guess what we’ll be making today?

just like 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011..our straw flowers.

get some straws, some paper, scissors, a hole punch and make some!

the flowers are blooming!

happy may day!

if you’ve read our blog for the last while, you’ve seen this guy before.

cooper has grown older just like us.

i practiced calm and strength and carried him from his cage to circle time.

he really is a sweet snake.

clever and funny too!  when at circle time, he’d move quickly to our chalkboard and slither down the chalk track.

thank you for coming again, cooper!  and thank you, john david, for sharing. :)

i love this activity.  the surprise and the guessing and the freedom to explore further.

this time we had cinnamon, lemon oil, vanilla and dill.  after we passed them around at circle time, we left them out for friends to keep on smelling and guessing.

later in the week we added black pepper and vinegar.  mmmmmmmmm!

{imagine you are hearing me whisper this entire post into a tube pressed to your ear.}

after we decorated different sizes of cardboard tubes with mini strips of duct tape, talked about the delicateness of the human ear and needing to keep it safe from too-loud of sounds, the classroom got really quiet.

we listened to classroom sounds like our water ball and the clock ticking:

we listened to a friend whispering in our tube:

we listened to the radio that was only one number 2 out of 40 volume:

we listened to anything we could hear:

we used plastic easter eggs, strips of making tape and parts of paper bags to make mini versions of our big mama snake.

at the beginning of the year i mentioned that in the spring, mama snake (who hangs in our classroom all year) would have babies.  the preschoolers remembered!

yeah, mama snake!

mama snake had 44 babies that week…and all 44 were adopted and went to new homes.

we’ve done quite a bit of this lately…drawing and dictating.

this day we had some stickers as “starting points.”

we talked about what our cat or dog might need and headed to the “scribble tables.”

fellow teachers and parents and those who visit with children know how awkward the glance can be if a child is asked, “what is it?” and they don’t know.  so we say things like, “what do you want to pretend this is?” or “do you have ideas of what this is?” or “anything you want me to say about this blue circle shape?”

the other things that these draw and dictate times allow for is teacher/child bonding.  we have those one-on-one moments to visit and make eye contact while in close proximity of each other.

and note:  if these kids are ever in charge of a cat or dog, they have it covered!

tonight is kindergarten pre-enrollment (aka kindergarten round-up) for our local school district (7 pm at the elementary school that your child will attend in 2012-2013).

at preschool today, one friend brought these stones to show and tell and said, “they are for everybody since you are going to kindergarten!”  i have yet to find out if that was a family plan or one that evolved from our conversations about tonight’s events.  we sent the wishing stones around the circle until all had been held by the warm crayon-smudged hands of the preschoolers.  by the end, the stones were warm and there were lots of smiles.

the afternoon class has a couple of friends who will attend kindergarten in a neighboring town and they already had their kindergarten round-up.  they reported a good time with movies about a caterpillar, coloring and round-up being short.  there are a few friends in our afternoon classes who will be homeschooled and we figured out that every day is like kindergarten round-up since they will be at home!

and there are other friends who weren’t here today but will come to preschool later in the week.  their stones, warmed and breathed upon, will be waiting for them.

now we all have a tangible reminder of those who are moving on!

be brave, children and parents!  breathe through those growing pains.