The Best Case of the Mondays

Today was ACTION PACKED! Fortunately, the children are comfortable with our routine and eager to participate. Our name cards are very useful so the children know where to report for their next activity. They may be loud at times, but never without direction. Special thanks to Sonya, Usha and Grandpa Carlos for keeping this hive humming along!


Belle puts finishing touches on her painting of "Mr. Squarehead Because He Has A Square Head" while Alexander experiments with color mixing. His discovery? red + yellow = 'burnt' orange, but pink + yellow = bright orange. I'll bet you didn't know that. Alexander does!

TODAY'S ART ACTIVITY
Usha guided the first group through a collage project today. The class enjoyed working with die-cut foam shapes with much more dimension than cut/torn paper. The project was open-ended, with each of the children determining when their piece was satisfactory. I can gladly say that they all were engaged for at least 15 minutes, with some extending to over half an hour. They remarked how the bright colors 'glow' on the 'night' paper.


MOVING WITH THE MAZE
Meanwhile, Andy had the other group in the multi-purpose room doing movement activities. We set up the mini-trampoline, the inclined mat, and a series of interlocking mats to form a maze that emptied to a clear path that funnels single-file at the end of the line. Place another mat across the top of the maze to make it dark inside and they shriek with glee inside the sound absorbing walls. When working with young children and lines, a 'circuit' layout is always beneficial. With a clear direction that is also fun to follow, you can avoid the crowding and inevitable collisions our age group has perfected over the centuries. The concept of forming and moving through lines safely and courteously was my ulterior motive. Mwahahaha!

TODAY'S STORY
Chicken Little, illustrated by Laura Rader. Sonya shared this classic nursery story with the class today. We all know the tale about a how a chick thought the sky was falling when an acorn dropped on him. In his haste, he gathered a troop of friends in a mild hysteria to warn the king. One of the reasons this story remains so popular with children is they practice and master important concepts for early literacy. First, there is a repetitive pattern of dialogue every time the chick meets another barnyard friend that children can predhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifict. Second, as each friend joins in, there is practice with memory and sequencing. These three elements are crucial to reading comprehension for our young learners. And you thought this was a simple story, right? Simplicity can be a profound learning tool.

Just look how much you learn about your children when you simply sit and watch when they think you aren't looking.

'OM FOR KIDS' YOGATHON UPDATE
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Some parents in our class made an incredibly generous donation to sponsor me next Saturday in the 'Om For Kids' Yogathon. CLICK HERE to join us in support of Covenant House California and provide life-saving services to homeless youth. In order to complete the 108 positions without injury, I attended a Yoga class last Saturday. I thought I knew all the muscles I had from working with four-year-olds for 14 years. Wrong-o! Any creaking is easily offset by such a worthy cause.