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Another chilly day kept us inside, but we had so much fun it didn't matter one bit. We had a wonderful time working on our circle time activities which have two themes for March- wind and classic movement games. We started by adding movements to the classic poem Who Has Seen The Wind by Christina Rosetti, did two more wind-themed movement rhymes, and then played several rounds of "Ring Around the Rosy." We have learned two versions and here they are:
Version 1
Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of posies
A tissue a tissue, we all fall down!
The cows are in the meadow lying fast asleep
A tissue a tissue, we all get up again!
Version 2
Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of posies
A tissue a tissue, we all fall down!
The cows are in the meadow eating buttercups;
Thunder, lightning! They all jump up!
After our morning circle time routine was finished, the children and I worked on some color matching and sorting activities. First we sorted paint chips by color and then by saturation. There were three levels of saturation of each color, and it was a definite stretch for the older children to organize the colors according to lighter or darker. One of the children said the darker chips looked like "a nighttime rainbow" and the lightest chips looked like "a sunny rainbow."
Next we moved on to an activity that I've had for a while but which is enjoyed each time I bring it out- matching colored clothespins to to colored sections on a paper plate. The clothespins provide some wonderful fine motor skill enhancement and it takes lots of concentration to open the clothespins and line up the plate to put the clothespin on.
There was lots of success on this activity and as you can see, the children were proud to do this activity independently.
The littles and I worked on using spoons, and though it was wonderfully messy, it was a valuable lesson in self-care. Being able to provide the patience and support to do messes is one of the wonderful parts of providing home daycare!
Yogurt and pineapple was delicious... even without the spoon.
Figuring out the spoon is another step on the way to becoming a "big kid!" Please note that I took these pictures after the children were done with their food because I was busy coaching them while they were eating... no time to say "cheese" during this activity!
Later in the day we worked on one of our March songs. This song was written two years ago with the daycare children, and it was such a hit that I've been bringing it back every year. We called the song (appropriately!) March Wind, and it goes like this:
March wind, March wind
Blow, wind, blow!
March wind, March wind
Melt the snow!
Make my kite fly
Way up high.
Bring back green grass
Growing high.
March wind, March wind
Blow, wind, blow!
March wind, March wind
Melt the snow!
Make the sun shine
Warm on me.
Bring the busy
Buzzing bees.
March wind, March wind,
Blow, wind, blow!
March wind, March wind,
Off you go!
The song is sung in a minor key in 3/4 time and the kids love dancing and making blowing wind sounds while we dance to this song. It's pretty much impossible to take a picture during music time because when I stop playing guitar for the children they all stop dancing and wonder where the music went... I'll have to figure a way around this someday.
After music, we read several books about animals including a touch-and-feel book about kittens. Kittens and cats prove very popular in the daycare and since the three (well seasoned and friendly) housecats here are occasionally visible beyond the gates, the littles first few words often include "cat."
See you tomorrow!