Dancing in the dark!

Yesterday it was a dark and gloomy day - we celebrated the day instead of feeling blue - by turning off the lights and making it even darker. We got out some glow sticks and danced to the beat of the drum. Oh what fun!

The room was definitely darker - the flash of the camera certainly brightened it up.

The glow sticks did look amazing in the dark as the tots danced about!

In School Field Trip

Today we had some special visitors!
For toddlers it's often easier for special events / visitors to come to us instead of the toddlers going on long field trips - which become overwhelming and exhausting for them. When we are in our own environment we enjoy ourselves so much more!

A tree frog!

Hamster

Rat

Gecko!

Skinny Pig

Dove

Hedgehog

Chinchilla

Rabbit

And a tortoise!

Learning from our environment!

Our school is in a business complex that has been under construction the entire time we have been there - 2 years. So the children have many learning experiences right outside our window!
Today we watched as a construction crew unloaded a large flatbed truck with a crane.

Very exciting!      

Never underestimate the importance of these 'little' moments of observation and a quick Q & A.

Related post!

Ideas to extend - challenge!

This is a little fun challenge!

I saw these ideas while peeking around at some interesting blogs - so now my goal will be to include them in my January activities and extend them with other fun things to do!

http://alittlelearningfortwo.blogspot.com/2010/09/moon-balloons.html

http://whimsy-girl.blogspot.com/2009/10/goofy-glasses-from-pipe-cleaners.html

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/crafts-by-age/toddler-crafts/waterproof-puppet-theater-796098/

http://www.readingconfetti.com/2011/12/i-spy-snow-globes.html

http://kelleighratzlaff.com/life/no-sew-super-hero-cape/

http://www.craftinessisnotoptional.com/2011/03/tacky-penguin-finger-puppets.html

http://www.littleredfarm.com/2011/09/learning-about-clothes.html

Have a peek at what I am seeing and please share an idea or activity that can be an extension of these great ideas. When I have compiled a bunch of fun - I will implement them and post our experiences!

I find you all such inspirational educators with so much to share - so don't be shy - please have fun participating!

Please post your link or idea in the comment section below!

Our Toddlers Shave! :)

Today we had a spontaneous experience - which was brought on by someone claiming they had a moustache! LOL I told the little lad that he was much too young for a moustache so we had to shave it off. Then some of his friends decided they would shave as well - claiming they too had moustaches.
So off to the bathroom we went with shaving cream in hand!

Lathering up!

Like this?

Some of us may have gotten carried away!

Even the girls got involved!

What?

We didn't use a razor - we simply wiped it off with paper towel but it was sooooo fun!

Deborah Stewart from Teach Preschool has a good suggestion below - use a craft stick to shave it off!

If this wasn't such an impromptu activity we may have thought of that - LOL

Pony riding

So the pony finally made it to school and here are the children enjoying it! Some entered the room with hesitation and some move right over to the pony to explore and greet it!

The Greeting!

The first ride!

We all take a turn!

The pony got hungry!

... and needed a drink!

There sure were lots of smiles all around!

This was not simply about riding a robtic pony - it was about providing experiences.