Continuing With Water

Today was Caper Day, so once again we got to share our language of water with other classrooms. We were really excited to show off our new pulley system, and the Willows, Sycamores, and Seedlings were so interested in checking it out! The sensory table was a very popular area today and was full for most of Capers.
Everyone wanted to raise the bucket, so the children worked together to use cups and fill it, then took turns raising it up and making it rain! We also added a ramp for them to figure out how to move the water from the sensory table to another area. The Willow boys were engaged the whole time, figuring out new ways to manipulate the water. Everyone loves our pulley system! We can't wait to discover more ways to expand on our water studies.
REMINDER: DON'T FORGET! Starting Monday, drop off will be in the gym! Breakfast ends at 7:50AM, so please arrive prior to then if you would like for your child to eat breakfast at school. Thanks and have a wonderful weekend!

Winter Walks

It's always an exciting day in the Acorn Room when the windchill is above 32! :) We went out walking with the Seedlings today. We've been longing for forest days, so we decided to head there and check it out. Sadly, when we got there, it was way too muddy, and since we didn't all have boots today, we decided to skip it. We did find lots of good sticks, though!
After the Forest, we strolled around the neighborhood and walked by the fire station. There were two fire trucks outside! We talked about the letters and shapes we saw on the fire trucks. Then, as we watched, firemen began coming outside and getting into their gear! They climbed into one of the trucks and sped off, lights and sirens blaring. How exciting! We love being a part of the WG community!

Pulley Power!

Today was another special day in the Acorn Room: C's dad, M, returned to finish fixing our pulley system! The Acorns were really excited about our visitor, and of course everyone was eager for their turn to help. C and his dad had taken some measurements last time, and they brought some wooden pieces they made that attach to our sensory table to help with stability. It was a perfect fit! They also added some wooden rods that go through the pvc pipes to help strengthen the system.
When all of the new parts were put together, we got to test the pulley! It worked! The bucket raised up, and all the water stayed in the table. We can't wait to explore it further. Thanks again to M, we are so grateful for all of the time you've given and your hard work! The Acorns are a lucky bunch.

Waterworks

We've been looking for ways to expand our water studies, especially during these winter months when we can't go outside. Today, we moved around our block area and set up the projector and projected different water activities onto the wall. The Acorns went white water rafting, snorkeling, surfing, and the class favorite: riding down water slides! 

Over in the sensory table, we've been adding various ramps, bins, and hoses to try to encourage water movement. Today, B experimented with various ideas, finally setting up one of the bottles on the ramp so that it was blocking the water flow, to create a dam. These Acorns come up with some awesome plans! We can't wait to see all of the other water discoveries they make this year.

Family

Today was an exciting day in the Acorn Room. Our friend T came back to school and shared about his new baby sister! He got to tell us all about her and go around showing a picture of her to his friends. The Acorns were very interested in hearing about the new baby, so we talked a little more about who else had babies at home and what our families looked like. We love sharing about our mommies, daddies, sisters, and brothers!

Don't eat the yellow snow....

We did not caper toady.... you see we were putting all our eggs in one basket yesterday, thinking we would get a snow day!  Well, that didn't happen, so the next best thing was to PLAY in the SNOW!!  The best thing about our "language" that we are studying is that we are studying water!  So the question of the day, what is snow?

We walked up the slushy sidewalk to the forest.  We talked about how if you touch the snow, your hands will get cold.  If you lay in the snow, your clothes will get wet.  Thank goodness we had the forethought to make sure everyone had boots on, so their feet wouldn't get wet. 

A few of our more quiet children surprised us by screaming, running, eating, and making snow angels at the forest. 

I have to give all photo credit to Katie and Carrie!  Thanks for capturing a  joyous day in the snow.

Be sure to have the volume up for this video. It is why we do what we do.

I know, I know.  There are a bunch of pictures today. I feel the need to say, that there are wet clothes in the children's cubby's and everyone that needed to be changed was and all shoes were dried and toasty. 

no children were harmed in the making of this blog....

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

Overhead Projector

Today we put shapes on the overhead projector,  unfortunately the power button is front and center.  We talked about leaving the power button alone.  If you play with the power button, it may shock you or break the light bulb.  Needless to say, someone played with the power button and it broke the bulb.  One of our friends was fascinated with how Ms. Katie was going to repair the overhead projector. So, he helped her repair the projector.

Ta Da!

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