Pop Corn

Today, we tried the air popper to pop the popcorn. They have already tried, the microwave, the fire, and the stove.  Once the oil was poured into the air popper, T poured the popcorn in, they watched it move the corn, around and around.  ONE POPPED! It astounds me how excited they get every time one popps.  When will they realize that everytime we go to cook the popcorn that it will work and we will get to sit on the carpet, make a bowl with our shirt, and eat popcorn.   I guess the bigger question is going to be,  what will we do when we run out of ways to cook popcorn, and what will we do when we run out of the homegrown ears of popcorn we cared for????

 You know everytime we go to the kitchen, we have to find all the stools..... We sit on them, we stand on them so we can see....

 We make predictions and write them down prior to popping the corn.

 pouring the corn in the popper

 putting the lid on the popper

 patiently waiting 

 or impatiently 

 ahh the shirt bowl...

and now snack.

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

Flowers

Today the Acorns made flowers for Staff Appreciation week here at the preschool.  We had a difficult time trying to figure out how we (the acorns) were going to make flowers.....  We can't use scissors yet,  our drawings are either scribbles,linear lines, or horizontal lines.  Sometimes we bang the marker down on the paper and make dots.....  Then, it came to us! All the nature on the light table can be made into flowers.  They will be the most cherished flowers of ALL the school!.

You have got to love glue and nature!

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

Mr. Kevin!

Our social committee at school has planned a week to appreciate all staff that are not in the classroom with children.  Today, we serenaded Mr. Kevin!  We sang If you are happy and you know it!    The children loved singing to Mr. Kevin, and Mr. Kevin loves the Acorn room.  Once we were finished singing, we thanked him and then one of our friends grabbed his finger and pulled him all the way back to our room.

 If you're happy and you know it clap your hands

 Hurray!

 The Dogwood room joined our serenade this morning.....

Once we appreciated Mr. Kevin, we went back to our room and noticed that it was snowing!! We ran to the window and looked at the snow, we then decided we needed to get IN the snow.

Catch that snow flake!

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

A Caring Community

Here at Ambrose, we are lucky to be surrounded by so much joy and love. Our community is such a caring one-- everyone in the building, in any capacity, takes time to listen to the children and treat them with kindness and respect. 

If you've spent any amount of time at Ambrose, you've probably heard of Mr. Kevin. You might have heard your child talk about how Mr. Kevin helps us in many ways everyday. We get so excited just passing him in the hallway or seeing him in the cafeteria. He is always ready with a smile, a friendly "hello," or a high five-- the Acorns really look forward to their brief interactions with Mr. Kevin, and speak excitedly about him often. 

Today during Capers, Mr. Kevin stopped by the Acorn room to say hello after completing some work outside in the cold. All of the children were thrilled to see him, as usual. Then, O brought him a book.  He took it and slowly sat in the chair to read it to her. Unsurprisingly, after a moment a small crowd had gathered. After Mr. Kevin finished the first book, they brought him another. Then another. And yet another. He sat patiently, continuing to read books to the children. When he stood to get back to his work, everyone was sad to see him go. It was a perfect example of the compassionate community we are so fortunate to be a part of. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

More Popping Fun!

So far, we have popped our popcorn in the microwave and over the fire. If you recall, the fire was unsuccessful, but fun. :) We have been having many conversations about how else we can pop our popcorn. Today, we decided to try popping it on the stove!
A group went to the kitchen. We took our clipboards to write down our popcorn predictions. First, we turned on the convection stove. Then, we got out a pot and put the oil in. We started with three kernels. When they popped, we put the rest in and let the popping action begin! "They're popping! Look at all the popping!" T exclaimed. It was fun, but a little difficult working with the tiny convection stove. Some of the kernels were a bit burned, and some didn't pop. We took the rest of the corn back to our room to share for a little snack!
After we ate some, we had a talk about how else we can try to pop our popcorn. We found an actual popcorn popping machine in the kitchen, so we are going to try that next! We have been having so much fun testing and experimenting with our crop.

Acorn Relationships

As it began to sprinkle outside, we took some time this morning to make choices in the room and quietly work in small groups. There were loose parts and natural materials such as bark and tree cookies on top of the sensory table, and B and H engaged in lots of conversation as they constructed together. They began by pushing the pieces of wood together. Then, B dumped some tree cookies into the hole they had created. "We're making a building for people to go in," he explained. They rearranged their design several times, always being sure to consult with each other first. H picked up one of the pieces of bark and held it high before moving it. "I put this on top!" he said. "Put it right here!" B responded. H obliged and B nodded his approval. They worked together for quite awhile, asking questions, making suggestions, and resolving their conflicts as they continued to build. 

 The finished product.

On the carpet, there were two mirrors with loose parts to look at your reflection and make your face. M and C sat with one another, taking turns looking in the mirror and pointing out each other's features. M held the mirror towards C. "It you!" she said. Then, she looked at her own reflection. "It me!" "Look M, your eyes!" C exclaimed. They placed seashells onto the tree cookies to represent eyes.

The Acorns are making great progress engaging with one another and working with the materials in the room. They are really growing!

Tuesday Trains!

We have been taking full advantage of these sunny days before the possible snowflakes in the forecast. Today, we decided to walk to our favorite spot... the train spot! We got to the station and sat in our usual place to have a snack and watch for locomotives. While we wait, we love to check out our surroundings and watch for colors, letters, and numbers on the cars and trucks that drive by. After awhile, we finally heard the *ding ding ding*! These Acorns sure love trains! Better yet, as soon as we left, there was yet another train that we got to watch from the sidewalk.

While we were waiting, a few friends found ways to use their fine motor skills and have a little fun on the blacktop. J noticed that the sticks he was carrying fit into the cracks on the asphalt. He spent some time figuring out how to line them up and make them stand up straight. He moved them around, testing new spots and noticing that the height of the sticks changed with the depth of the cracks. A few friends, F and E, watched with interest and helped find new sticks and spots for J. They worked together for quite some time, quietly exchanging sticks.