Hanging with Almond

The Almond Room? We LOVE to bake with Mrs. Georgia, and even more? Baking with Mrs. Georgia and Miss Michaela when she helps her. This Friday we made Hamantaschen in the cafeteria to take home as our special treat for Shabbat to celebrate the upcoming holiday Purim. The kiddos got to fill each hamantaschen with chocolate, raspberry, or strawberry filling, and the Almond kids did not disappoint... Chocolate was the only way to go. They started with rolling out their dough and then using a cookie cutter to cut the shape, after they moved down the line and put in their filling using a spoon and then they pinched the edges with the help of Miss Michaela. I love watching them bake with Mrs. Georgia because they always seem to have the best time, and they spend a lot more time talking about what they are taking home and going to share with their families. It leads for a sweet conversation throughout the day.  Stttrrrrronggggg MUSCLES!!! Got right to it! Bestie girl doesn't need a spoon!...

 Thursdays are always fun days. While every day is a day for art, Thursday is a day for art in the Atelier. This Thursday we went early and spent the longest amount of time we could in there. Every table was filled with something, one with scissors and animal pictures, plus glue and glitter. one with water and watercolor paint, a staple this week, and one with dot markers and paper. I know this week they had so much to choose from they had no idea which table was their favorite! It's such a good time when we get to have scissors out because it helps with their fine motor movements and their communication on asking for help. Fine motor is such a big part of this age, and they all learn so quickly it can sometimes be shocking at how little instruction they really need from us. The more the year goes on it feels I'm learning more from them, than they are from me.  Indiana Learning Foundations:  SW3.1: Demonstrate conflict resolution,  SW4.1: Demonstrate relationship ski...

 On Monday morning our silly animals got themselves stuck again! These pesky animals keep sneaking out of our zoo and are getting into trouble every chance they get! This time the animals got into some ice and couldn't get out! The kiddos had to get inventive on how they could get them out. The table was lined with scoops, scissors, playdough knives and warm water. The kiddos immediately went for the scissors and knives and quickly became frustrated with no being able to scrap them out as quick as they thought. A friend who hadn't started the table invitation yet walked over and saw the water just sitting nicely on the table. This friend spoke up to a teacher and said, "You need to put the ice in the water." When asked why we needed to do that we were told "So the animals can melt out." That was all our friends needed to hear..... and the water puddles began! The water started melting the ice quickly and soon the baby animals were free, but that could not be...