Growing Carrots

We are preparing to start one of my favorite theme units...plants and flowers! During this unit, our focus book will be The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, so we have a carrot garden in our sensory table! There is plenty of dirt, pots, shovels, rakes, and seeds. There is sure to be plenty of learning and growing next week!

Classroom Labeling

When you step into Sonshine Kids CDC, you may notice that everything is labeled... cubbies, tables, chairs, toys, the wall, etc.  Why do we label the things in our classroom?  Because labeling encourage literacy and organization.

Displaying labels and signs in early childhood classrooms is an important part of creating a print-rich learning environment that also includes books, drawing and writing supplies, play props that have printed words, etc.  Labels and signs in the classroom offer opportunities to use printed language in ways that are real and meaningful in the children's experience.  Young children will "read" the pictures and learn that print can provide useful information.  "The puzzles go here."  "This area is for sand and water play."  "This cubby belongs to James."

Children will naturally begin to associate printed letters and words with pictures and will realize that both real objects and spoken words can be represented by symbols such as pictures and letters.  Even young pre-readers can experience the pride of reading when they interpret symbols.

Hatching Eggs

Today we did a science activity with a hatch and grow egg.  First we talked about how to make a prediction.  The children thought about all of the animals that hatch from eggs and drew a picture of the animal that they predicted would be in the egg.

Brody predicted that a duck would hatch and Gabi predicted that a snake would hatch.  When the egg finally hatched, we found a turtle inside!  We also learned that an animal who hatches from an egg is oviporous.  What a big word!

Nursery Rhymes

Experts say that children who know nursery rhymes at age 3 are likely to find success with reading and spelling later in life.  When children hear, sing, and act out nursery rhymes, they experience the joy of words and develop early literacy skills-- one of the most important is phonemic awareness.  That's why we focus on one nursery rhyme each week.  We repeat the rhyme over and over and will go back to it in later weeks.  

This week's nursery rhyme is Humpty Dumpty:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
All the king's horses and all the kings men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Humpty Dumpty by Daniel Kirk is always a class favorite and is the Humpty Dumpty story as it has never been told!  Another class favorite is Humpty Dumpty by Iza Trapani.  Be sure to check them out at the library or bookstore!

Egg Tray Art

Today's art activity started with an egg tray and different colors of paint in each space.  Children were able to paint with q-tips on white paper.  This activity turned into a science activity when the colors started to mix.  We asked plenty of questions like, "What will happen if I mix blue and green?", "What do I mix to make pink?", and "How can I make a rainbow?" 

Have a great weekend and a Happy Easter!

Have you filled a bucket today?

You have heard of the cup that overflowed. This is a story of a bucket that is like the cup, only larger, it is an invisible bucket. Everyone has one. It determines how we feel about ourselves, about others, and how we get along with people. Have you ever experienced a series of very favorable things which made you want to be good to people for a week? At that time, your bucket was full.

 

A bucket can be filled by a lot of things that happen. When a person speaks to you, recognizing you as a human being, your bucket is filled a little. Even more if he calls you by name, especially if it is the name you like to be called. If he compliments you on your dress or on a job well done, the level in your bucket goes up still higher. There must be a million ways to raise the level in another's bucket. Writing a friendly letter, remembering something that is special to him, knowing the names of his children, expressing sympathy for his loss, giving him a hand when his work is heavy, taking time for conversation, or, perhaps more important, listing to him.

When one's bucket is full of this

emotional support, one can express warmth and friendliness to people. But, remember, this is a theory about a bucket and a dipper. Other people have dippers and they can get their dippers in your bucket. This, too, can be done in a million ways.

At Sonshine Kids CDC, we are pledging to be a bucket-filling school.  We have purchased the books and have a special bucket for each child that will be filled with smiley face erasers, warm fuzzies, and other surprises.

For more information about how to fill a bucket, go to http://www.bucketfillers101.com/ or purchase Have You Filled A Bucket Today? at your local bookstore.

Sonshine Kids is Open!

We are excited to announce that Sonshine Kids CDC has been licensed by the state of Texas and we opened today!  Our blog will be updated daily with news, information, and photos of special activities.  Sonshine Kids looks forward to many years of fun and learning!