Hands Can

Dear Parents,

We started our week by making a list of things we can do with our hands: scratch a mosquito bite, brush our teeth, grab a toy vehicle, give high fives, play with play dough, blow our nose, eat breakfast, and one person said, “Not hitting and not pushing!”

On Tuesday we used our hands to cut paper with scissors. Some children said their cuttings looked like aliens and people. They did. 

On Wednesday we used our hand muscles to squeeze glue and make textured collages. While they dried we played on the jungle gym, inside first, and then outside. We used our hands to dig in the sandbox. 

We used our hands to sing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and B-I-N-G-O.

We read Hands Can, Here Are My Hands, Wash Your Hands!, Hands Are Not For Hitting, I Can! Can You?, Time To Pee!, Germs Are Not For Sharing, I Hear A Pickle, and My Five Senses. We talked about what senses we use during snacks. The children said we see our snacks, smell our snacks, taste our snacks, hear our snacks, and touch our snacks. 

On Friday we sat in a big circle in the big room and took turns rolling and catching balls. We used three balls. The children were excited to get turns and aimed to roll to friends. Afterwards, we went to play outside. 

Next week: feet!

Have a fun weekend,

Therese

Simon Says do the Hokey Pokey

Dear Parents,

We started our week playing Simon Says. He said to touch your nose, touch your toes, reach for the stars, and flap your wings. Then he said to go into the big room and fly like an eagle, slowly at first, and then quickly. The eagles did a few laps and went back to the classroom for snacks.

On Tuesday, Simon said to do the Hokey Pokey. That’s what it’s all about! There was a good amount of laughter. Besides being fun and active, these games encourage listening eyes and ears, and body awareness, my body and yours. 

We got to our finger painting and hand prints on Thursday. The children mixed red, yellow, black, and white. Some shouted, “Mine’s pink!” and “I see orange!” 

We read many books about fall leaves and seeds. We sang I’m An Acorn and A Ram Sam Sam. On Friday we used our sense of touch to feel something in the Feely Box. The children guessed: something spiky, crunchy, pointy, round and spiky, an acorn, something from a tree, and a sweet gum tree fruit. They were accurate guesses. 

We are working on using our words when we want a turn, when we want a friend to stop, when we need to go to the bathroom, or when we want to get in a game. Some children need help finding the right words, and others need help stopping to listen and see how a friend is feeling. 

Simon Says have a great weekend!

Therese