Mrs. Ranella Franklin, teacher
Mrs. Katerina Aleksi, Mrs. LeAnn Johnson, & Mrs. Kristen Ballsrud, teacher-assistants
Savannah, Brandy, Jenny, Rayna, & Nick teacher-supported aides
MISSION STATEMENT: Our Toddler Program is designed to provide an experiential-based environment within the immediate settings (both home & classroom), that focuses on developing the five senses. Our goal is to utilize the interrelationship between parents and teaching staff to build a strong, sensorial-based foundation within each child that will maximize his/her future learning potential.
"In the teachable moments, doors open wide to new possibilities."
SPRING SEMESTER 2008:
June 16-20 --- Our last full week of school was filled with many exciting things! One of the most unique was the zoo animal visit on Wednesday --- staff from the Fort Worth Zoo brought some very interesting animals for the children to learn about up close. The animals included a small alligator, a very large parrot, a marsupial, and a big snake --- WOW! So much to see! The children have also had a lot of fun with water this week --- we took the water table outside and enjoyed another snack 'picnic' on Tuesday, and then on Friday we had our 3rd Splash Day in the little pools --- such cute little swimmers! Fine motor activities this week included lacing, snap beads, and placing pompoms into muffin tins and ice cube trays (also a good one-to-one correspondence activity). The Sensory Center contained bright pink and yellow crinkly paper shreds with an assortment of animals, sparkly bracelets, and textured alphabet letters hidden beneath. For our 'Little Chefs' time, the children enjoyed spreading cream cheese onto saltine crackers for a very special sandwich. Jack celebrated his 3rd birthday with us this week (just a little early) --- everyone loved both the chocolate cupcakes that were shaped like a big, tropical fish and also the big, curly Cheetos that his mom brought! Happy Birthday, Jack! For our experiential art time, the children eagerly painted on big, bright green paper with bristle brushes, scrubbie tappers, and long-handled rubber brushes --- more fun creations! Our PT, Amy, was here on Wednesday and left a special summer activity handout for gross motor activities that you are receiving today --- lots of great ideas to keep you little one moving! Miss Carol finished her speech sessions for the year on Thursday --- she has been very pleased with all of our children's progress:)
June 9-13 --- Summer seems to have arrived and with it some of the KinderFrogs construction projects --- we are all so excited about the new room for the LEAP class and the new gym! Because we're 'officially' UNDER CONSTRUCTION we are no longer going to the gym for PE time. This week when our PT, Amy, came on Wednesday, we brought several items such as the balance beam, practice stairs, and trampolines into our classroom --- we were very proud of the way the children worked! We have had two special music times this week with Miss Heather who is substituting for Miss Meg until she returns in August --- Miss Heather is excellent and the children have really enjoyed her. A new CD and songbook from the TCU KinderMusik program were placed in your folders this week --- just in time for summer vacation! The children explored the look and feel of feathers in our Sensory Center this week. They particularly liked holding and touching the individual feathers and also had fun wrapping the 'boa' feathers around themselves:) Our 'Little Chefs' experience this week was Jello Joy --- this is always a fun opportunity for scooping and squirting --- yum, yum, yummy!!! During experiential art time the children had a great time using a textured foam brush dipped in bright, red paint to cover the background of their big, white paper. They added dabs and swirls of blue (which made purple) as they used short-handled bristle brushes, and then tapped both yellow circles with an inverted funnel and yellow dots with a silly, floppy sponge brush --- pretty impressive art! We celebrated Cannon's 2nd birthday with him on Thursday --- everyone loved the Blue Bell ice cream cups that his mom brought and enjoyed sitting at a table with a special 'CARS' tablecloth on it:) 'Happy Birthday, Cannon!' --- all of our little ones love the 'Birthday Song,' so we always sing it several times:) We had another fun 'Splash Day' on Friday --- we certainly look cute in our swimsuits!!!
June 2-6 --- BIG box fun was how we started off this week (an activity that the children always love) --- going in and out, playing peek-a-boo, and pulling scarves through holes in the boxes were various ways that the children experienced the BIG boxes! Sitting in the Texture Tub filled with styrofoam was how we ended the week --- another favorite! Some of the children really like to be 'buried' under the styrofoam and then pop up with great, big smiles!!! Everyone enjoyed two special experiential art days this week --- painting on bright, red paper the first day and on sunny, yellow paper the second day. I really love watching the children use the various painting tools; they are so intent on where they will put the paint and how they will apply it --- sometimes tapping, sometimes swirling, sometimes going up and down --- they are truly little artists! Cymbals were our special outlet for our musical experience this week, and several of the children enjoyed looking in the mirror while they tapped and 'banged' their cymbals:) Snack time got an extra boost with Ranch dressing this week --- one day we dipped croutons into it and another day the children dipped carrots and frozen green beans into the dressing --- oh, so yummy!!! We love our 'Signing Times' DVD and also enjoy a special language focus one afternoon each week --- it is amazing how many signs the children have learned! With the warmer weather (actually 'hot' weather), we really look forward to 'Splash Days' (and other water days) during June. This week we took the water table outside one afternoon and also had a 'picnic' for our snack time. On Friday, we put on swimsuits and officially 'splashed' in the little pools --- so much fun!!!
May 27-30 --- We hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend --- it's always nice to have a few extra days to spend with family and friends:) The children were all happy to see each other on Tuesday and have been quite busy! They have particularly enjoyed the Sensory Center that was filled with bright, green Easter grass and a variety of BIG and little zoo animals. They hunted for the small animals in the grass and matched them to the BIG animals; they also found textured alphabet letters that were the beginning sounds for the animals, and on Friday we watched our Signing Times dvd about zoo animals. Our P.T. was here on Wednesday and she observed the children and worked with us in the gym --- she continues to be pleased with the great progress that everyone is making. During our special art activity this week, the children had fun using art dabbers in a variety of colors --- they tapped, dabbed, and swirled the colors all around on their paper. For dress-up and pretend time, the children liked putting on hats and sunglasses and looking at themselves in the big mirror. We have had another birthday celebration in our class --- Happy Birthday to Emme who turned 2 last week --- everyone enjoyed the cookies and Cheetos that Emme's mom brought:) Last week was also the final times this year that our Green Oaks transition students were with us --- these wonderful students (and their great job coaches) have been so helpful on our Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, we will miss them! This week was Miss Meg's last time with us for our special music until fall --- she has been fabulous! We are making plans for some 'Splash Day Fun' in June, so be watching for details!
May 19-22 --- In and out and all about, that's what our little ones were doing this week! They really enjoyed going in and out of 2 BIG boxes on Monday --- played pee-a-boo through the side and top holes:) Later in the week they had a lot of fun in the Texture Tub finding sparkly, plastic bracelets among a sea of plastic soda rings, and enjoyed hiding themselves under all of the soda rings, too! Going barefoot on our Texture Walk on Thursday was a fun experience --- little feet do seem to have their favorite type of surface to touch! Our Sensory Center contained water this week and an assortment of sound toys --- drums, singing dolphins, xylophones --- lots of great ways to get wet and make music at the same time!!! The children's noses enjoyed our 'rub 'n smell' activity as they used small, soft cloths to rub some melon-smelling lotion onto the table after they had found their nose and given it a good sniff! They moved it round and round, up and down, and side-to-side --- good pre-writing movements! Our 'Little Chef' snack this week was pumpkin sandwiches. This favorite gave the children an opportunity to use spreaders to smooth pumpkin all over a graham cracker. Next, they smelled nutmeg and then shook it onto their pumpkin, and last they squirted whipped cream on top --- what a treat! Our experiential art time this week provided time for the children to touch and pat bubble wrap and then to paint on it and use a sheet of paper to press down onto the paint and make a print. The little ones always get so excited when they lift their paper and see what they created!
May 12-16 --- The children are all making such well-rounded progress in all areas --- our therapists have been very pleased with gross motor, fine motor, language, and cognitive skill development. This week we worked on snipping with spring-loaded scissors, threading beads, Play-doh, stacking small blocks, nesting 3-4 piece cups, stacking rings, and puzzles. During music time the children are beginning to make sounds into their 'microphones' and often are actually trying to imitate Miss Meg! Our Sensory Center contained styrofoam packing shapes and clear containers to fill, in addition to funnels and scoops. There were also several textured letters to hold and trace while we said their names and the sounds that they make. During our experiential art time, the children were quite excited to use fuzzy paint rollers to spread white paint onto their big, light blue paper. They next swirled and tapped orange paint here and there and all around. On top of the orange and white, the children had fun tapping big purple circles using an inverted funnel and then plopping purple 'feathered' strokes on with a long-handled basting brush --- so colorful! After each child finished their creation, I held up their painting for them to see --- it was wonderful to watch how they pointed to it and just beamed:) Our 'Little Chefs' snack time was a delightful banana pudding treat. First the children scooped their pudding, then added banana bites, cookies, and whipped cream --- delicious!!! Everyone had fun celebrating Elizabeth's 3rd birthday --- the children loved the little blueberry muffins and the Cheetos and also like wearing the party hats and making the blowers uncurl --- 'Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!'
May 5-9 --- We have had both rain and shine this week, and made good use of both! On the rainy days, the children have enjoyed more time in their centers and with the various toys, while on the sunny days we stretched our outdoor time a bit:) This week's 'Little Chefs' snack was Jell-O Joy --- and the children were quite joyous as they scooped orange and red jell-o into their dishes and then squirted a stream of whipped cream on top --- delightful! Our Sensory Center was filled to overflowing with an assortment of soft, bright-colored boxes that contained a variety of fun objects to explore; in addition, several textured letters were scattered about to reinforce consonant sounds. Scarves filled our Texture Tub and the children loved sitting in the middle of all of them and playing peek-a-boo with each other --- some even buried themselves under the scarves:) During experiential art time, the children dipped a textured sponge roller in bright green paint and rolled it back and forth on their paper. They added dots and swirls of sunny, yellow paint using a sturdy bristle scrubby brush, and finished their creation with taps of purple from a feather duster brush --- terrific! We all had fun celebrating Johann's 2nd birthday --- the children enjoyed wearing their party hats and eating the yummy little cupcakes and Cheetos that Johann's mom had sent --- Happy Birthday, Johann! On Friday, we honored all of our wonderful moms with 'Muffins for Mom' in the gym. Everyone had a nice time visiting with other moms and sharing a muffin or doughnut with their child. We gave each mom a special flower that had a picture of their child with sunglasses (on or off as the case might have been) on it --- we truly have a beautiful garden of children in our class:)
Apr. 28-May 2 --- The children have enjoyed each other and a variety of activities this week, and they have all spent a little extra time with Amanda (our teacher-supported aide whose last day with us is today). Amanda has been a wonderful help and a special friend to all of the children --- we will miss her dearly! This week's Sensory Center contained water, fish, fishnets, boats, frogs, and textured letters. Everyone had fun 'catching' the fish and playing with the other toys; they also liked tracing the textured letters with their fingers. During our special experiential art time the children had fun using the paint rollers to spread white paint back and forth and up and down on their big, purple paper. They also liked using a pair of bristle brushes to dip into hot pink paint, swirling and tapping the paint here and there and everywhere! Last, they added bright, fluorescent yellow blobs and streaks high and low and back and forth on their picture --- really creative! The Texture Tub was filled to the brim with bright pink and yellow paper shreds that also contained some exciting push and pull popovers for the children to discover:) This week's yummy 'Little Chefs' snack was BBQ wienies --- the children cut their Vienna sausages into bite sizes, poured warm BBQ sauce onto their plates, and then stabbed and dipped Other exciting activities this week included stacking magnets, coloring on BIG yellow paper, squishing Play-doh, and making a glue and stick collage! Be sure to make plans to come for 'Muffins for Mom' this coming Friday!
Apr. 21-24 --- Our week has been short, but busy and full! The children liked playing in the Sensory Center which we filled with colorful leaves, aromatic pine cones, textured alphabet letters, and small translucent colored viewers --- it was fun watching them hold a little viewer in one hand and carefully examine a letter or leaf that they were holding with the other hand. Our P.T. was here with us on Wednesday and she worked with the children on a variety of gross motor activities in the gym --- everyone is really making some good progress! For a fun art activity, we used dot painters to tap and swirl bright colors all around the paper. Our special 'Little Chef' activity was a 'Fabulous Fun Fruit Salad' --- the children loved scooping peaches, pears, and Mandarin oranges from small serving bowls, squirting big swirls of whipped cream on top, and shaking some wonderful smelling cinnamon on top --- YUM, YUM!!! Other fun activities this week included pretend time with hats and sunglasses, exploring with flashlights, and telephone talk time. Our 'Signing Time' Language Focus was all about zoo animals this week --- the children were quite attentive to the various wild animals on the screen:)
Apr. 14-18 --- 'Week of the Young Child' --- We celebrated the 'Week of the Young Child' (established by the National Association for the Education of Young Children in 1971) throughout this week with a special time each day set aside for parents to participate with their child in parts of our daily program. We were delighted to see parents and children having so much fun together during music times, P.E. in the gym, experiential art time, 'Little Chef' time, and a language focus afternoon with our 'Signing Time' farm animals DVD. We were also privileged to have both the Dean (Dr. Sam Deitz) and Interim Dean (Dr. Mary Patton) from TCU's College of Education join us for some of our activities! Dr. Deitz joined us during adaptive P.E. time on Tuesday and Dr. Patton joined us Thursday for art --- she and one of the children created a fabulous painting:) Other fun learning times for our children this week included working with Play-doh, trying on hats and sunglasses in front of our big mirror, coloring on big blue paper with crayons, creating a sticker picture, and practicing threading/lacing skills. The 'Texture Tub' was filled with white, fluffy, cotton batting ('snow') and an assortment of squeaky animals for the children to find; while the 'Sensory Center' contained water in which we placed farm animals and zoo animals on alternating days with washcloths, scrub brushes, and sponges throughout the week --- so many exciting things for busy little hands and minds to explore!!!
Apr. 7-11 --- This week was filled with a lot of fun times with our friends:) The children are all taking turns spending more and more time playing in the Home Center (one of their very favorite places in our classroom) --- they like to set the table with plates and cups, bring baskets of food to the table, take cookies from the cookie jar, serve cakes from the oven, feed the babies, feed the pets (2 dogs, a cat, and a bunny), and water the flowers --- so much to do and so much fun!!! Our PT was here this week and she was so pleased with the wonderful gross motor progress the children are making! Our Sensory Center contained camouflage-colored paper shreds that had little zoo and farm animals hidden around in addition to green and yellow textured alphabet letter and an assortment of containers in which to put the animals. The Texture Tub was over-flowing with loopies (from the tops of soda pop 6-packs) and big, clear containers --- the children really had fun sitting among the big pile and putting them in & out of the containers. During this week's 'experiential art' the children used flat, little trim brushes to spread fluorescent yellow paint up, down, and around on their big, dark green paper, tapped bright orange paint on with scrubbies, and swirled hot pink here and there using a pair of stubby, bristles brushes --- very colorful! Our 'Little Chef' snack was oh, so yummy --- the children squirted whipped cream onto applesauce and then added a good shaking of cinnamon --- the delightful concoction was soon devoured!!! "happy Birthday, Madee!" --- 3 years old:) Next week is 'Week of the Young Child' --- hope you get a chance to join us for one or more of our special activities!
Mar. 31-April 4 --- Spring seems to be here with some nice weather, and of course, a little rain. We enjoyed many days outside on the playground --- all of our children have mastered going down the slide, and they just love it --- up, down, up, down! our experiential art time this week engaged the children first with their own reflection as they looked at themselves in the big mirror that was on our art table. It was fun to watch as they moved themselves really close, then back, and tapped at themselves:) After looking at themselves, they to use a sponge paint roller to dip into red or yellow paint and spread around the mirror. Next they took bristle brushes, dipped them into bright green paint and swirled them back and forth. The last color they used was blue, which they tapped on with a silly sponge brush. When they finished painting, I took a sheet of yellow or orange 'marbled' paper and laid it on top of the wet paint. They helped me pat and smooth it and then slowly 'pull the print' --- I love watching their eyes as they look at their creation --- wow, what fun prints!!! The children also enjoyed coloring with crayons and our new 'capless' markers this week on big violet-colored paper. The Sensory Center was a lot of fun, too! It was filled with water and a variety of squirters, strainers, and sprinklers to explore. Our Texture tub was out on Monday and filled with brightly colored scarves to play 'peek-a-boo' and 'hide-and-seek' and some boxes to stuff them in --- everyone had fun with all of the scarves:) The 'Little Chefs' orange crunch was a big hit this week --- the children scooped Mandarin oranges into their bowl, added some additional scoops of Rice Krispies, squirted on some whipped crem, and topped it with cinnamon --- a definite delight!!! We want to wish Reagan a 'Happy Birthday' --- she turned 2 years old this week!
Mar. 24-28 --- We began our week playing in the Texture Tub --- it was filled with Easter grass, mirrors, and our silly 'Wiggly Gigglers' --- the children loved putting the Easter grass on their heads and looking in the mirror:) They also really liked shaking the Wiggly Gigglers and listening to the silly sounds! The Sensory Center was filled with loopies (plastic rings from soda 6-packs), tubes (plastic & cardboard), and an assortment of objects to place in some big, clear jars, and on/around the tubes --- so much to explore! With such pretty weather, we enjoyed a lot of outside time on our playground --- the slide, tire swings, and playhouse are always big favorites:) For our 'Little Chefs' time, we made a colorful Jello fruit salad. The children worked hard to scoop their own orange and red Jello and assorted fruit. They particularly enjoyed squirting whipped cream on top! During our experiential art time, the children used a large 3" brush to swish orange paint back and forth; next, they applied bright, white paint with a textured foam roller brush; last they added touches of sunny, yellow paint using a feather duster brush --- all of these colors showed up so well on the big blue paper --- very nice little masterpieces! Other art creations this week included a special time creating colorful symmetrical butterflies on white sparkle paper with dribble paint while working with Miss Saori during small group OT. We also use spring-loaded scissors to snip through narrow paper strips, colored with special markers on bright yellow paper, drew with crayons on BIG paper that covered a table, and enjoyed a day with Play-doh:) One of our little friends, Madee, got her first pair of brand new glasses --- they are so pretty on her! We all took turns putting sunglasses and hats on in front of our big mirror as we celebrated with Madee!
Mar. 17-21 --- All the children were very happy to see each other after spring break, and we were all very glad to see our little ones! Our Sensory Center has been filled with bright, pink Easter grass this week and many colorful Easter eggs that contained little surprises when opened:) During our special experiential art time, the children had fun painting on big white egg shapes that had a bright zigzag line across the center --- they first used bristle brushes in yellow paint to swirl here and there; then they tapped scrubbie brushes in purple paint and tapped or swished them everywhere; last they used a long-handled, rubber basting brush to apply hot pink paint accents around the egg --- such great little artists! Another fun activity this week was dyeing Easter eggs --- the children were very interested in touching and holding the hard-boiled eggs, and they were very careful as they helped place their white eggs into the brightly colored dyes. Their eyes widened as they saw the white egg change colors and come back out of the dye:) That afternoon we also decided to eat some hard-boiled eggs for our snack --- many of the children ate them right away, while others requested ketchup to give their eggs a special flavor! Grandparents' Day was the highlight of our week! It is always such a joy to see all of the children and their grandparents having such a great time hunting Easter eggs, and the weather was so pretty!!! After the hunt, each child got to decorate an egg-shaped cookie to eat or to take home. Special treats accompanied all the children, too, as Miss Lynn (Nick's job coach) gave a little bunny and some candy to everyone and William's mom made some nice party favors for us!
Mar. 3-7 --- The weather has really made this quite an interesting week! Thank you for helping keep our little ones and our staff safe by picking up early on Thursday so that everyone could get home before the ice and snow got any worse! One of the children's favorite activities this week was playing in the bright, yellow Easter grass in our 'texture tub' --- they loved rubbing the grass in their hands, putting it on their heads, and stuffing it into clear containers. They also liked finding the little plastic bunnies that were hiding in the grass:) For our 'Little Chefs' snack activity, the children enjoyed scooping orange and red Jello into their dishes and then squirting whipped cream on top --- yum, yum, yum!!! Water was in the Sensory Center this week and we added floating sound toys. The children had fun tapping on the little drums and xylophones, and also liked making the dolphins sing. Bunnies and bunny ears were in the Home Center and other places in the classroom for Easter fun:) Some of our fine motor activities included putting Easter stickers on bright, pink paper egg shapes, using good pincer grasps to put yarn pompoms into small places, pushing together snap beads, and working with Play-doh. Miss Saori came in our room on Friday for small group O.T. and the children used dot painters to tap a variety of colors onto an Easter egg design. Our 'Signing Time' DVD for this week was about farm animals --- the children really love the farm song and seeing the farm animals:)
Feb. 25-29 --- The month of February has really flown by! We have really enjoyed the sunny days that have been with us this week --- the children really like going up and down the play structure outside and sitting on the little tire swings:) They also have fun driving the little cars and playing in the playhouse. Our Sensory Center contained pink Easter grass this week and an assortment of eggs and bunnies. The children had a lot of fun opening the eggs and discovering the surprises that were inside! In our Home Center we added a 'kitty cat' to our pets (we have 'two puppy dogs') --- it was cute watching the children play with their new 'pet' and make meow sounds in addition to woof-woof sounds:) Miss Amy, our P.T. was here on Wednesday, and she was quite pleased to see how well the children are doing with their gross motor skills --- we have improved in so many different areas: walking, standing, running, jumping, going up and down the practice stairs, and walking on the balance beam --- each child has made progress towards their individual goals:) During our special music times with Miss Meg, the children have done a lot of different things using the small drums --- in addition to patting them with their hands, they are learning to rub them, to tap them with their fingers, to 'scratch' them, and to turn them onto their side to play them. Our experiential art time on Thursday was so much fun --- the children used the sponge rollers, bristle brushes, and silly foam tappers to make a fabulous creation on bright, lime green paper! We are pleased to welcome another new friend to our class --- her name is Ashley! We now have a perfect dozen: 6 boys and 6 girls:)
Feb. 19-22 --- Though this was a short week, we had many fun activities with all of our little friends! One of our favorite activities was playing in our Sensory Tub with all our bright-colored scarves --- the children loved hiding under the scarves and tossing them into the air! They also really enjoyed it when the Sensory Tub was turned in a circle while they were sitting in it --- such a fun ride!!! For our 'Little Chefs' snack time we had a 'fun fish' experience --- first the children squirted a little pond of Cheez Whiz on their plates, then they scooped out some goldfish crackers and stuck them into their cheese (tails up); they practiced using their pincer grasp to put the fish into the cheese pond and to remove them when it was time to eat them --- so much messy fun! In the gym we have been practicing walking up and down stairs, walking on the balance beam, and jumping on the trampoline; we have also had a great time both on and under the giant parachute! This week's Sensory Center was filled with water --- the children worked very hard to wash the baby dolls with little sponges and washcloths --- we practiced naming body parts and also had fun with bubbles in the water:) Other sensory activities included bare feet on the 'texture walk,' moving through the clear tunnel, and using soft, little cloths to 'rub and smell' some tangerine lotion onto our table. The children also had fun using shape sorters, puzzles, nesting cups, and snap beads:) A new friend joined our class on Tuesday --- her name is Reagan, and we are so happy to have her with us!
Feb. 11-15 --- Valentine's Day was the high-light of our week! What a fun, wonderful party we had --- thank you to everyone who sent something that helped make this so special! The children enjoyed decorating their cookies, eating the yummy snacks, and visiting with family and friends. They also liked 'mailing' their Valentine cards in each of the adorable Valentine boxes that they had --- pointing to their friend's picture and then putting the card in the box:) Some of our special activities this week included using little Valentine stampers to press down and lift up all over their white heart paper. Another fun activity was playing in our big Texture Tub filled with snow and squeaky animals --- the children loved feeling the air that came out of the animals when they were squeaked and tossing the 'snow' up into the air and putting it onto each other's heads! Our 'Little Chefs' time was delightful with peaches and cream (whipped cream) --- so much fun to scoop and then help hold the big can to make it squirt!!! On Friday we played with Play-doh --- everyone is doing so well learning how to pat, poke, pull, and squish the dough --- not nearly so much 'tasting' anymore:) The children also enjoyed using the little rolling pins, clay hammers, and shape makers with the Play-doh. This week for our 'experiential art' time, the children made swirls of yellow and red paint using bristle brushes and then used sponge 'people' shapes to press blue, purple, and green people all around their picture --- quite colorful fun! We also used crayons to color a very large group picture on pink paper which we hung up in the classroom for a 'Happy Valentine's Day' sign:)
Feb. 4-8 --- We have continued to enjoy Valentine experiences this week --- our Sensory Center contained a lot of soft pink and red petals, pink cotton balls, scented heart pillows, plastic hearts that open & close, mail buckets, red textured letters, and a Valentine snow globe! The children really had fun exploring the various objects:) For our 'Little Chefs' time, Miss Lynn (Nick's job coach) brought us some heart-shaped cookies that we decorated --- yummy! Another favorite snack was our combination Mandarin oranges and pears with cinnamon ('scent sense') --- many second helpings:) Using big and little heart-shaped doilies, pink and purple tissue paper, little heart papers, and cotton balls, the children had a great time gluing, sticking, and creating a Valentine collage --- we're really tolerating sticky fingers well!!! The children also liked practicing dropping Valentine cards into the slots on the mail buckets. This week we put all of our scarves into the Texture Tub and the children had a great time sitting in the middle of them --- they tossed them up into the air, stuffed them into boxes, and played peek-a-boo with their friends:) During our experiential art time, we made painting on big turquoise paper. First, we used the sponge paint rollers to spread orange paint around the paper. Next, they added yellow paint using two short bristle brushes, and last they tapped on bright magenta paint with a 'flower' brush. The artwork had a really nice warm feel to it:) Some of our special selected skill practices included stacking small cube blocks and working puzzles --- the children are doing quite well with these activities.
Jan. 28-Feb.1 --- We have been enjoying a variety of experiences relating to hearts and Valentines as we get ready for Valentine's Day. In the Sensory Center, the children had a lot of fun playing with mounds of red and pink crinkly paper shreds. They stuffed them into Valentine cups and boxes and searched through them to find an assortment of little plastic hearts and other objects. We colored on big, pink paper with crayons and painted on large, white hearts that were glued onto bright, red paper. The children first dipped their brushes into red paint --- it was interesting watching them decide where to put the paint, as they quickly discovered that it showed up much better on the white area, than on the red area! After using the red paint, they dipped a heart-shaped sponge into purple paint and stamped it all around their painting. Last, they used a feather duster brush to add little wisps of black paint here and there --- really looked like pretty Valentines! The Texture Tub was filled with plastic rings of varying sizes which the children enjoyed tossing up into the air, putting onto their heads, and dropping them into clear containers --- sitting in the Texture Tub is always so much fun!!! For our 'Little Chefs' snack time, we made cream cheese sandwiches using 'pink' cream cheese and saltine crackers. The children spread the cream cheese onto a cracker and then added another cracker on top. After eating our special sandwiches, we practiced good manners by using our cloth napkins to wipe off our mouths:) In the Home Center this week and during one of our afternoon selected skill practice times, the children had fun putting mittens on and off --- good practice for our recent weather!
Jan. 21-25 --- This week started with a lot of fun in the 'texture tub' --- the children had a great time sitting among piles of pink & red crinkly paper shreds with an assortment of plastic hearts and clear containers to fill and dump. Our Sensory Center contained water with fish and fishnets --- though the children got a little wet, they had such a good time catching fish here and there:) During our experiential art time, we painted on large white paper first with a pair of bristle brushes dipped into bright, green paint. Next, we added patches of purple paint using scrubby tappers. The finishing touches were placed all around with a long-handled, rubber basting brush dipped into magenta paint --- the paintings almost looked like winter gardens! Special activities this week included walking on our texture walk in bare feet, playing on our floor mirror, making a sticker picture of hearts, and enjoying the scent of tangerines during our 'rub and smell' activity. The children also practiced working with snap beads and snipping with spring-loaded scissors. Friday was 'Western Day' and we had quite the cute little cowboys and cowgirls --- bandanas, boots, hats, jeans, and western shirts! For our 'Little Chefs' snack that day, we enjoyed a cowboy round-up of BBQ wienies (Vienna sausages). The children practiced using little spreader knives to cut their wienies, then smelled the wonderful aroma of warm BBQ sauce as they poured it on the wienies; crackers were served on the side and the 'meal' was oh, so yummy!!!
Jan. 14-18 --- Though the weather outside got chilly, the children enjoyed a lot of 'warm' inside fun this week:) Everyone liked our 'Mitten Magic' game as they put on and took off an assortment of brightly colored mittens. We played in our own tub of 'snow' and hunted for little, squeaky animals. At the Sensory Center, the children explored a variety of shiny gift-wrap pieces, long ribbons, bells, hearts, and boxes. With the Stock Show in town, we played with our big farm animals and matched them to pictures on our giant farm animal sound book --- the children really liked hearing the realistic animal sounds and moving to 'Old MacDonald Had A Farm':) Other activities included working with our lacing trees, fitting shapes into various shape sorters, playing with animal flashlights, and coloring with crayons on a group-size sheet of pink paper. A lot of wonderful TCU student volunteers joined our class on various days throughout the week, and on Friday we had almost one-on-one to assist during our 'Signing Time' DVD! During our experiential art time this week, the children had a great time rolling sponge rollers in yellow paint on their big purple paper and then using bristle brushes to swirl and tap white paint everywhere. They finished their pictures with bright pink silly spongy brushes --- so much fun! For our 'Little Chefs' time this week, the children created a fun fruit salad by scooping peaches, pears, and Mandarin oranges into their dish, and then squirted on whipped cream and topped with a shake or two of cinnamon:). We also brought out our little Valentine mail buckets and practiced 'mailing' cards as we begin to get ready for Valentine's Day.
Jan. 8-11 --- What a wonderful first week of the new year! Everyone has been so happy to see each other --- we have enjoyed watching the children greet each other with nice pats and hugs:) Two new friends have joined our class, Emme and Cannon, and we are really delighted to have them with us! Our Home Center is now filled with winter items such as mittens, scarves, and hats and the children have had fun putting them on and then looking at themselves in the mirror. This week's Sensory Center contained 'snow' (cotton batting balls), sparkly beads, translucent colored view paddles, party shakers/blowers, and a variety of containers --- enough to keep our little ones quite busy! The children enjoyed coloring with markers and also with crayons this week, and during our experiential art time they were quite eager to use the paint rollers, bristle brushes, and feather painter to create their first masterpieces of the year! We also spent time squishing, pulling, rolling, and poking Play-doh:) In the gym, the children jumped on the trampoline and had a lot of fun with the BIG parachute --- they sat on it while we moved it 'round and 'round and sang 'Wheels On The Bus' and then loved sitting under it while we moved it up and down making the 'wind' blow! The weather has been nice, so we have also enjoyed being outside and playing on our 'just-my-size' play equipment:) On Friday, we celebrated Brooke's 3rd birthday with some very cute Elmo cupcakes --- Happy Birthday, Brooke!
FALL SEMESTER 2007:
Dec. 10-14 --- Though everyone seems to be counting the days until 'winter break,' the children continue to be hard at work in our classroom! They loved playing in the Texture Tub with green, gold, and red shiny, holiday streamers, and also had fun at the Sensory Center with bows, scented pine cones, and assorted holiday containers. We have spent a lot of time this week working on our songs for the Christmas Program --- and the children are so cute!!! We are really looking forward to performing on Tuesday night:) In our Home Center, the children have had fun wearing reindeer antlers and Santa hats --- and taking them on and off of themselves and of each other! During our experiential art time, the children painted pictures on big, white paper using rollers dipped into red paint. They added swirls of blue paint with bristle brushes, which created areas of purple:) They finished their artwork with splashes of yellow paint applied with silly, sponge tapper brushes. We also finished our special little 3-D pine cone Christmas trees. This has been a fun, 3-part project for the children as they used silver paint one day to paint the tips of their 'tree,' then glued cotton on a small paper plate on another day for 'snow,' and finally finishing their 'tree' by drizzling glue all over the pine cone and adding bits of colored tissue paper and pieces of white paper doilies. These are really cute little 'trees'! For 'Little Chefs' time this week, we created 'Fun Fruit Salad' --- the children scooped Mandarin oranges, pears, and peaches into their bowls, topped them with whipped cream, and shook a little cinnamon all over --- absolutely delicious! On Thursday, we celebrated Parker's 2nd birthday --- 'Happy Birthday, Parker!'
Dec. 3-7 --- This has been quite a busy week for us, in addition to the weather changes! Please be sure that your child always has a coat or jacket this time of year because though the weather man predicts warm weather, we get ready to go outside and discover that it's cold --- thanks! The children enjoyed using the flashlights this week --- they like to see the lights go on and off and also hear the animal sounds that the flashlights will make. Other fun 'science' activities included playing with a variety of magnets, exploring a 'gear' toy, and manipulating the various sensory tubes. We finished decorating our Christmas tree and it is quite a spectacular sight. The children continue to enjoy taking 'ornaments' off and putting them back onto the tree:) During art time, we used the fun colored ink stampers to tap-tap-tap all over a big white piece of paper that was shaped like a giant ornament! Our 'Little Chefs' recipe for snack this week was 'pumpkin sandwiches' --- the children are really getting very good at using spreaders! They spread pumpkin all over a graham cracker, squirted on whipped cream, and then shook on some wonderful smelling nutmeg --- absolutely delicious!!! We also celebrated another birthday this week --- Happy 3rd Birthday to Charlie! The 'Birthday Song' is really one of our very favorite songs, and many of the children are now singing along --- and then clapping at the end:)
Nov. 26-30 --- The children all seemed to have had enjoyed their Thanksgiving break, and we did, too! We also enjoyed seeing all our little ones again, and they were happy to see each other --- it's so fun to watch how they interact with their friends --- they are so sweet:) We were busy this week getting into the 'Christmas Spirit' --- we have started learning Christmas songs and finger plays during music and we set up our class Christmas tree. The children have had fun making a variety of ornaments and have added them to the tree themselves --- it is really looking quite holiday-ish! During our 'experiential art time' the children painted on big green tree shapes using silver sparkle paint. They also added colorful 'decorations' with bright yellow, red, and blue paint --- these paintings make our room look special! The children had more fun as they used red and green markers to draw on large, white candy cane shapes. For our 'Little Chefs' time this week we prepared 'cinnamon bread with spread' --- the children used little spreading knives to spread cream cheese onto warm cinnamon bread (wonderful smell and interesting taste combination!). In the Home Center the children liked playing with the fuzzy, red Santa hats --- they especially liked trying them on in front of the mirror:) On Friday, we put 'snow' in our texture tub and everyone had a great time putting it on their head and tossing it into the air as they sat in the middle of it! Our Sensory Center had its own lovely smell from some scented pine cones. Other objects of interest in the Sensory Center included some holiday ornaments, Santa Clauses, and bright-colored bows --- so much to explore! We celebrated two birthdays this week --- Happy 2nd Birthday to John Michael, and Happy 2nd Birthday to William! We really love to sing the 'Birthday Song' in our class:)
Nov. 12-16 --- It's hard to believe that it's already time for Thanksgiving! We traced the children's hands for 'traditional' Thanksgiving turkeys and then they used a glue stick and added bits of colored paper for feathers. They also had fun adding Thanksgiving stickers to their picture which provided a cute background. We laminated the cute, finished pictures for the families:) Water was in the Sensory Center this week and various funnels, squirters, sponges, and 'funny' fish were added with which to experiment. Lacing boards/toys were some of our special fine motor activities this week --- the children practiced putting the lacing thread into a hole and then looking on the other side to grab it and pull it through. They really focused very well on this activity! We also used Play-doh again (without 'tools') to encourage the children to use their hands to pat, push, poke, and roll the dough. During our experiential art time, the children used paint rollers and bristle brushes with yellow, white, and bright pink paint to create quite a colorful painting! On Friday, the children enjoyed a special Thanksgiving lunch together. Thanks to all the parents, our tasty meal included peanut butter and jelly triangle sandwiches, banana halves, giant curly Cheetos, Funyons, and apple juice. For dessert, they gobbled up some fabulous pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Because this was a 'special' meal, we introduced cloth napkins (provided by William's mom) --- the children were so cute as they wiped their own mouths/faces!!! Cloth napkins were such a big hit, that we will be including them with our regular 'Little Chefs' experiences:)
Nov. 5-9 --- The children have really had a great week --- they have worked hard and played hard in the classroom, in the gym, and outside! Thank you parents for checking to be sure your child's jacket, sweater, coat, etc. have a name printed clearly inside them. Our teacher-supported aides and transition students really want to do a good job putting the coats, etc. back into the cubbies for us, so the names are most helpful. One of our goals that works well at this time of year is helping the children learn to be as independent as possible with their jackets, etc. --- we work with them on learning to pull one sleeve off, and then later, both sleeves off --- we also add zipper skills when a child is ready. Front-opening jackets, coats, etc. work best for this. Each morning when you arrive, you can reinforce this skill with your child at their cubby --- it is always amazing how fast they learn! During our experiential art time this week, the children had fun using autumn colors to create their own 'abstract' tree. First they used little sponge rollers to spread brown paint up & down and side-to-side, then they tapped on orange, red, and yellow using different shaped sponge stamps. They finished by adding a touch of green with a feather brush --- really looks like fall has arrived! The Sensory Center contained an assortment of soft fabric loops, small plastic rings, scoops, containers, and a small wooden post toy, in addition to textured letters and weighted numbers. The children really enjoyed putting things into and onto the different objects. Our special 'Little Chefs' snack was BBQ wienies. The children used little spreader knives to cut their Vienna sausages, then poured warm BBQ sauce onto their plate, and last used their fork to stab the wienies and dip them into the yummy sauce --- delicious!!!
Oct. 29-Nov. 2 --- Everyone thoroughly enjoyed our special Halloween activities. The 'Fall Festival' was a lot of fun on Tuesday evening --- games and yummy treats! On Wednesday, the children were all absolutely precious in their costumes, and we had so much fun parading around inside the building so that everyone could see us:) The snacks for our morning party were so much fun --- thank you to everyone who sent some of the treats and the party favors --- they were just perfect! Our 'trick-or-treat' time across the street was also a lot of fun --- the children wore their costumes and collected tons of goodies from the TCU Staff Assembly members (who were all dressed-up in clever costumes). Our Sensory Center contained an assortment of Halloween objects for the children to explore, including little ghosts, goblins, pumpkins, bats, monsters, and skeleton 'bones':) During experiential art time, the children painted on black paper that had little white 'ghosts' glued onto it. They enjoyed using rollers dipped into bright yellow paint, a pair of bristle brushes with orange paint, and flapper brushes with green paint. Other fine motor activities included using Halloween stampers to tap black and orange figures onto a white ghost shape, and squishing black and orange Play-doh with their fingers. We also played [peek-a-] 'Boo' with Halloween masks and tried on big 'witch' hats just to see ourselves in the mirror. During Friday's 'Little Chefs' activity, the children created 'Special Sandwiches' --- they used spreaders to put strawberry cream cheese onto a saltine cracker and then placed another cracker on top --- these were so tasty that many children requested to make more! Our 'Signing Time' DVD was about farm animals this week --- looking at all the different animals is always something that all of our little ones enjoy!
Oct. 15-19 --- Halloween came to us this week in the form of a special 'just-made-for-us' carnival in our gym on Friday morning! Some of our wonderful TCU volunteers from the Delta Delta Delta sorority and the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity dressed up in fun costumes and created all kinds of 'games' for us to play. As we left, they gave each child a cute little cloth 'Trick-or-Treat' bag filled with some goodies:) The children have been enjoying our Halloween masks, pumpkin basket, and Halloween books in our classroom. For our special experiential art time this week, each child painted their own pumpkin using green and black paint with bristle brushes and sponges. The next day they added bits of colored paper for a 'pumpkin collage' spectacular! A special 'thank you' goes to William's mom who brought us all the great pumpkins! Everyone also had fun making Halloween sticker pictures on orange paper pumpkins and then they made Jack-o-Lantern faces on orange paper plates with Saori during OT group time --- fine motor skills are really improving! Our 'Little Chefs' activity was creating 'Wonderful Waffles' --- after scooping out blueberry waffle bites, the children added banana bites and powdered sugar for a wild, wonderful treat! After our special snack, the children enjoyed watching the 'wild' animals in the Signing Time zoo DVD --- it was quite exciting!
Oct. 8-12 --- Everyone came back from Fall Break energized and ready to go --- and some wonderful fall weather came, also! We have really enjoyed playing outside on the tire swings and curving slide and in the little playhouse. The children also like turning the big wheel that makes a 'rain' sound on the play structure and looking out the fun 'bubble' window. Driving the fire truck and little car is also fun:) Inside, the children liked exploring the 'autumn leaves' in the Sensory Center and discovering the hidden Halloween items. It was also fun to put the various items into assorted pumpkins and other containers. Fine motor activities included snipping with scissors, drawing with markers, coloring with crayons, and placing yarn pom pom balls into small places. We also used our special telephone talk tubes that magnify a voice --- this was quite exciting for many of our little ones:) During our experiential art time, we used bristle brushes to paint onto our super dough 'sculptures' --- the 'sculptures' were glued onto some large paper plates so that the children could paint on either or both surfaces. It was quite interesting to observe where they would start painting and what they would do with the 'sculpture' in the middle. The children liked dipping into the various colors, and their creations are very interesting! We concluded our busy week with a spectacular 'Little Chefs' time. The children constructed their personal versions of banana pudding --- first they scooped their own pudding into their bowls, then they scooped in banana slices, next they added vanilla wafers, and finally they topped it with whipped cream --- WOW and wonderful!!! We also began our Early Literacy Backpack project this week --- this is always a fun activity for families:) New backpacks will be sent home once a week, on Wednesdays.
Oct. 1-3 --- short week and Fall Break
Sept. 24-28 ---This week was 'PUSH' week at TCU --- each fall the sororities & fraternities on campus organize this special week which includes a focus on volunteerism. Many of the sorority and fraternity members take time to come to KinderFrogs and volunteer, and we are always thrilled to have them. During some of the days, we actually had more than one-on-one with our children in the classroom! The volunteers were wonderful with our little ones, and of course, each child loved the extra attention. We are hoping that some of the volunteers from PUSH week will decide to come join us for fun on a regular basis:) Another BIG event for this week was 'Picture Day --- this is definitely a 'one-of-a-kind' day --- it is always so exciting for us to see the children dressed up and to watch them share their 'award-winning' smiles! Our PT, Amy, was here this week and worked with us on gross motor skills --- she was quite pleased with everyone's progress. Our Sensory Center this week contained fluffy cotton stuffing and a variety of containers, textured alphabet letters, farm animals, and some colorful plastic rings --- the children really had fun stuffing the cotton into the different pails and containers! During our experiential art time we made symmetrical paintings. First the children painted on the bottom half of their papers with rollers, bristle brushes, and silly foam brushes; then they folded the top half over the bottom and pressed it down. When we lifted it back up there were many 'ooo's and 'ahhh's as they saw that the paint was now on both sides of the paper:) For our special 'Little Chefs' time this week we made 'Pumpkin Sandwiches' --- these open-face sandwiches were eagerly devoured by the children! They also had a good time creating them: first, they used little spreaders to spread pumpkin on top of graham crackers; next, they felt a cold can of whipped cream and squirted it on top of the pumpkin; last, they smelled nutmeg and then shook it onto the very top!
Sept. 17-21 --- Our 'TouchPoints' inservice training for KinderFrogs staff on Mon., Sept. 17th was outstanding --- thank you families for your support! The children had fun on Tuesday exploring the bubble wrap we left taped to the table from last week in many new ways --- they pushed and poked and pounded and listened to delightful popping sounds! They also liked using the little rubbing cloths again to rub some wonderful smelling lotion all around on top of a table --- we of course practiced finding noses and identifying them as the part of the body that we use to smell with:) At the Sensory Center the children worked on identifying body parts on baby dolls and on themselves as they used little washcloths and sponges to 'clean' the babies; they also practiced the sign for wet/water. During our experiential art time, we were privileged to have Professor Amanda Allison and two of her art education students observe our little ones in action with paint and brushes --- the two students were so enthusiastic that they each took a turn assisting with our painting experience. The children enjoyed using paint rollers, bristle brushes, and a long-handled feather brush to create a colorful 'masterpiece' on large, pink paper. Fine motor activities included clipping clothespins onto box sides, using shape sorters, group drawing on big, blue paper, and creating a collage using a glue stick and an assortment of papers and cotton balls. For our special 'Little Chefs' time, the children had fun creating 'Cream Cheese Sandwiches' --- they selected a saltine cracker from the serving tray and then used a small spreading knife to spread the tasty, strawberry cream cheese onto their cracker. Last, they took an additional cracker and placed it on top to make quite a yummy sandwich! This week's Signing Time dvd was about farm animals --- the children were really glued to the TV Friday afternoon as we watched the real farm animals, the cartoon farm animals, and the costumed farm animals, and practiced making the signs for the animals. *A special congratulations goes to Jackson whose artwork has been selected by the Texas Art Education Association to be on display this coming weekend at the Texas Association of School Board and School Administrator conference at the Dallas Convention Center --- there will be art from grades PreK-grade 12 representing 50 school districts from around the state!
Sept. 10-14 --- This week's weather was absolutely perfect for our toddlers! They really enjoyed playing outside on the little tire swings, going up and down the slide, riding in the little car & fire truck, and opening & closing the shutters of the little playhouse. We took hats and sunglasses out one day and they really had fun putting them on --- looked like we had quite a group of 'movie stars' with us:) Our Sensory Center reflected the cooler, autumn-like weather with an assortment of fall leaves and bright colored feathers which the children enjoyed collecting in small pails, dropping into big, clear containers, and sliding through long tubes. Experiential art time was exciting as the children first had fun rubbing their hands back and forth onto large bubble wrap that was taped to the table. After that, they took sponge rollers, dipped them into orange paint, and spread all around on the bubble wrap. They added bright yellow and brown paint with a variety of other brushes. When they finished applying the paint to the bubble wrap, they took green sparkle paper (with some assistance), laid it on top of the painted area, and patted it down. Together, we 'pulled' a monoprint of their art adventure. It was thrilling to see the surprise in their eyes as they first looked at where the paint had transferred to the green paper and then back to the bubble wrap! Other art activities this week included coloring on big pink paper with crayons and exploring 'Super Dough' (a type of play dough). Some of the children spent quite a long time using their hands to poke, pinch, and pull on the dough and also to hammer it, roll it out, and press shapes into it. We have saved these as our first 'sculptures' and will paint them in the future:) 'Yogurt Delight' was our 'Little Chefs' experience this week. The children practiced scooping their own pink yogurt onto their dish, then helped squirt whipped cream on top, and added a few shakes of sprinkles to finish off their yummy treat --- this was definitely a winner!
Sept. 3-7 --- Though this was just a 4-day week, we filled it with enough fun for 5 days!!! Our Sensory Center contained water for the first time this year, and, as can be imagined, it was a very big hit with all of the children:) They loved splashing in the water and using the little fishnets to 'catch' the fish that were bobbing up and down in the water. Additional sensory activities included 'Rub & Smell/Smell & Rub' in which the children used their noses to smell some tangerine lotion and then rub the lotion around on the table using soft, little cloths. They also liked looking at themselves and their friends on the big floor mirror and taking their shoes off to experience the assorted textures on the 'texture walk.' The big farm animal sound book was exciting for the children to use to match animal sounds to animal figures, and they also had fun playing with the animal flashlights and listening to those animal sounds. We practiced lacing beads and pushing together snap beads during some of our fine motor skill times. Our yummy 'Little Chefs' activity was 'Fruit Salad Fun' --- the children used big measuring spoons to practice scooping and serving themselves peaches, pears, and Mandarin oranges. Then they held onto the cold whipped cream can and squirted some on top of their fruit. They finished off their fun concoction with a sniff and a shake of cinnamon. Of course, everyone had to ask for more, please! We used big purple paper for our experiential art activity this week. First, the children dipped their rollers into bright, white paint and moved them up and down and side-to-side. Next, they used a pair of bristle brushes to swirl aqua blue paint all around the picture. Last, they added touches of hot pink/magenta paint using some fabric foam dabbers --- true masterpieces, and proud little artists:) Other fun art activities for the week included coloring on big, yellow paper with square, chunky crayons --- the children really enjoyed sitting next to each other and watching how their friends moved the crayons up and down, round and round, or side-to-side and then everyone practiced putting the crayons back in the container (and not on the floor). What a great group of children we have!!!
Aug. 27-31 --- Lots of fun, lots of smiles --- that is what best describes this busy week for the Toddlers!!! The children had so much fun playing with (and in) the assorted, dried pasta at the Sensory Center --- they loved scooping and stirring them around listening to the noisy sounds they made as they crashed against the sides of the center or dropped into one of a variety of containers. They also practiced using their pincer grasps to pick up small pieces and drop them through little holes --- very focused! Other fine motor activities this week included coloring with markers and making sticker pictures. In addition, the children enjoyed their first experience with Play-Doh --- squeezing, pinching, and pulling were all part of the fun! A new, little playhouse has been added to our playground area, and it is just the right size for our little ones! They all really enjoyed going in and out the door, opening and closing the shutters, and ringing the doorbell --- they also like poking their heads through the windows to say, 'Hi' to their friends:) On Friday, during our early morning 'Time to Explore,' we set out our big, yellow Texture Tub filled with crunchy, crinkly Easter grass. The Texture Tub provides an opportunity for the children to explore various textures literally from 'head-to-toe' --- everyone was quite thrilled and truly seemed to enjoy themselves! During our experiential art time this week, the children got to use large, star-shaped sponges to print bright yellow stars onto their pictures. They also dipped small, flat 'trim' brushes into red paint, moved them back and forth, and then finished by adding splashes of blue paint with a 'feather' brush --- quite the little artists! One of the biggest hits this week was our 'Little Chefs' activity on Friday. The children were given soft, warm Vienna sausages which they cut into slices (with assistance). Next, they found their noses and smelled warm BBQ sauce before they poured it onto their plates. Finally, they got to use their forks to stab and eat their creations --- these were soooo yummy that almost everyone had second and third helpings!!!
Aug. 20-24 --- Our second week of school has been equally as fun as the first! John Michael joined our class, so we now have a full pond of 'little frogs' --- and they are just precious!!! Miss Rachael and Miss Julie, our music specialists held our first 'official' music times this week, and the children responded with great enthusiasm. They had so much fun learning new songs and finger plays and using several different instruments, including star tambourine shakers, jingle bells, rhythm sticks, egg shakers, and box shakers; they also really liked moving scarves to the music! At PE time, Miss Amanda and Miss Julia, TCU graduate students, began directing our adaptive PE program with guidance from Dr. Carol Pope, their professor. Our Sensory Center this week contained an assortment of bags, bottles, buckets, and a variety of boxes with hidden surprises (blocks, bells, etc.) for the children to explore. Other special sights and sounds included playing with our animal flashlights (watching the light come on and listening to the various animal sounds) and also discovering a new way of looking by crawling on our large floor mirror:) During our experiential art time, the children eagerly used sponge rollers, bristle brushes, and scrubby tappers to dip into bright-colored paint --- everyone creation was a true 'masterpiece' of expression:) The children worked on snap bead, push-togethers, lacing beads, and pegboards during our special selected skill time. Outside, in addition to enjoying our climbing structure and slide, the children had fun watching and playing with bubbles! On Friday, our afternoon snack was a 'Little Chefs' time --- with assistance, the children carefully spread icing onto graham crackers and created their own yummy cookie treat --- of course, this had to be repeated several times as our little ones practiced their signs for 'more' 'please' and 'thank you':)
Aug. 13-17 --- Welcome to a new school year in the Toddler Class at KinderFrogs! We certainly have a terrific group of 'little frogs' --- Charlie, Jack, Jackson, Jared, and Madee are back; Brooke, Elizabeth, Johann, Parker, and William joined our class this week; and John will join us next week:) The children seemed very glad to see each other and were anxious to explore the classroom, gym, and outdoor play area. All of our therapists (speech, OT, PT, oral motor) spent time with us this week doing initial evaluations/updates and getting acquainted/reacquainted with the children. Our music specialists and adaptive PE instructors start this Monday, Aug. 20th. Everyone really had fun at the Sensory Center this week --- they touched and squeezed the bright-colored sponge shapes, squeaked the little rubber animals, looked at themselves in the hand-held mirrors, wondered at the floating circles in the water bubble mats, and put things in and out of a big, clear container! During our experiential art time, the children had the opportunity to paint with small sponge rollers, bristle brushes, and silly spongy tappers --- they really liked seeing the colors appear on their paper! For 'Little Chefs' time this week, the children served themselves strawberry Jello as they practiced scooping skills, and then touched a very cold can as they added whipped cream on top --- oh, so yummy:) Fine motor skill practice opportunities included stacking small cube blocks, using stickers, and drawing on big paper with crayons. In addition to 'Super Sounds' with cymbals, musical activities included our 'Hello Everybody' song, bongo shakers, scarves, and the all-time favorite: 'Itsy, Bitsy Spider' --- what fun!!! We ended our fabulous, first week with our Language Focus 'Signing Time' which really held the children's attention --- many of the children were signing, or attempting to sign, right along with the DVD!
"The promise of discovery presumes the courage to explore."
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