Last week was all about exploring the senses. We began the week with some tea infused play-dough. Some children mixed in watermelon tea, while some mixed in peach. This experiment not only appeals to the sense of touch, but also to the sense of smell. They've enjoyed the sweet and fruity aroma almost as much as they enjoy getting their hands sticky.

The kids finished planet Mercury by molding craters on the surface and painting it golden red. Mercury has been hoisted up next to the sun, and we've now started to learn about Venus. The kids learned that Venus is the slowest moving planet, and is similar in size to Earth. They also learned that Venus is not only covered in mountains and volcanoes, but also in a blanket of clouds, making it the hottest planet in our solar system.

The cold weather brought lots of snow to the ground. The kids rolled several snowballs out on the playground and brought them to our classroom sensory table. We added some watercolors and the kids experienced snow in a new and colorful way. The snowfall also brought the opportunity for some observational art. With paper, glue and snowy materials at the window sill, some kids translated what they saw in the snowy, three-dimensional world to a two-dimensional world, creating snow-scapes on paper.

Along with observational art, the kids painted using Q-tips... not only for cleaning ears! This gives them a lot more control over their medium and the ability to add more detail. Not to mention, it's fun!

Many of the kids have been going journal crazy lately, which is great! They're so enthusiastic about their journal entries and have been unstoppable. One of the students came up with the idea of making their own journal. The kids chose a cover for their journal, and decorated it any way they liked. Some opted to use their journal as a book, and some turned their journal into a calendar.

The class has been getting extra familiar with their last names, and the last names of their friends, using our last-name-cards. We use these cards to transition from one activity to another, and they all love using them. One suggestion was to do middle name cards next. As a person who doesn't have a middle name, I told the class I have to make sure that everyone has a middle name because not everyone does!

PAC provided a visit from two dental hygienists. The kids had a great time learning how dentists help keep our teeth healthy and clean, and how we can take care of our teeth at home. Some of the children had the chance to brush a giant set of teeth using a giant toothbrush, too. A big thank you to PAC from all of the kids and teachers.

As I mentioned in my last blog, we used marshmallows to learn some addition problems. The kids each had two cups and moved their marshmallows from one cup to another in order to solve problems such as 14-4 and 7+7. Once we finished (and spelled MARSHMALLOW together), the kids added their marshmallows to a warm cup of hot cocoa and enjoyed a cozy story with our blankets, pillows and rest toys. Our marshmallow math is posted on our classroom door. You may have also noticed our "How We Take Care of Our Books" poster, where the kids have listed what they need to do in order to care properly for our books. Each day, two new books are added to their shelf as they demonstrate the rules they came up with. But! if there are ripped pages, a book is stepped on or not put away, we will have to go back to one book on the shelf. Right now we are up to six!

I recently sent an e-mail out about our Valentine's Day event on Friday. Let me know if you have any questions. Hope to see you all there!

Amanda