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It's amazing how much change can occurr over a weekend. Today we welcomed another new face to our daycare family, a little boy of almost one year. The older children had many questions about their new friend and were very eager to show him all about what we do.
After our morning routine, the children and I checked in our our tiny caterpillars. Though they are still very small, their growth and change in appearance was obvious, especially when the children and I took a super close-up look through the camera. The tiny caterpillars now have the signature black bands that Monarchs sport, and we could see the little holes they had chewed in the milkweed leaf they were living on.
The children and I talked about the changes we noticed. One child noticed all the tiny black pellets in the bottom of the enclosure and we discussed the idea that all animals that eat plants or animals produce waste. In other words, everybody poops, even tiny caterpillars!
Next we talked about what the caterpillars would look like when they grow up. Since I always point out orange Monarch butterflies on our nature walks, some of the children remembered that the butterflies would be orange. We talked about other colors of butterflies that we've seen- yellow, black, and brown.
The children were excited to find out they were going to make their own butterfly pictures with tissue paper and contact paper. They each chose the color they wanted and had fun placing tissue sqares inside a butterfly outline. The sticky contact paper made the art project even more fun and was an interesting sensory experience for the children who weren't familiar with it.
Separating and placing the tissue squares required accurate fine motor movement from the children, and making sure the squares didn't overlap too much had them thinking logically about how to use space.
After the children completed their butterflies and they were hung to shine brightly in the window, we moved on to making towns and roads with blocks. Some children were happy to be the "builders" while others were "cars" who wanted to use the roads and bridges. There was much negotiation about how and where the houses, roads, and other elements should go, and it was lovely to hear the children hone their social and problem-solving skills as they engaged in some deep, constructive play.
Later in the day the children and I relaxed as I read several word books to the new child. The older children took turns pointing and nameing the items in the book. The big kids are so eager to share their knowledge and mastery of the word books- it makes them so proud, and it makes me even moreso!
See you tomorrow!