Happy Winter Break!

What a fun last week of school! This morning, before Capers, we had a surprise. Ms. Marty wore a special outfit and read each class a story in front of the "fire"! The Acorns had such a great time listening to "The Book With No Pictures."

We wanted to take the time to thank everyone for the thoughtful gifts. We have loved getting to know you all so far, and can't wait to watch these Acorns continue to grow. We feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful families. Enjoy your break! See you next year!

S'mores Day!

Our fun continued today when we had a bonfire and made s'mores! After Cocoa Day, the Acorns have correctly decided that marshmallows are deeeelicious, so they were very excited to hear about the s'mores we would be making today. :)
Since it was still so cold this morning, we had the bright idea to get our s'mores set up ahead of time so that we could simply toast the marshmallows, assemble, and go back inside to enjoy them. This seemed like a great plan until someone (who shall remain nameless and who is definitely not the author of this blog) set the tray down in a slippery location and there was a little accident. Oops! Not to fear, we got them re-made and ready for toasting!

Ms. Katie, our resident Firestarter, got to work on our bonfire and we took turns sledding down the hill while we waited. The Acorns LOVED the sled rides! We can tell that some friends must've gone sledding over our snow days. :)

Once the fire was in full swing, we got our marshmallows toasted and put together the s'mores, and headed back to our room to eat them. They were a big hit! Take a look at all those adorable chocolatey faces. A big thank you to everyone who has donated items for our last week together and made this fun possible! We appreciate you. Can't wait to see everyone's jammies tomorrow!

 

Cocoa Day!

Welcome back, Acorns! We missed everyone during our snow days and loved hearing about everyone's wintry adventures!

Today, some friends went to the kitchen to prepare cocoa for the class. It was a great way to warm up on this chilly Wednesday. 

The first step was to heat the milk. We put it on the stovetop to get warm, then each friend dumped some cocoa powder and helped stir.

Some friends weren't sure about trying the cocoa, which was a little surprising-- but we figured out the best part of cocoa: marshmallows! :) 

We have some more fun activities planned for our last two days and can't wait to enjoy our Acorn friends for the remainder of our year together. Stay warm out there!

😊😊 snow day rituals

Seven Rituals to Try When You Want a Snow Day

• Inside-out, Backward PJs. One of the most well-known rituals states that if you go to bed wearing inside-out, backward pajamas it will snow. ...
• Spoon Under the Pillow. ...
• Snow Dance. ...
• White Crayon in the Freezer. ...
• Place Ice Cubes on the Porch. ...
• Flush Ice Cubes Down the Toilet. ...
• Run Around the Dining Table Five Times Before Bed.

Caper Day

Today during capers, we brought in our blocks from outside to our sensory table with turkey baster, scoops and funnels.  We put reddish pink soapy water in the bin, and watched the magic happen!

In the small sensory tub, we had ramps and scoopers for the same experience as the big table, only in a smaller scale.  To make sure everyone could reach in the bin, and that there were enough materials for all to explore.

The schema of scooping and pouring.

From the OT Toolbox....

https://www.theottoolbox.com/scooping-pouring-transferring-develop-refine-fine-motor-skills/

DEVELOP AND REFINE FINE MOTOR SKILLS BY POURING, SCOOPING, AND TRANSFERRING

Scooping and pouring.  Toddlers pour, and dump toys (or cereal, a cup of water, a bin of diapers…) as soon as they discover that they can. It’s a developmentally appropriate skill that happens as mobility develops.  When little ones pick up a bowl or cup and turn out the contents on the floor, it may be frustrating to a mama that’s just picked up all of the toys in the house for the third time, but it is such a great function that is the occupation of play.  Pouring and dumping is discovery and exploration of gravity, weight, muscle control, cause and effect, and self-awareness. Not only are toddlers discover what they can do by pouring , they are learning about their environment while working on so many skills. 

The items we choose to incorporate into our sensory bins, are thoughtful and intentional.  The turkey basters work on hand strength.  The funnels work on scooping.  The ramps work on hand eye coordination..... We know that we have a TON of fun here in the Acorn Room, but we are working on skills that will last us a lifetime. 

"I am the little acorn that becomes the oak."- John Winger

Bristol Bravos

It is that time of year when the big fourth graders from Bristol walk across the street and sing to us!!  Between the songs, Ms. Wichard (the director) asked the forth graders who attended AFC when they were little.  A bunch of the forth graders raised their hands.... So, one of my favorites played the drums for us and sang all the songs.  I had him when he was three years old.  It is amazing to see how much he has GROWN.  I know, I know, you can not imagine our little acorns in the forth grade.  But it will happen! Cherish the moments when they are so little... and remember... they are still soooo little.

"I am the little acorn that becomes the oak."-John Winger

Furthering our exploration of Identity

We need to talk to the experts about rescheduling pie crust.  We are running our of time before winter break..... Hopefully we will get that completed today, and let everyone know when we will learn how to make pie crust.

To continue to explore identity, we set up the room with several activities.  We had our "We Stories" on the carpet with different books discussing skin tone. We had loose parts and mirrors set up, skin tone markers to draw our families, and then we had an area with skin tone paint to create "stick" families.

Definition of Identity:
the distinguishing character or personality of an individual
individuality