning about space!  

The class took two days to make this sweet craft.  They finger painted the sun and Earth and added tissue paper.  They then glued a picture of themselves on an astronaut. (and thought it was SO neat to see themselves in space!) With Mrs. Beth, they read "God made the sun. God made the Earth. God made me!" Then they traced their names! Some had a little help as they wrote, and others did it all by themselves!  They all worked so hard! 

We also made a sunshine craft.  

Each child and I counted out ten sun rays, and then we glued them to their papers.  Once they were glued, we labeled them 1-10, and they recounted them as they pointed to the correct number.  They did great!  

Here they are coloring coffee filters green and blue to make the Earth.

 Then they used a spray bottle with those fine motor muscles and sprayed their planet with water to make it look even more real. So fun:)  

During circle time, we read space books and talked a lot about the sun and planets, especially the Earth.  They learned that we live on Earth and it rotates around the sun.  We demonstrated this with class volunteers. :) We also spun "the Earth" around as he rotated, demonstrating how the Earth spins around each day.  We talked about how it is night when we are facing away from the sun, and how it is day when we are facing towards it.  They kind of got it! ;)  

Check out that adorable sun :) and cute little Earth! 

They also made name rockets!!

They worked so hard tracing the letters in their names.  Look at that concentration!

They loved putting star stickers in "space" and putting fire on the end of their rockets with paint. 

"Five, four, three, two, one..... BLASTOFF!"  

We reviewed the letter S and the sound it makes as they stuck star stickers to their S papers. 

 These girls were too cute pretending to go to the doctor's office.  It was serious business.  I had to snap a picture. :)  

I have been so impressed with this group of little guys and how they are learning to line up so well and even walk down the hall quietly to the Minds in Motion room.  I told them I would take a picture to show their mommies and daddies. ;)

so much fun!!

Thanks again for sharing your sweet babies with us.  They are such a joy.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Oceans

We had such a GREAT time at 

preschool this week learning with our ocean theme! 

They worked out their fine motor muscles while making playdough sea urchins! 

They also enjoyed several great ocean books this week.  Their favorite was Ten Little Fish Swimming in the Sea.  They asked to read it over and over.  It was a great book to incorporate counting and number practice!  (notice the sweet girls on the right;) 

  so cute :)

Mrs. Beth made these cute lobsters with the kids!
Love capturing those little hands and feet while they are so little... they grow too fast!!  

A few of the kids and I made ocean sensory bags for the class.  They had so much fun helping!  Here Wyatt and Evan are filling a baggie with aloe vera. (Hair gel works too)

They added a couple drops of food coloring.... 

 ...and mixed it around.

We then added gummy sharks to the "blue water".  Each bag had a different number of sharks, and they felt the bags to count how many each had... more counting practice!  

Our sensory center was filled with blue rice, shells, and lots of play ocean animals.  So fun! :) 

Our letter of the week was O for Octopus.  In circle time, the class learned how many legs an octopus has and how it protects itself from sharks and other dangerous animals.  Then in small groups, we worked on this craft.  Together we counted as I glued dots to the octopus' legs.  Then they worked on their own. :) 

sweet Amalie working so hard...

Here we are making glowing jellyfish!  We made them from glow sticks, baggies, water, and packing tape.  We turned off the lights and they played in the water for a bit as an extra little sensory bucket.  

They also made their own jellyfish! 

Don't you just love this "Cheese!!"? :) :) 

Hadley is so proud of her "O" stamped name!

lots of fun in morning centers with ocean stamps and fish stickers!

Mrs. Jennifer ordered our class these great magnetic letter boards.  The kids love them, and it is such wonderful practice for writing!  

We had a great week in the Minds in Motion room!!  On Friday ALL the kids were able to stay in there  because they were ALL following directions.  I am so proud of them!  It is so awesome to see this group have such a good time knowing how wonderful it is for their bodies and minds.  

Some of you may have heard about a little visitor we had today. ;) Mrs. Beth's husband brought in their adorable new puppy at the very end of the day. Of course the kids were so excited!!

Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of your child's time at LAP. We are so thankful you share them with us. :)  Have a wonderful weekend!!