happy birthday to you and you and you and you

 

dinosaur city

 

clipboards aplenty, clipboards galore

 

the sand man

 

tile shapes on the sticky window

 

that's one way to make gloves

 

button, button

 

messy math

 

Maybe? They tried to fit ALL the sandbox toys INTO the center of the tire. It was like a chaotic game of jenga, how high could they add things without toppling something below? 

pumpkin sorting

 

and stacking, carrying, hiding, selling, eating...oh my! 

emergent pumpkin play

 

We couldn't find the golf tees so we put out pushpins. One child found a button which prompted a button hunt, which prompted allllll the buttons coming out of storage so the children could poke and place away. A few days later, a rubber band was added, and a whole new curriculum emerged! 

spider transfer

 

paint with spiders!

 

tinted apple juice liquid transfer

 

a little blue, and little yellow collage

Those bead strands? Treasure! They got tucked into pockets, and placed on upper lips, and balanced on heads. The pompoms? More pocket stuffing. Same with the beads. Pockets! Pockets! Pockets! We even saw children making their own pockets when they did not have any on their clothes. 

Some of the bits actually made it to paper. Painted beforehand, and painted after. Let them play! 
 

invitation to paint: circle stamping

 

a fine motor invitation

 

Silicone ice cube trays offer up all manner of fine motor fun. They also offer up math skills such as one-to-one correspondence, color sorting, and size differentiation, They also make for a fun hat! 

a berry fun invitation

 

The water is tinted with strawberry Kool-Aid, and yes, sometimes it gets transferred to the mouth...but once is enough, it's SO SOUR! 

painting with snakes!

 

the painting branch

Set up outside for discovery, one child decided they wanted to paint it, and then another, and then another, and so on, and so on. Last year, the branch was used in building, this year it is a canvas for art. I LOVE it! Also, classroom tip, save those applesauce cups, they make great paint cups. 

flower investigation: lemon verbena

Lemon verbena is a delightful plant. The leaves are very firm and substantial in texture, while the flowers are very delicate and white. The children felt the flowers were lilac, white, and purple and so we put out those colors for them to use. The children loved that the plant smelled like lemons but had no yellow on it at all. How could that be? Ah, the minds and wonder of children. Along with the oil pastels, we chose skinny black paper to add variety to their floral art, and help the lighter colors pop!