Happy New Year!

Today was all about getting back into our routine, which the students did with ease. Everyone was so happy to be back together again. The play today was exceptionally cooperative and productive.


MUSIC WITH ANNETTE
Annette guided us through two music sessions, practicing sound-movement correspondence. The primary movement was skipping denoted by a light/hard 1-2 rhythm. Skipping is a developmental skill important for 4-5 year olds to master. Many of us begin with a "gallop", eventually shifting over to alternating L-R with practice. Our skipping was punctuated randomly by groups of 1, 2, or 3 hits on the drum, each with a corresponding action: 1-Sit on the rug in a circle; 2-Stand with eyes closed; 3-Lie on the rug looking up at the ceiling. The children had a fun time deciphering the rhythms and matching movements.

Out came the ukelele and a game of "Name That Tune" which evolved into children teaching one another songs they knew from home. Most popular was "You Are My Sunshine" followed closely by "Old MacDonald."

We concluded with a reading of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" and reinactment of the same.

TODAY'S STORY
Having read the story at the end of music class, today's storytime was a our traditional birthday "Board Story" for Lola and Taye, who turned 4 over the winter break.
The Mixed-Up Baker is a tale that focuses on letter recognition and name-spelling. It goes something like this:

"Benny the Baker" bakes the best birthday cakes in town. He bakes them fresh as they are ordered on the phone. In his haste to mix the batter, he often (every time) drops his glasses into the bowl, baking them in the cake. Visually impaired, he always jumbles the letters frosted on the cake. Who better to enlist to correct the spelling than the children in the class. The letters are alternated one by one until the name is corrected. As you might guess, the phonetic reading of the misspelled names are the most entertaining part of the story.