MTC Daily Journal 8-7-12

Happy Tuesday Middle Toddler Families!

Brenna, Kayla, Marlo, Lauren, Kyler, Theo, Ben and Nathan make up our busy toddler class today!  We were all here in time for breakfast this morning and sat right down to enjoy a big breakfast of yogurt and granola.  What a deliciously sticky way to start our day!  After cleaning up we made our way back to the Early Toddler Classroom with Ms. Jamie and Ms. Melissa.  We enjoyed visiting our old classroom and were happy to revisit all of our old toys and discover new ones as well.

When it was time for diapers and curriculum, we moved into our own classroom.  Ms. Rebecca was out for a little while this morning but we were happy to have Ms. Ashley Rose for the morning.  We started out with a little free play around the classroom while we received fresh diapers and waited for music time.  Marlo climbed up to the top of the stairs and hollered to get everyone’s attention.  We are very aware of our accomplishments and want everyone else to be as well!  Ben, Brenna and Kyler sat on the car rug and worked diligently at putting together train track pieces.  Kyler made two big hills and watched as his train went down fast.  Brenna made a track with four train tracks and Ben connected six pieces together.  Theo sat in the book area and read a book quietly to himself as he lay back against the cozy mats.  Lauren gathered all her babies and placed blankets over them while Nathan and Kayla put on hats and then smiled at themselves as they looked in the mirror.

We were all so happy to see Teacher Craig come into the room for music time!  We quickly gathered on the rug in a circle (of sorts anyway!) and started patting our legs.  Today’s favorites included “Ladybug”, “Dance with Me” and “Two Little Blackbirds”.  We also loved playing along with our instruments!

After music time and a quick milk and water break, we gathered at the sensory table.  We are continuing our beach theme all week.  Today we found sea animals in the sensory table as we explored and splashed in the water.  We sang slippery fish as we played in the water.  We found a fish, an octopus, a turtle, a dolphin, a squid and several boats!  Lauren, Brenna and Kayla spent their time splishing and splashing while Nathan and Ben grabbed animals and helped them swim across the water. Theo grabbed a boat and made a fog horn sound as he pushed it across the top of the water.  When we asked Kyler if he wanted to come over to play in the water he said, “I’m riding bikes!” as he made his way around the classroom on one of the wooden riding toys.

Soon it was time clean up and head in for lunch.  We enjoyed bean ad cheese burritos today with corn and applesauce.  Yum!  With full tummies, we headed back into the classroom to settle down for some much needed sleep. 

This afternoon we will enjoy trail mix for snack and then we hope to get outside to enjoy some fresh air.  We will continue learning about the ocean as we take our new sea animals outside to play.

Have a wonderful afternoon and evening!

Melissa and Rebecca

MTC 8-6-2012

Happy Monday!

It was nice to wake up to slightly cooler temperatures today.  It is still pretty warm out there, rest assured that we always have water available for our toddlers and put an extra emphasis on fluids on these warm and sunny days.

We started off our morning with a delicious breakfast of cheerios with bananas and milk.  We changed the morning routine around a little bit.  Ms. Gina and Juan will be in the cafeteria in the morning to help serve breakfast while the teachers will stay in the rooms to greet children as soon as they are done eating.  We will still be eating breakfast from 7:30-8:30am.  We will then work on curriculum and outside time after all of the teachers have arrived at 9:00am.  We are hoping that this will give the children a smooth transition in the morning. 

Marlo, Theo, Kyler, Brenna, Kayla, Lauren, MacKenzie and Rose make up our busy toddler classroom today.  When all of our friends had arrived and had a chance to eat breakfast, we gathered back in our classroom for a little curriculum time.  We are learning all about the ocean this week!  Today we made oceans in a bottle.  This was a fun and interesting project to work on with our toddlers.  WE made to bottles.  When we asked if our friends were ready to create an ocean in a bottle, Kyler said enthusiastically “Oh yes”.  Rose said “Rose wants to put in sand” with a sweet smile on her face.  Kayla and Lauren leaned their faces close to the table to inspect the small sea shells.  They both pointed to the sea shells and then to the water bottles.  We all took a turn putting a handful of sand into the bottles.  Next we poured in some water and oil.  Theo pulled his head close as his friends poured their water into the bottled and laughed as he watched it fall inside.  When it was time to put the shells inside, Marlo grabbed shells one by one and dropped them in.  MacKenzie grabbed a big handful and put them in all at one time!  Brenna wanted to try tasting them but finally decided it was more fun to put them into the water.  We then took turns mixing them up and watching the waves inside. 

After our big project we decided it was time to head outside to run and play.  Kyler, Brenna, Kayla and MacKenzie made their way straight to the sandbox.  Kyler and MacKenzie grabbed shovels to dig while Brenna and Kayla were happy to sit in the sand and feel it run through their fingers as they grabbed big handfuls.  Lauren and Theo sat inside the tunnels and smiled as friends and teachers came over to peek in to say hello.  Rose found a small car to ride across the bark chips.  She said “Rose is driving”.  Marlo walked over to see the babies and smiled and waved at little Tyler as he sat close to the fence. 

Soon it was time to head in for lunch.  We made a quick stop in our classroom for a drink of water and a diaper check.  Then we made our way back to the lunchroom to find chairs.  We enjoyed a wonderful lunch of chicken pasta salad and pears.  We topped it all off with a little milk and then made our way back to our room to find our mats for nap time.

This afternoon we will bring out the mega blocks and work on building towers.  Then we will dance with scarves.  If it isn’t too hot out, we will head out to enjoy a little water play.  Tomorrow we will be searching for sea animals in our sensory table!

Have a wonderful afternoon and evening!

Melissa and Rebecca

MTC Daily Journal 8-3-12

Happy Friday Middle Toddler Families!

Kyler, Nathan, Marlo, Rose, Ben, Theo and Lauren make up our busy toddler class this Friday.  We started off our day with a sticky and wonderful breakfast of pancakes and applesauce.  We topped it all off with a little bit of milk and then made our way out to the play ground to enjoy the cool fresh air this morning. 

We started off with a little free play time.  We found cars, trucks, lawn mowers and cars to push.  We all came over to try out the small slide underneath the trees.  This was a great opportunity to practice sharing and taking turns.  We climbed up the stairs and made our way down the slide one by one (with a little help from our teachers). 

Since it might be hot enough outside later to keep us inside, we decided to enjoy our curriculum time out in the fresh air today.  Today we continued our theme, “I sense something”, as we talked about how we hear with our ears.  We listened as we sang a song together.  Then Ms. Rebecca brought out her guitar and we had the opportunity to hear her play.  Then we all had the opportunity to do a little strumming of our own!  Ben, Lauren, and Kyler  jumped right in to try it out while Nathan and Theo sat back and watched with interest as kids from all of the classrooms took turns playing.  Rose sat right nest to Rebecca to watch and listen while Marlo bounced around to the music saying “Dance”. 

After a little curriculum time we opened the sandbox so our friends could dig, pour and feel the rough grainy sand in their fingers.  Rose and Kyler grabbed shovels and scooped up sand then poured it back out, watching it fall back to the ground.  Ben grabbed handfuls and enjoyed the way it felt as he covered his legs with sand.  Nathan and Theo filled buckets and used them to move the sand from one side of the sand box to the other.  Lauren and Marlo came over to enjoy the sandbox in between time spent climbing and sliding.  We have very busy girls!

Soon it was time to head in for a little free play time and lunch.  We played with the bumpy balls and the babies before heading into the lunchroom.  We are getting quite good at rolling the balls back and forth with each other.  It is wonderful to see the cooperative play continually developing in our classroom.  After a wonderful lunch of BBQ chicken and rosemary potatoes (definitely a classroom favorite!), we made our way back to the classroom for rest time. 

This afternoon we will continue working on our shoebox guitars and talking about sound.  We will listen as we make music with our instruments and then turn on a cd to listen to as we dance, jump and run together in the classroom.  If it isn’t too warm outside we will head out for water play.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Melissa and Rebecca

The Reptile Man at The Children's Hour Academy

Friday, August 03, 2012, 10 AM to 11 AM

Back by popular demand, the Reptile Man will visit The Children's Hour Academy today, August 3rd at 10 am!  Richard is a herpetologist who brings unique insights, observations and humor to his exciting live reptile shows.  He works with reptiles in a wide range of sizes-from small snakes and lizards to the majestic 12 foot King Cobra.  These dynamic predators capture hearts of both young and old.

MTC Daily Journal 8-2-12

Happy Thursday Middle Toddler Families!

Lauren, Kyler, Nathan, Ben, Theo, MacKenzie and Rose all made it to school in time for a delicious breakfast of Cheerios and bananas this morning.  We all ate a big breakfast which gave us a great start to the day.  After cleaning our faces and hands, we grabbed our jackets to head outside to the playground.

It was a little chilly this morning but we were happy to be outside.  Nathan, Ben and MacKenzie all climbed onto the ship structure right away.  MacKenzie and Ben leaned out the windows to smile and wave at the friends running by while Nathan turned the steering wheel and looked through the telescope.  Kyler and Theo sat down under the tree.  Kyler grinned and said “Melissa, I’m just sitting here” and Theo said “I’m hanging out with Kyler”.  Lauren raced Claire down small slide.  Rose found a shovel and made big piles of bark chips all around her on the ground. 

After coming in for a quick milk break, we made our way back outside for curriculum time.  Today we talked about our sense of smell.  We made scent cups with different smells for the kids to sniff.  We combined all 4 of the toddler classes together so that we could experience many different smells.  We had a great variety; cinnamon, allspice, vanilla, vinegar, lemon, lime, onion, and several different perfumes!  We talked about how we smell with our noses and practiced sniffing.  Then we passed around the cups and bowls and everyone had a chance to smell them. 

After curriculum time we decided to head out on a buggy ride to explore the neighborhood.  We love to get out and see new and different things.  We smiled and waved at people as they worked in their yards.  We are quite charming as we make our way around the neighborhood!  We saw two dogs, a cat, a boat and Mr. Tim’s class. 

Soon it was time to head in for a little free play time and lunch.  We played with the wooden puzzles and the hats before heading into the lunchroom.  Pictures will be posted tonight of our fun with hats this week!  After a wonderful lunch of burritos and oranges, we made our way back to the classroom for rest time.

This afternoon we will be rediscovering our mystery sensory boxes from yesterday.  We will feel scratchy sand paper, soft cotton balls and light and soft feathers.  Then we head outside for even more sensory fun with the water table and the sandbox!

Have a wonderful afternoon and evening!

Melissa and Rebecca