Oh my sweet monkeys!

So what letter "M" week would be complete without a bit o' Mickey?!  Thanks to one of our families, and their recent trip to Disney, we obtained a Mickey mold.  Our magnificent muffins were a delight in the shape of Mickey Mouse and the children were excited to bite the ears off these tasty treats!! Later that morning we again snacked and snacked on these.  What a clever way to get my sweet monkeys to eat fresh blueberries....shhhhh, it's our secret ;)!!

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The concept of "M" is for monkey really made an impact with this craft. First we cut out letter "M's" with brown craft paper. We then matched its shape with a letter "M" , continued with placement of hands (or feet) a circle face and semi-circle ears, a black nose and of course...googly eyes!

The Power of Unity...

Some days present a few more challenges than others and we had a few of those moments this week :).  During those times we sing, and sing and sing, read lots of books, pass around the cranky cream (lotion can be very soothing to an upset babe) and engage in some sort of water play.  This can be washing our babies in the sink...washing Sheppie in the water table, playing with various sprinklers and funnels, washing our kitchen center dishes in the sink or water painting with a soapy canvas.  All of these calming strategies are helpful to disengage a preschooler's stress signals, soothe a tired toddler and redirect energy FROM conflict to peace.  However, even with all our Conscious Discipline skills there are moments when a behavior simply, "Is what it is..." and we look around and find that the only one we can make sure stays calm is oneself. Is this ok?  YES!  When the adult figure in a child's life is expressing peace, safety and love in the midst of a child's meltdown that child is still learning.  It may not be apparent at the time, but what is being taught is that "I accept and love you no matter how you feel at this moment in time."  "We will get through this together"... it IS the Power of Unity in action...

More fun with food!  It's funny how much better a child eats when their meal is "plated!!" Of course, who doesn't like a meal that looks a yummy as it is...  As you can see from the plates to the left we are having oranges, spinach, tomato, grilled cheese and cheese slices.  A serving of these is a bit more than what is on each plate, but I have been trying to get the children used to eating veggies and fruits that they may not normally eat (spinach).  So I will place small amounts of these items arranged on their plates and add more as they are more inclined to eat them.

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We completed our week with foot tracings, toe counting. We also sent home a monkey counting bananas game and these CUTE little monkey puppets. We had a wonderful time welcoming a new friend to our school and another will join us next week as well. All of our children went home singing our favorite little monkey song, "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!" We will begin next week with the letter "N" and Newts! This will be a fun little chapter as we learn all about a creature I believe will be an experience for everyone!! Have a wonderful weekend and I wish you well!