count on my thursday class to see a need for tape.  the apple rolling box was shifting oh so slightly on the boards.  ”tape!!!!” was called out.  tape was used.  those boards don’t budge now.  : )

given the holidays and extra no school days, i decided to merge A week and B week.  so we have “apples and balls” week.  we’re comparing and contrasting the two, we’re tasting apples and bouncing balls.

we’re starting each day with journals set out on the table.  some preschoolers choose to do them right away, some wait until we call them over right before circle time.  my thought today was that children could color their favorite kind of apple.  i set out red, yellow and green crayons.  silly me, i forgot blue.  good thing i had three friends who claim blue apples as their favorite remind me.

“ball” stickers and predrawn balls to either follow the line or fill in.

we’re borrowing some big exercise balls for group activities intended to help learn each other’s names (tricky when most of the preschoolers are new to our school!).  ”i roll the ball to ethan!”  ”i roll the ball to abby!”

for show and tell during the next 2 weeks preschoolers can bring apples or balls.  then we sort them and add the results to an all school graph.  we do show and tell every day with no expectation that children bring something.

oh, the anticipation is growing…which will have the highest column?

p.s.  even though we don’t incorporate computer games or videos into our program, i use the computer to show interested kids our letter of the week on starfall.  it’s become a cozy part of the day when we turn the lights off and watch together.  some letters have interactive parts that i either demonstrate or skip. check it out.

“What’s done to children, they will do to society.” – Karl Menninger

i had in my lesson plans to do apple rolling in a small dishpan.

then i noticed our lego box and thought that would provide a nice long run for two kids to do together.

then i realized how heavy it was and wished it would rock like a teeter totter.

then mr rob made it rock like a teeter totter.

awesome.

thanks again to the inspiration of teacher tom and thanks to the energy and imagination of a preschool family, we have our own art roller! i sent one of teacher tom’s photos out to our families and here it is!  it’s also been called “paper drum” and “crayon spinner.”

but the preschool friend who helped her daddy build it thought we should call it the “art roller.”

i. can’t. wait. to. slather. paint. on. it.

thank you again, mr john and ronni. and thank you to all you families who offered to build it if i would have found the barrel!

what a crazy night it was.

“deer caught in headlights” is the expression that can be seen on a lot of faces.  i get it. it was crowded and hot and loud.

i struggle with wanting to gather my preschoolers in and close the rest of the world out but wanting their families with us too.  i opt for the latter.  many of these preschoolers aren’t ready to separate and that moment will come soon enough.

so we talk a little louder, fan ourselves with a stack of papers, make funny faces, act bored, try to figure out what we’re supposed to do next, and wait for the quiet of the school day to arrive.

thank you, families, for being there!