2014: New Year, New Rhythm

If you know me, or you've read this blog, even a little bit, you know I LOVE and embrace change.  Learning to embrace change, especially that over which you have no control, is an acquired skill.  It has taken many years and quite a bit of hardship for me to understand that flexibility in the face of any major or minor variation is a wonderful trait to have.

The most recent modification at Seedlings has been the closure of the afternoon preschool classes, leaving only three mornings per week of work for me and school for my boys.  My first thought was, 'what in the world am I going to do with all this time?  I'm going to go insane!'  But after careful consideration, I realized that all of this free time would only be a plus for our family and for the preschool.

I began by slightly altering our daily rhythm, both for school and family.  Our preschool day now looks like this:

8:30am-9:00am

Arrival and Snack Preparation

9:00am-9:30am

Nature Walk 

9:30am-9:45am

Circle Time and Stories 

9:45am-10:15am

Play, Explore and Discover Time 

9:45am-10:15am

Art and Handwork

10:15am

Clean Up and Hand Washing

10:15am-10:30am

Snack

10:30am-10:45am

Independent Reading and Classroom Chores 

10:45am-10:55am

Music and Movement

10:55am-11:00am

Closing Circle and Goodbyes

The times are an approximate guide, I never watch the clock, I usually just feel when it's time to move on to the next activity.  I also added a new snack rhythm as follows:

Monday - Fruit Salad

Wednesday - Bread

Friday - Vegetable Soup

It has only been one week, but I've already seen the children, especially my own and those who attend all three days adapting to the new rhythm.

We've also adopted a new-ish family rhythm for after preschool.  Monkey and Bear have lunch and then Bear goes for his nap, while Monkey has 'rest time' either in his room or we snuggle up together on the couch for some quiet time together.  Monkey's rest is shorter than Bear's nap, which leaves time for games, books, etc.  He's always had difficulty sharing me with other children, even though he absolutely loves having them around.  His difficulty usually manifests in less than desirable behaviors, which causes a less than desirable reaction from me.  Getting special time with me each day after class has helped us connect and has made our school days easier.

Having my afternoons free has also left me with much more time to prepare and plan for the upcoming school days, which means more fun and in-depth activities for my students.  I no longer feel like I'm scrambling around trying to balance household chores, family commitments, extracurricular activities and preschool planning.  Overall, my stress level has been greatly reduced - probably a good thing since baby #3 will be shaking things up in less than 3 months!

This week, I even attempted my first in-class wet felting project.  I've never tried it with the children before because I was constantly worried about running out of time, but with so much preparation, it went off without a hitch.  Here are some pictures from my favorite project of the week!

And now we have the amazing masterpiece decorating our classroom and reminding us that slowing down and simplifying are ALWAYS good things!

Have you made resolutions this year?  I'd love to hear what's in store for you!

Jingle Bell Painting!

There are some projects that are just too awesome not to repeat every year, jingle bell painting is one of those projects.

The children LOVE the process - so much so that none of them even cared what their painting looked like at the end - they were satisfied completely with the process alone; and parents LOVE the finished product!

The process is easy-peasy, you'll just need any sort of box with a lid, paper, paint, glitter and some jingle bells of any size.  Start with paper inside of the box and add some paint drops.

Add some glitter - any type will do.  No worries all you despisers of glitter (I am one of you), the mess is contained in the box!

Toss in your bells and you are ready for the fun part!

Put the lid on your box and start shaking, rolling, turning and moving any which way you'd like!

When you've sung 'Jingle Bells' enough, and feel you are finished, you'll have this, which is even lovelier in person:

On a related note, we also did Marble Painted Candy Canes this week.  Follow the same process using an open pan - beware of flying marbles!

 

Change is Good: A New Look for our Classroom

I've never and I mean NEVER, met a preschool teacher who doesn't love moving the classroom furniture around to give the students a fresh perspective.  Not only does change help keep things interesting for the teacher and the kiddos, it also helps to prevent unwanted behaviors, make space where it is needed, provide different play experiences for the children, etc, etc.  The reasons for change are endless.

Personally, I've always wanted a Waldorf-Inspired classroom.  It has been my goal since I began moving toward the Waldorf philosophy years ago.  The only problem with that goal is that Waldorf appeals to a fairly small community of parents and in my current location, it is practically unknown.  Montessori is much more popular, though because the title 'Montessori' can be used by anyone, it is sometimes difficult to find a TRUE Montessori program.  I am neither Waldorf nor Montessori trained, and so I pull bits and pieces from each and find myself with a fairly balanced and appealing program.  I do have a very-far-in-the-future goal of becoming BOTH Waldorf and Montessori trained, but that shall have to wait until I no longer have itty bitty ones at home.

It could be because the holidays are approaching and I find that to be a wonderful time to de-clutter or I could just be nesting, but I've emptied out quite a bit from the classroom, including the huge bookcases that used to reside in each corner.  Everything has been brought down to the children's level and is looking fresh and bright!

I hope the children enjoy the new set-up when the see it for the first time this week!

Holiday Fun!

Here is a quick look at what we've been busying ourselves with so far this month.  The children have been working like busy little bees preparing gifts for their Moms and Dads, but those are top secret, so take a look at some other fun we've had!

Cookie Cutter Prints

Gingerbread Play Dough

Our Gingerbread Man Decorating Tray has been popular...

So we decorated some to take home!

So cute!

Our water activity has also been a hit!

One of our cooking activities this month was Chocolate-Covered Pretzels.  The children loved stirring up the chocolate with the pretzels and then dipping them in sprinkles!

One project that I do EVERY year is Shaving Cream Paint Snowmen - they always turn out too adorable for words!  Just mix some shaving cream and a little white glue and pile it onto your paper.  Add accessories and let dry.  The paint will stay puffy after it's dried!!

Check out this masterpiece!

I've just given our classroom a mid-month make-over, so stay tuned for new classroom pictures!

What We're Up to in December

The classroom is ready for my students to return on Monday.  Here's a look at the new activities for the month.

Our new selection of seasonal books.  

Yes, I love Jan Brett, her artwork is just breathtaking and the stories are simple and joyful.

Magnetic bows inspired by one of my very favorite blogs, Teach Preschool.  Just cover a cookie sheet with wrapping paper, stick some magnets on the back of the bows and voila!

This activity is also wonderful for toddlers.

Christmas sensory bin.  Colored rice and some tidbits picked up at the Dollar Tree.

Felt gingerbread man to decorate.

Pom Pom tweezing and color sorting activity.

Water transfer activity with some added holiday cheer!

Christmas tree decorating in our outdoor rice bin.  The ornaments are hand made with some mini clothespins and some random items such as pipe cleaners, foam shapes, ribbons, etc.

Happy Holidays!

November Round-Up

Finding time to keep my blog updated has been increasingly difficult lately.  But we did do some fun things this month that I'd like to share.

The kiddos had a great time working with all our new additions in the classroom.  I also added an Indian corn tweezing activity and pumpkin pie play dough, which were both a huge hit, but I didn't manage to get any pictures.

Early this month we made bird feeders and simple suncatchers.

We also managed to find time for a pumpkin pie and whipped cream - the old fashioned way.

We did a painting activity with Indian corn, which was very interesting to watch.  Each child had his or her own method of painting, some foregoing the corn altogether.

Monkey and Bear had some fun with loose parts play, and of course, cardboard was the favorite item!

The end of the month brought a much-needed rainstorm and we had a blast getting muddy and wet!

We also had an impromptu science experiment when we accidentally left our Bubber uncovered in the torrential rain.

 It floats!  

And it retains its original texture even when wet.  I'm currently drying it to see if it is back to its original form and ready to use.

The classroom has been prepped for December and we have loads of fun in store!!