And Bird Makes Three

Sometimes I feel as though there has been no continuity with Seedlings as a business.  It seems that every year, something happens that forces me to basically start fresh every August with a new plan and new students.  First came my switch from day care to preschool; then a last-minute schedule change; then Bear arrived pushing my start date back to November instead of August and this year, it was our new little Bird and a possible cross-country job transfer for my husband.

Now that Bird is here and we have confirmed that we are, in fact, NOT moving across the country, I can move forward with Seedlings into the summer and upcoming new school year.  There are so many changes this year and I'm really hoping to find the time to blog more frequently about what we're up to in class!

Despite having to start fresh yet again, the combined circumstances of my own children have afforded me the opportunity to expand my class offerings and bring even more fun to even more little ones!

Monkey will be attending full-day Montessori kindergarten this year, Bear will be part of my AM class and will nap through the PM class and Bird will be at that wonderful age during which she's able to play on her own but isn't quite getting into everything yet.  It's the perfect time to start expanding class options!

The 2014-2015 schedule looks like this:

Half-Day Options:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday
8:30am-11:00am OR 12:00-2:30pm

Tuesday/Thursday
8:30am-11:00am OR 12:00-2:30pm

Monday-Friday*
8:30am-11:00am OR 12:00-2:30pm

Lunch Bunch Options:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday
8:30am-12:00pm

Tuesday/Thursday
8:30am-12:00pm

Monday-Friday*
8:30am-12:00pm

Full-Day Options:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday
8:30am-2:00pm

Tuesday/Thursday
8:30am-2:00pm

Monday-Friday*
8:30am-2:00pm

*5-Day program recommended for Pre-K students only

Feel free to spread the word about the new program!  And keep your eye out for more posts about the exciting things happening at Seedlings!

Baby Sensory Play: Sounds with Found Objects

If I didn't have a preschool, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have any toys.  In fact, I'm fairly certain the toys are here just to make parents feel better - the kids would (and do) play with just about anything - the more open-ended, the better!

My own children, especially Bear, are fascinated with kitchen objects.  Monkey usually cooks - and sometimes builds - with things he finds in the kitchen, but Bear likes to bang, rub and roll everything he finds and delights in the various noises he can make.

In my Mom's house, there is one kitchen cabinet the kiddos are allowed to explore.  It contains plastic storage containers and a few random objects such as a pan for the grill, a stainless steel water bottle, some ice cube trays and a lobster pot.

When I introduced this cabinet to Bear, Monkey quickly stepped in and took control of a few choice items and started cooking and creating.  Bear was left with an ice cube tray and a plastic lid, in which he quickly lost interest.

BUT, a few hours later, when Monkey had settled down for a nap, Bear happened upon his creation and started exploring.

Metal water bottle lid, metal grill pan, bang, bang, bang, rub, rub, rub!!  Bear was so pleased, he babbled, danced, smiled, giggled, and entertained himself for longer than most people think a baby can.

Then he made a new discovery!  Different materials make different sounds!  More banging, more fun!

Eventually, Bear got so excited that he forgot to hang on to the table and had a little tumble, but once all the materials were moved to the floor, he kept right on exploring.  He played with these five or six objects for over 30 minutes, finding various ways to make sounds.

So, what are you waiting for?  Get in the kitchen and start digging out fun stuff!!  Let's see what the kiddos can do with it!!

Baby Fine Motor Play: Block Drop

When you travel about 2500 miles for a vacation at the beach, you have to pack wisely or get bogged down with every possible thing you might end up needing while spending a week in a non-baby-proofed house with a very curious baby.

You may find yourself getting creative keeping that curious baby away from dangerous and breakable objects, which is exactly how I found myself during our recent trip to N. Cape May, NJ to visit my Mom.

Bear had little interest in the blocks, stuffed animals and trucks we leave at my Mom's place specifically for our visits and was crawling at lightning speed to anything he could find that might feel, taste or sound new.  We don't want to discourage our little guy's exploratory nature, so we had to look around for things that weren't his typical playthings, but wouldn't end up shattered into a million pieces.

Fortunately, Mom orders water that comes in handy baby-friendly 3 gallon jugs.  When Bear showed interest in the extra bottles on the floor near the dispenser, I grabbed an empty jug and showed him a brand new (made up on the fly) game: Block Drop!

At just over 9 months old, Bear is showing an interest in cause and effect activities and has the dexterity to plop a block through the top of a water jug, and he was off!

This game actually required quite a bit of skill and patience.  If the block went into the jug just a little bit crooked, it would get caught and he'd have to start again.  He stuck with it, though, and was very proud when he got the block into the jug.

Yeah, Bear, you did it!

After a few days, though, things needed to be spiced up and I happened to pass a display of ping-pong balls at the local grocery store.  And so the game became Ball Drop!

 

    PLOP! 

Baby Sensory Play: Bugs in "Grass"

Time for another edition of our Baby Sensory Play adventures!  Last time, my little guy got to explore some wax paper and shapes and this time, we're getting messy with a fun bug-themed sensory tub.

Here is my usual preschool bug-themed sensory tub:

Not so good for Mr. Everything-is-food, so shredded paper was out and green spaghetti noodles were in!

I just boiled the noodles as I normally would, but added green food coloring to the cooking water.  When they were done - I strained, rinsed and cooled.  I did add a teeny speck of olive oil, just to keep them pliable and prevent clumping.

Little Bear dug right in!

He was definitely more interested in the bugs at first and worked hard to get each one out so he could give it a taste.  Working on that pincer grasp!

 

The texture of the noodles didn't seem to bother him at all and he was happy to get in there and find those bugs.

Monkey, my 3 1/2 yr old, was in sensory heaven!  He picked up handfuls just to squeeze them and hear the SQQQUUUUIIIIISSSSHHHH!

He also loved the noise the noodles made as he dropped them back into the tub.

And Bear was still tasting.

After a while watching big brother, he started really getting in there and actually playing with the noodles, sliding them all around.

And also tasting.

Eventually, Bear lost interest, but Monkey couldn't get enough, he wanted his feet in there and added a spatula, measuring spoon and colander from our play kitchen as well.  He spent nearly an hour playing in our 'grass' and I'll definitely be sure to cook up some colorful noodles for my students very soon!

Baby Sensory Play: Wax Paper Shape Discovery Tub

I certainly couldn't leave baby Bear out of the bathtub fun this week, and since we rarely use his baby tub for actual baths these days (unless they're fraught with choking hazards and non-ingestibles), I thought it would make a wonderful vessel for baby-friendly sensory items.

We do a lot of squishy, messy, wet, slimy sensory play around here, but I often feel like we're ignoring all of the other senses.  I've added sound bottles to the classroom, and have plans for even more sensory additions.  I thought I'd start with something that would engage sight, hearing and touch all at once - and knowing Bear, taste, as well.

I used the shapes from our Melissa and Doug Shape-Sorting Cube and added pieces of wax paper.  If your baby, like mine, puts everything in his mouth, be sure to use only large sheets of wax paper.

I started with all of the shapes covered by the paper, so he immediately went for a sheet of wax paper and shook it around to hear the noise it made.  He has recently learned how to clap, so he experimented with clapping while holding one sheet of the wax paper and while holding a sheet in each hand.

Soon, though, he discovered that there were other treasures hidden in this tub!

Shapes!!


Bear spent a long time playing with this invitation - longer than most people would believe possible for a 7 month old.  I left it out for three days and he continued returning to it, discovering and exploring different shapes.

Eventually, he figured out that he could take the sheets of wax paper out of the tub and crawl/slide on the floor with them, crinkling his way through the house.

Even Monkey got in on the wax paper action and asked for a few sheets so he could 'ice skate' on the carpets - try THAT one with your preschoolers!!

More baby sensory play adventures to come!