Linking up with Doodle Bugs for the Five for Friday Weekly Linky Party.

Valentines and Volcanoes!  

What could be more fun for four year olds!!  I had set out a bunch of old Valentine cards that I had collected over the years (you know, the 4 or 5 that you always have left over...or the extra box or two that you bought "just in case" one of your students forgot).  Wow!  that Valentine station was packed during choice time all week long!  Which is a big deal in a boy heavy class!!  Little did they realize how much fine motor and writing practice they were getting in!!

Science with a Splash of Fun!

Did I say Volcano?  Yes I did!  To celebrate our letter V, we created a volcano and then made it explode!!  What a fun science experiement that was!  I recorded some great videos of the scientific process in action.  The kids made some pretty entertaining predictions and had a lot of fun observing the experiment.  So much fun that we had to do it about 10 or 12 times!!  We went throught a whole BOX of baking soda.  Lots of smiles, memories, and as I like to say "wrinkles in the brain" were made with one simple activity.

Furry Friends

We adopted a new 4 legged family member!!  Her name is Bonnie and she is now sister to older brother Buckeye.  She is a very sweet heeler mix whom we found at the Collin County Animal Shelter.  Our first Dog, Buckeye has had a hard time with our move (which is now 6 mos ago!!)  He has been anxiously chewing away at his paw and everytime we get it healed....he goes right back to it!!  Well after some research we decided to try and add a "pack" member so that he might now feel so lonely during the day....we will see how this goes.  I really don't want to resort to "medicating" our dog so that he will quite trying to chew his foot off!  If you all have suggestions, PLEASE share because I feel like we have tried just about everything!  Comment Below!!

Super Star Students and Bucket Filling....  

I am sure that your school has some form of either or both of these programs.  Because I am pressed for time due to the length of my preschool day,  I have chosen to combine the two during the 2nd half of the year.  Each student gets their own special week of course, but at the end they get to take home a special book of bucket filling notes from each of their friends as a momento!  Now, in my classroom I do most of the writing and the kiddos get to do the pics, but this can go a long way in any classroom.  In my opinion, teaching kids to see the good in EVERYONE is a life lesson that needs to be practiced over and over and over again.

The Superstar Week goes as such:  

Tuesday: 

present poster--great oral language development for both class and student.  

Families have a blast getting involved in creating something to share with the class.

Wednesday:  

Show and Tell Mystery Item--student gives the class 3 clues and students get 3 guesses.  

Afterwhich the star reveals the item, speaks about it, and gets to pass it around.

Thursday: 

 Star Interview (great language development by learning to ask and answer questions!) 

and Bucket filler journal pages are assembled into a book for the superstar to bring home!

Just a bit ago our school hosted its very FIRST art show.  It was an amazing collection of unique and individual art projects created by our kiddos aged 18mos to kindergarten!  We showcased their work gallery style and held a special night to honor them. Everyone had a blast and we all had such a great time creating and admiring their hard work.  Hats off to the Arts and all they offer our kids to developing skills and self-esteem!! We had a blast showcasing the kids and setting up a "gallery" for the parents to come and enjoy!  The best was typing up the "art blurbs" about each budding artist.

Wishing YOU a Happy Friday!!