Weekending January 8th (2016)

Our first official week of play and care was quite different from the weeks leading up to the big break. It was a slow week for us- we're sort of laying low, but our time was well spent. 
The children are all well, and I hope it stays that way for a long while. They (some of them) have new words, and skills. Our school friends are learning new things outside and sharing all the wonderful, delightful ideas and words with us - one is even spelling words.
A mixed age group is quite wonderful!

                                                                             in play

 

art/storytime

Our favorite read was all about a snowman

                                                                          soup day
Thanks to MM's mom we were gifted a book that we already knew and loved. We will read this book every Monday just before or with our soup. By the end of the year, your child will probably know the book by heart :) 
More to come on this book at another time. 

                                                            french book of the week
I always stick to really simple books for all of our activities. When sharing French books I try to go as basic as possible. Then came along this touch and feel book (via Iman).  It was a great story that explored (or helped children explore) the many types of homes that animals live in during the Winter.  
The pictures were bright and vivid - bringing each page to life, but this book was just waaaay too wordy for my age group.

                                                                        our nature/seasonal table

As for me...I am still in the process of finishing up from last year, so my days beyond childcare are extended long into the evenings.

We hope you have a great week!
  

Seasonal table - winter 2015

One of the things that I struggled with before putting together the winter seasonal table was how I should go about it. Usually I would get the kids to help me, but it never quite fit into our schedules - the little ones are small and napping is such a priority.

I thought about putting it together one afternoon, but in the end, I decided I would put down the foundation, so to speak, and then I would let them create something that we could display on the table.

...we made snowflakes.

If you remember I used a brown cloth - a symbol of the earth (and) warmth as the base for our Autumn table. This season's base is a no-brainer...white for snow, of course. I am all about simplicity, so we kept it as simple as possible.

The only thing that's missing is our book of the month - I have to pick it up from the library.

Books on our table this month

Oh Snow
Snowman (Little People Shape Books)
The Twelve Days of Winter: A School Counting Book