September 23rd, 2016

This week, we celebrated all things apples...

letter Aa...

and counting.

Coming back from the weekend, we started our Monday with a new apple cinnamon sensory bin.  And, yes, this set-up lasted approximately 30 seconds.

We made cinnamon scented playdough and then baked some pies.

We built the letter Aa with playdough...

wrote the letter Aa with chalk...

and, eventually, practiced the letter Aa with pencil and paper.

We also read the story, Ten Apples Up On Top...

and then counted to see how many we could stack up on top.

We counted apples in trees.

Actually, we counted a lot this week.

Cutting up a few apples, we learned about ABAB patterning as we stamped with apple halves. 

Figuring out a balancing scale, we explored weight with apples of various sizes.

Afterwards, we reflected on our experience.

We also had fun with Miss Michelle when she asked the question, "Do apples float or sink?"
Conclusive evidence suggests that, no matter how big and heavy they are, they all float.

Finally, it was applesauce day.  Using one of my favorite earthly possessions, we peeled the apples...

which was really funny...

when they looked like a slinky.

We stirred the apple slices with a couple shakes of cinnamon and let it simmer in the slow cooker for the rest of the morning.  

Our classmade applesauce was super duper good!

We're a good batch of apples in this group!

September 16th, 2016

This week, we learned all about our five senses.

Getting right to work on Monday, we explored our sense of touch.  We got to feel things that were rough, soft, spikey, smooth...

.
..and squishy.  Using playdough to practice making different expressions, we started learning about emotions that we all feel throughout our day in addition to our five senses.   

We also matched robot expressions with their words.

Next, we learned about our sense of smell...

and devoted time to learning about different parts of our body.

Then, we practiced with numbers 1 and 2.

Next, we examined our sense of hearing...

...and listened to Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee.

We had fun with our sense of sight...

and trying to figure out, "who am eye?"

We had a chance to investigate our tastebuds...

...as we learned about our sense of taste.  The hightlight, of course, being the lemon demonstration of "sour".

Miss Michelle finished our class book of Who Took the Cookies from the KinderPrep Cookie Jar? which is now our most cherished book in the classroom.  If you have a chance, please feel free to view it in our bookshelf.

It was another great week!

We did what we do best.  We learned a lot and looked super cute while doing so.

First Week Chocolate Chip Cookies

How to make First Week of School Chocolate Chip Cookies

First, mix together 2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

and 2 shakes of salt in a bowl.  Set aside.

In another bowl, combine 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup softened butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

and 2 eggs.

Stir vigorously.

Maybe even with an electric mixer.

Combine the dry ingredients and chocolate chips

Then, rolling spoonfuls of dough into a ball, place on a cookie sheet

Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes

and cool as the children look longingly at them.

Finally, enjoy!

Cookies are best when served after a week of painting...

drawing...

writing...

counting pebbles in flight gear...

constructing Mr. Potato Head...

circle time with Ms. Michelle...

making handprints with Ms. Jamie.

and reading stories with Ms. Laura.

I'd say it's been a really good week.  Definitely worthy of First Week Cookies.