Dramatic Play
This area became a train station inspired by our desire to pretend to ride and drive trains. We had been running to the couch together and riding a "train" from one end of the room to the other. We really enjoyed seeing this idea come to life! We dressed up as engineers and worked on the train with tools, we passed out tickets and collected money, we packed many different things into our suitcases and enjoyed running around the room pulling them. We talked about different places we would go, pointing them out it the room and on the map, and different types of trains we would ride. We especially liked turning the light on and off.
Block Area
We still are loving the construction trucks, driving them all over. We built lots of vehicles, especially planes and helicopters with the foam blocks and enjoyed flying them around the classroom. Aria added the ribbons to make hers fly. Bo liked turning the arch blocks upside down to watch them rock, and Reza discovered they fit around his belly and were fun to bang on.
Nature Area
We continue to explore the shells, Alexander discovered that you can blow through them. The added Christmas tree branches have been fun to smell and talk about how they feel: Pokey!
Quiet Area
We love reading books! Especially when our friends are reading too. We also have enjoyed the babies, feeding them and trying to dress and undress the babies, it's hard work!
Art/Literacy
We wanted to decorate the classroom for Christmas, so we made Christmas trees and ornaments to hang up. We practiced gluing and tried to make the paper look like colored lights. We turned our handprints into reindeer and decorated ornaments for our Christmas trees at home! We also enjoyed collaborating on a large painting to hang up, exploring how the paint rollers work.
Cognitive Area
The new abacuses have been lots of fun to practice counting, naming all of the different items, and spinning! We have been using the puzzle pieces in lots of areas of the classroom, especially the bugs, flying them around.
Gross Motor
The ball pit has been a very exciting addition. We love diving into it and burying ourselves beneath the balls. Bo and Reza had fun making faces in the mirror, and everyone played follow the leader crawling around as lions and tigers.
Music Area
We continue to use the pianos together, and have found many uses for the tambourines. Joe called them a crown and Aria tried them on her legs. The new ribbons have been lots of fun to dance to music with, testing lots of different motions.
Outside
We continue to love playing in the sand pit, using the rollers, dump trucks, and shovels and buckets. We also made lots of different cakes and pies with the pots. Bo and Reza are practicing getting on and moving the big tricycles, and everyone loves trying to use the hula hoops. Alexander pretended they were baskets to throw the balls through and Aria liked sliding with them. They tried rolling them on the grass and making sure they had space to spin with them. Bo discovered how to go up the climbing wall, but would rather slide back down it!
