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It was a great day right from the start! Everyone seemed to be in a sprightly mood; perhaps the lengthening of days and the sunshine had something to do with it.
We started with our morning routines and then settled down for some pretend play. We made mountains, a pond, and a farm and played out a scenario about a bull who was bragging about how strong he was... until he needed help from his other pals.
After that, we enjoyed some sensory play with cooked pasta noodles. This was a fabulously fun activity- we explored the wet, sticky, squishy, cool, smooth noodles and used those words to describe them.
We loved squishing the pasta in our hands...
... and sprinkling handfuls back into the bin brought big smiles to everyone's faces!
We played with the pasta until it was not very pasta-like anymore, and then we washed up with the intent to work on some coloring... and then WE SAW IT!!!!! A furry animal was eating feet from the window! It was "a SQUIRREL-ER!" according to one of the children.
The children and I watched for about 30 minutes. We observed the squirrel's behavior to learn more about it. I pointed out that if the birds who also wanted seeds got too close, the squirrel scared them away. We watched the squirrel get scared of a passing car and shake its tail. We noticed how the squirrel grabbed seeds in its little front paws and cracked them open with its teeth. One of the children wondered if the squirrel would eat a carrot, so I ever-so-carefully tossed one out to the squirrel. It ran away but came back soon after. I did not eat the carrot... yet. We'll be keeping our eyes open to see if the squirrel comes back to eat the carrot!
Later in the day, we read Jan Brett's The Hat and The Mitten. The children truly love these tales because they have just the right mix of elements- relatable characters both animal and human, humor, and great illustrations, and I love sharing great children's literature!
See you tomorrow!