All about Pumpkins!!

Did you know that pumpkins can be RED and WHITE......not just orange!  This week we talked about all different kinds of pumpkins.  We "dug in" yesterday and discovered that the inside of a pumpkin is realllllllllly slimey and has lots of white seeds.   We cleaned out our pumpkin (with Ms. Heather) and then baked the seeds for our afternoon snack....SO COOL.  Check out the "flip" book we made....and yes that is a real pumpkin seed on the first page from our very own pumpkin.  We saved some to plant this spring....maybe next year we will have a pumpkin harvest.   The older children worked on their cutting skills by separating each picture and then worked on putting them back in the correct order before we glued them onto our book.  In Art we made a jack-o-lantern mosaic and painted "pumpkin patches" with our thumbs! Of course, we read alot of books about pumpkins and how pumpkins grow.  Mrs. Angie's favorite pumpkin book is about a lady who didn't like pumpkins.  One day a pumpkin fell off of a truck and busted all over her yard.  She tried to ignore them by not caring for them.  She even stopped gardening in her front yard but one fall day when she went out front....there were PUMPKINS EVERYWHERE!!  She didn't want to waste them so she brought all of them inside and made....pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cakes, pumpkin pudding, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin pies. When she was finished she didn't know what to do with all the food so......she made lots of JACK-O-LANTERNS and set them outside soon the whole town came out to see what was going on at her house.  She served all the pumpkin foods and a good time was had by all.  When it was time to go home she sent a jack-o-lantern, bag of seeds for roasting, and a pumpkin treat with everyone!  Everything was gone except for a handful of seeds...those she tucked snugly into her apron pocket for safe keeping until planting season next spring.  I just love this book!  Enjoy the pictures of all the kids taking turns digging into the pumpkin....SO CUTE!
Next week we will be learning about Animals awake at night.

Mattie's SUNSHINE - Class of fall 2011

Left to Right:  Wyatt Irwin, Charlie Shuman, Lucy Paire, Addison Williams, Reaghan McHenry, "happy" Jack Sanders, and Jayce Crews.


It's not easy getting everyone to look at me when Jack is so happy!  I had to take the opportunity.......VERY RARE to have the whole gang together!!

Fall is upon us....

This week we have been learning ALL about Fall.  

• WR - Fall in the Forest was about animals in fall and we were able to see very cute pictures of animals in their habitats!  Also, we read LOST in the WOODS which has breathtaking pictures. We thought it would be a cool to make bird and squirrel feeders because they can't find food as easily in the fall and winter.  Heather came one morning and helped us make them!  And of course we colored some pictures of the animals in their environment.
• WR - Fall Fun was all about the different activities we can do in the fall like....picking apples, playing soccer, making pies, AND everyone's favorite.....playing in the leaves!! We read all kinds of books about leaves! Thank you ......Mrs. Christie for the loan!!  It was so fun making our reading sticks......they help us read our books.  We used our fall colors...red, yellow, orange, and brown to color FUN fall pictures.  Check out the one with the boy and girl walking among the falling leaves....we learned the song on the back it is sooooooooo fun....take a look and sing it with me. 

NEXT WEEK......we learn all about PUMPKINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check out our Apples up above our heads!!!

Apples...RED, GREEN, and YELLOW!

This week we have been discussing and exploring apples!! We started off the week with our WR (Weekly Reader), "I like apples". We read a great book about apples by Gail Gibbons and of course....we read about Johnny Appleseed. We had a couple of painting projects this week. The first one is of an apple tree and it shows 3 different colors of apples. We made the apples with our fingers.....SO FUN. And then we put the letters of our name on the trunk of the apple tree...like a puzzle! Our second painting project was with a REAL apple. We cut it in half and then made a stamp out of it. After our paintings dried the older students took parts of the apple and put the seeds and a stem on one of them. (RRR in effect) They look awesome and we are so proud of them. Do you know what shape the seeds are in when you cut the apple in half?? Ask your little one (answer: star...just in case). We had a tasting of different apples and colored our apple to show which was our favorite. Check out what we thought about them...Mrs. Brandy wrote our description for us!! Enjoy the pictures share them with your children (and grandparents too)! Please take some time to read and go over their week with them...I am sure they will be happy to tell you all about it. Next week we will be talking about FALL. So happy it is finally here!

Seed to Plant

Well it has been 37 days and we have our first plant passing us in height!! We planted our seeds the 2nd week of summer vacation. After two weeks of watching them grow we decided it was time to move them into a more permanent home. Each child has been watering and caring for their very own plant. Today Addison's passed her in height!! We are so excited. We have been charting thier measurements each week. We are amazed.... they have doubled in size from last Monday's measurements!!! We will be on vacation next week and will be hoping for some rain showers while we are away. I cannot wait for the day we see a little sunflower "head" pop out.

What a great and exciting experiment this has been for all of us. Please take some time to check your child's plant out the next time you are here.

GOOD soil makes HEALTHY plants!

First of the week we started saving our food scraps in hopes of starting a compost pile! Plus the children learned this is just another form of RECYCLING. But this is even cooler than what we do with all of our plastics, paper, and glass. We get to do the DIRTY work!!! The compost pile if fed and taken care of will help us make GOOD SOIL. It gives mother nature a helping hand and speeds up the natural process of decomposition. We learned that it isn't a very good idea to put in meats or dairy in it because that will attract a few critters we'd rather not meet! So as the week progressed we put in lots of vegetable, fruit, and bread leftovers.......and my bin from upstairs was full of coffee and tea grounds which made it look a bit scary! We all agreed that each bin began to smell more and more like YUCK...as it filled up. And that brought up the question....will the compost smell and I've read that if taken care of it properly it will not so......we will turn it periodically and continue to add food scraps and yard debris! The kids have loved this experiment.

Stepping Stones

Earlier this summer......I took a day with the older children and we made our very own stepping stones! What a PROJECT!! WOW....it was more physically demanding than I thought it would be but it was worth it. We learned that it doesn't take long for concrete to "set" because when we went to embellish them with beautiful stones most did not stay on.....but that's okay.....we would never have know if we had not TRIED. We may attempt to make a bird bath.....not really sure just yet :-)!! Take a look at a few of the stones when you enter through the dirt yard...it is really nice to have them there and they look so sweet with the major vinca!!

Library

After many days (years) of dreaming to have a "REAL" library....my dream has come true. It has been a wonderful addition to our daily routine. There are a couple of things to mention. As you know each child has their own "color" so the sticks located below act as a marker for the book they have "checked out". Each child has been very responsible in using them!! The smaller "hardboard" books are located on lower shelf so out little folks can be involved too. Thanks to Brooke and Arden helping them this summer.......they will be pros at taking them off and on the shelf by themselves soon. It is amazing how much they want to look at and read the books now that they are in an accessible location. They are allowed to "check-out" any book and take it home.....just like the Sequoyah Regional Library. We have quiet time each day after lunch (before nap) while everyone is pottying and cleaning up from lunch. They are allowed to take 1 book at a time.....this has become one of the highlights of their day! Remember....

The more you read,the more you know.

The more you know, the smarter you grow

The smarter you grow, the stronger your voice.

When speaking your mind OR making your choice!

Next time you are in...let your child show you their new library!! Happy reading to all.....A

Charlie is in his big boy CHAIR!

No straps for me...at snack time!

Tangled

Caden, Madi, Jaylin, and Madi here over the weekend so....I have movie TANGLED for the day!  Addison and Lucy are arguing over whose favorite movie it is....I had no idea it was so popular!  Friday is "movie" day so it is SUPER SURPRISE!

HIppity Hoppity Easter passed us by....

Well we finally had the gang together and had our Easter Egg Hunt yesterday! Weather held out and we had a wonderful time.

I know we have been sending home some stuff and it's all just a hodge podge but thought I'd mention a few things. We painted a "Peter Cottontail" and colored some pictures of "Peeps" while eating "Peeps"....that was a hit! Also, during Easter week we talked about baby Farm Animals. Did you know a baby bunny is called a "kit" or "kitten"? I hope you had some time to read the books we made about baby animals....it goes along great with our READER!!

PICNIC but it's not even Spring!!!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY.........our first "official" picnic of the season! What a gorgeous day....we were busy little leprechauns today. We've painted and played outside most of it. And at the last minute we decided to have a picnic on the porch. You can see we are surrounded by our "artwork". So please take a look when you come in this afternoon. It's a great way to see how much your child is progressing in the "arts". Everyone's favorite thing about our picnic's would be the sippy cup with straws! It has become a MSC tradition to blow as many bubbles with your milk as you can....this was something I stumbled upon years ago. All the kids love it and have made sure to pass on the tradition. All I can say is be careful with what you "allow"!! It's been good for me to let go a little LOL and it's always a pleasure to see them so happy......like they are getting away with licking the ice cream bowl. Speaking of ice cream.......after nap we have mint chocolate chip ice w/green m&m's sprinkled on top......no worries.....we are doing our silly to calm yoga afterwards as we bask in the late day sun. Hopefully they won't be bouncing off the walls.....I promise to give only a little :-! Oh my gosh.........I just saw a little green man run across the classroom!!! I better go and try to catch him before he wakes everyone up.

TRAINING: Get Moving and Feel Great

My training class this month was focused on our children moving! Georgia is in the middle of a SERIOUS HEALTH CRISIS. 33% of middle school students, 26% of high school students, and 61% of adults in Georgia are overweight OR run the risk of being overweight. This is steadily increasing!! Type 2 diabetes is running rampant and heart disease is the #1 killer in America.

Check out this 33 second video:
Childhood Obesity PSA

Fit Kids KEEP Moving...let's do our part and encourage movement and exploration by providing a healthy diet that gives them ENERGY. Introduce a variety of physical activities (outdoors if possible) that speak to them! BE A POSITIVE ROLE MODEL....children learn BY what they see much more than what they hear. Limit TV/Electronics. And last but not least....keep it simple and fun so they want more!!

Our good friend...THING 1...but where's THING 2?

AKA: Brady Paire
(Lucy Paire not shown)

Rainy Day Fun w/Cat in the Hat

I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny
But we can have lots of good fun that is funny!

We started out this gloomy gloomy day with a yummy breakfast....Cheese Toast, Strawberries and Milk! Then we read Cat in the Hat. He suggested we do a few things on this rainy day.....for example:

• Jump on one foot
• Wiggle our eyebrows
• Flap our arms
• Shimmy our sholders
• Curl our tongue
  
• Make a funny face
• AND do them all at the same time!!! Crazy cat!

We painted RAIN AND CLOUDS by the "gloomy rainy" light of day! Then we colored a "sunny" picture of Cat in the Hat coming to save the day. We used bright fun colors. We displayed them on the window so we could remember......WE CAN HAVE FUN ON A RAINY DAY. Then we ate lunch quietly so we could hear the rumble of the skies.....we even heard birds chirping out there!! Amazing...did you know birds stay out in the rain :-)!!

Have you filled a bucket today?

Have you filled a bucket today?

This is a guide to Daily Happiness for Kids! I love this concept.......it is so simple. Basically everyone in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD walks around carrying an invisible bucket. The bucket has ONE purpose to hold good thoughts and good feelings about yourself. The book gives colorful examples of people with full buckets and people with empty buckets. I think this is a wonderful way to teach children the "Golden Rule". I am teaching them to be "Bucket Fillers". A bucket filler is someone who shows love, when you say or do a kind thing, or when you just give someone a smile. You can also be a "bucket dipper" and that is someone who says or does mean things to others. Here's the trick........when you fill a bucket you get some happiness in your bucket too! But when you dip from someone's bucket your happy thoughts can leave your bucket too!!

So basically.......All Day Long, we are either filling up or dipping into each other's buckets by what we SAY and DO!! I have special tattoo's showing a full bucket and each child came home with one today on thier hand.....to help them remember to be a BUCKET FILLER not a bucket dipper!

TIDBIT: Water Cups

Did you know your child has access to thier water cup all day? I've been doing this for years and I love to see them drink so much water!! Typically we serve milk and juice at meals but sometimes we have our "water cups"if we have something like pretzels and peanut butter!!

My Shape Finder / Recycling

Today we discussed SHAPES and made an awesome telescope which we named "shape finder"! We took turns finding shapes in the classroom.......they loved this game! We made our shape finder out of recycled paper towel tubes!

Today we read a cute little book called: Little Helpers it is from a series called "Green Start" (I think)...."Good for your child...Good for the World" is thier slogan...and it is made out of 98% recycled material..love it as today is "RECYCLE DAY"! Unfortunately, my recycling company is now picking up at 7AM so we will not be taking it up the hill anymore.....boo! But when the weather warms up we may go up and get the empty containers (which we never used to do). Back to the book....it is adorable, very simple but thought provoking you should check them out.

Red "ANGRY" Art

Today we discussed the emotion: ANGRY. We discovered more words than mean angry like: mad, livid, aggravated, and huffy (love that one). We sang a song about being angry which suggested when we feel angry we STOP and COUNT TO TEN. We practice making angry faces which was hilarious! Have your child show you thier angry face tonight. One suggested I read about was when watching television with your child ask them what emotion a particular character is showing. Then we finished up by painting a picture of an mad face. Since we had our paint shirts on......we had some FREE paint time. I asked each child what they would like to paint then I attempted to draw it so they could paint. Take a look at thier paintings up on our "Our Hands Can" wall!! Last but not least Anna started "Artic Animals" weekly reader today. What gorgeous animals!!

Fun Friday !!!

Princess Addison and Princess Lucy "in the house" today. We watched Cinderella and Cinderella II while playing mommy and baby. Each girl had their own baby, shopping cart, purse, and cell phone......all was good!!

CONGRATS Brooke!! She received a108 on her spelling test today so.....we are headed up to play KINECT on the XBox. She has been asking to do this all week and I think she has earned it...so up we go....ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

SNIPPET: Rabbit/Sharing/Teamwork and MLK

Today we discussed "sharing and teamwork" after reading about Rabbit not wanting to share his veggies with his Hundred Acre friends. It was time for his garden to be harvested and he wanted to keep it all to himself. A cold front blew in and soon Owl and Eeyore gathered everyone together and told them Rabbit's garden was in danger. Meanwhile Rabbit stood freezing in his garden and realized he was going to loose all of his beautiful vegetables. Soon his friends arrived with the things he needed to help him save his crop. Rabbit knew that his friends shared their time and energy to help him save his beautiful vegetables. After all the vegetables were safe Rabbit felt so grateful he offered to share ALL his vegetables and he even gave some honey to Winnie the Pooh.

Anna is finishing up the WR: Martin Luther King Jr so that will be coming home today!

Shapes / Cutting / Sadie and the Snowman

Today we talked / read about shapes, worked on our cutting skills, and read about Sadie and her many snowmen. Each time she would make one it would melt and she would get sad but she soon realized it would snow again and she could make a new one. When spring came she saved her last "mini" snowman in a bowl and froze it. The next winter she used it to start her new snowman. Also, each time she made her snowman thier faces would be made out of different things and each time...some birds would eat the "eyes" , a squirrel would eat the "nose", and a very large racoon would eat the "smile". This was one of Anna's favorites when she was little and I still love reading it....cute cute story. Sadie and the Snowman by Allen Morgan

Emotions - SHY

We talked about emotions this morning and started on our individual "feelings" book. When addressing emotions interchange the word emotions / feelings. Today we focused on the emotion: Shy.

Brady and Siena

We had two special visitors today ....Brady, Lucy's brother and Siena, Jayce's sister! We played inside all morning and did not venture outside. We watched ICE AGE and talked about our ice outside. It was a very relaxed day. I am attempting to post this from my phone LOL...have a great weekend!

WR - Snow Words

How appropriate for this week!! We started this last week and will be sending it home today along with some artwork. Anna was prepared for this class because of our last "ice in"! Saved a HUGE icicle from the front of our house. The kids couldn't believe how big it was and enjoyed having the opportunity to hold it. I'm going to attempt to add a link to this album next....

Weekly Reader and Anna Margaret Boaz

Anna has been working with the kids after nap with thier weekly readers! It is going well. I am very proud of her and know it will be a great experience for her and the children. Don't blink....children don't stay babies very long.