This looks like GREAT fun for us and our children here in KC!  Click on the pix and it will take you directly to the groupon link for Wonderscope Children's Museum.  This Groupon will give you deep discounts to a fun and interactive time for your family!  See you there!!!  Use this link and help our little school raise funs with no cost to you! http://www.groupon.com//raf/UserReferral_rp/121015/10r1act/lk/uu48522504

During the week leading up to Valentine's Day we have been talking about how we love, who we love and who loves us.  This, of course, brings alot of discussion about grandparents.

These two books have been class favorites of MINE since I purchased them a couple years ago.  They are sweet stories about how Grandmother and Grandfather spend extra time with us and how that time is an expression of L.O.V.E.! 

Even at such young ages our little preschooler's understand this.  These two books are memorized at a very young age.  They have a great pattern and meter.  I would absolutely recommend adding them to your home library.  Your children would LOVE it!!!

This is such a precious quote...  It reminds us that even our sweet little ones have feelings, desires, demands, curiousities that should be listened to and explored.  To allow for the opportunity for ALL our little ones to participate in an activity, sometimes we have to think "outside of the box." 

Normally a chalkboard would be attached to a wall.  This really only allows for a couple of children at a time to utilize.  This is also a very difficult skill for a one year old to master when trying to hold a piece a chalk AND color. 

Think, think, think...we solved this issue by keeping our chalkboards and dry-erase boards "mobile."  They simply sit out and when the children want to color, we place them on the floor.  This allows for ALL our children, no matter their age or skill, to participate in chalk play.  Yes, they get it ALL over their clothes, but they don't seem to mind and neither do we!  After all...play IS learning! 

We used these most recently to draw our letter V and L, write our names, and practice shapes, colors, patterns and coloring inside and outside of an object.  Since it is Valentine's Day holiday time, we have been drawing LOTS of hearts, big hearts, little hearts, blue and green and red hearts! 

Just take a look at the sweet pictures of our little ones at play on the boards...

There is nothing I would rather teach children to imitate than love...  With love we are safe and able to fully express all of who we are and will become in the security of that love.  We can make mistakes.  We can be great.  We can fail.  We can grow.  We can give.  We can receive.  With love we can teach and be taught.  Love frees our hearts to be open and expressive because of it's forgiveness, because of it's strength.  Love can be hurt, but thank God it can also be healed...  We had a wonderful week of loving, giving, creating and expressing our love for others.  Happy Valentine's Day everyone...I hope you have loved...  -L

Why I do what I do...

This month (January rolling into February) has been FULL of challenges. We have had illness with just about everyone of our preschoolers, plus my own family (even as I write).  Family care is just that...FAMILY!  I love what I do because we do take care of, love, and learn from one another. 

Each day with these sweet babes brings me new lessons on faith, joy, hope, and of course PATIENCE :), but you know...mostly...about having the "eyes of a child."  This sweet picture just makes me smile.  These two girlies are the very best of friends.  They love to love and they love to fuss with one another, but they ALWAYS are the BEST of friends.  The eyes truly are "the window of the soul."  Never is that more apparent than in the eyes of a child.  Children, for the most part, are so easy to please.  They just want us...our love, our attention, our affection...  Sometimes, in the business of "trying to get it all done" that gets pushed to the backburner.    It's easy to let all the day's "responsibilities" muddle up the few precious moments of connection we have with our children each day. 

But, each day is new in it's own right.  Make today the day you see the world through your sweet babe's eyes.  Let today be the day they get US, fully, with intent and the purpose of showing them that we SEE them.  Read a book, sing a song, dance, play in the dirt...you will be glad you did :).

Now...on with the show!

As a preschool teacher and care provider I can not pass up an opportunity to celebrate a holiday.  Groundhog's Day is one (just one) of my favorites.  Its fun, silly, and hopefully produces some GRAND results for an early Spring! 

We dove right in and talked about shadows.  For these little ones to understand what that rascally rodent must do, they first need to grasp the basics...shadows...

This gave us an opportunity to gather the flashlights and stand in the dark, the light and to compare each other's shadows.  First, we had to process finding a shadow and the ingrediants needed to produce one...light, dark and an object to reflect. 

Of course, on the first sunny day we were all standing at the big picture window waving, jumping, noticing that my shadow is very tall and that Nora's shadow is very small.  We sang this little Groundhog Day song to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot.

I see a little groundhog furry and brown
He's popping up to look around.
If he sees his shadow, down he'll go.
Six more weeks of Winter - OH NO!!!

To this little tune we also made our groundhog puppets as seen in this picture.  They were fun to pop up and down and up and down.  We had to repair them several times since the younger children mostly loved ripping their little arms off :). 

Our puppets were Dixie cups inside of a brown bag, attached to a popsicle stick that was poked through the cup and the bag.  We explained that groundhog's live in burrows under the ground and the brown bag was just like his little hole in the ground.  We further discussed that when the groundhog popped his little head out of his hole he would look all around, but if he saw his shadow he would scurry back down into his burrow for another six weeks of cold winter. 

We talked about what we would do if he didn't see his shadow and we had an early Spring.  This led into a discussion about the clothes we wear in the cold and in the warm.  We also talked about the types of games and activities we like to do when it's warm or cold outside. 

We also (again more Dixie cup crafts) made these little puppets once we saw just how fragile our previous guys were.  These held up much better. 

With this lesson we discussed the body parts of a groundhog.  We learned that his teeth were much larger than our own and that he needed large teeth to help him when he was eating and building his home.  We also learned that groundhogs are cousins with the mouse.  Since they are mammals they have live babies and do not lay eggs.  They eat bugs and worms and use their very large teeth like an ax to chop logs.  We practiced putting our little groundhogs in the light to see if they would "cast a shadow."  Sure enough they did!!

We LOVE celebrating a birthday.  One of our sweet little ones was turning 2 so we HAD to make sure he knew we think he is EXTRA special!  We decorated the room, baked ice cream cone vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, set the places, stuffed the treat bags, placed Mickey Mouse all about, wrapped the gifts and WAITED!  Of course, this would be the day that he would sleep EXTRA long for nap so we waited...and waited...and waited...

Woohoo!!!  He finally woke up!!  Let the games begin! In preschool/todller land parties are over in a flash of sugar, giggles and squeals. 

Eat, unwrap, play...this pretty much sums up a party for ages 1-5.  They especially love the "play" part of the party.  We danced, we sang, we ate again.  We  blew up our punching balloons and wiggled and jiggled them.  We played our toy flutes and broke out the new chalk.

What a DELIGHT to be able to witness the PURE JOY of a toddler realizing that a party is JUST FOR HIM!  This was precious indeed.  I think I had just as much fun preparing the party and watching it unfold as the children did experiencing it.