Happy New Year!

Sonshine Kids is preparing for a new year with lots more learning and fun.  Since we opened in April of 2011, we have added a third classroom, celebrated many holidays and birthdays, and survived a long and hot summer.  We begin the new year with all of our classes full and plans for some exciting changes to our playground and indoor spaces.

This month the preschool class will begin a unit on The Mitten by Jan Brett.  Jan Brett has written many of our children's favorites and her artwork is breathtaking.  I have been gathering materials for the unit and looking for some new ideas, and I came across The Mitten Song on several websites. I decided to make a song sheet that we can post and look at as we sing this song each day during the unit.   Here is the song sheet that you can print and use to sing with at home:
The Mitten Song

May God bless you and your family in this coming year!

Run, Run As Fast As You Can

We are exploring the five senses of Christmas this month and we have had a ton of fun! We are reading the Gingerbread Boy every day and using puppets to act out the story. The preschoolers worked together to paint a giant gingerbread boy with scented paint. I just added cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger to different shades of brown tempera paint. We also painted him with some salt paint (salt and liquid starch) for a sparkly effect. After he dried over the weekend we added all the fixings. He looks amazing!

What's That?

This week I added new markers, stickers, and paper scraps to the writing center. We also added red and green paper and some cardstock folded into a card shape. The preschoolers had a blast writing letters to friends and delivering them around the room. The children were silent as they worked and worked. At the end of the day, the center was finally empty and I saw something on the chair. I went to pick it up and found...




A piece of paper taped to the chair. The tape wad was made of a couple of rolls of holographic tape, some marker lids, some stickers, and a stamp. You just never know what you will find in a preschool classroom, and that's why I love my job!

The Napping House

The preschool class has been learning about homes and families. We read The Napping House by Audrey Wood each day.





Today the children drew their houses with watercolor crayons. When they were done we headed over to the easel and sprayed our drawings with water. The effect was really cool... It looked like it was raining on the houses!





In the block center we have added our big dollhouse. It has been a favorite, especially with the boys!





I hung a curtain rod above our science center and tied some magnets to it. At the bottom is a bowl of magnetic items. The children have really enjoyed exploring magnets in a new way.

November News

We have been having so much fun lately that I haven't had a chance to write the blog! Last month we had "Mud Pie Day". We brought in a little pile of dirt, added some water and baking dishes. The children had a blast mixing the ingredients and adding grass, acorns, and noodles. Some of them even made mud pie deliveries (see photo). Then we celebrated Thanksgiving with a feast for our families. We enjoyed some yummy turkey, ham, stuffing, and veggies!