Our First Week!

We have had a busy first week! I definitely noticed the switch from half-days to full-days just because of the energy level in the classroom. These children are tired! We have very active days and I think all of the children are ready for our 20 minute rest time in the afternoon.

We begin our day with Main Lesson, and start by doing some stretching. We stretch to greet the sun and then reach way down to touch our toes. The children love "Acorn, Star, Tree," where they are essentially doing jumping jacks. We also have circle games like, "The Grand Old Duke of York." We even challenged ourselves and tried it walking backwards! On Wednesday, I introduced the children to the amazing world of beanbags and we did some exercises to develop their coordination, balance and sense of rhythm. Next we sing some songs and review the story told the day before. On Tuesday we reviewed the story verbally by sharing characters and events, on Wednesday the children put on a play, and today we reviewed the story by drawing it. After review, we call the story fairies and I tell the children a new story.

This week, the children have had Spanish twice with Maestra Surage and about half of the class were fitted for their Eurythmy shoes (kind of like ballet flats).

The children were introduced to Sir Compost, King Trash and Queen Recycle on Tuesday and we have been practicing since, at the end of snack and lunch. I've heard children say, "King Trash is so full! I think he has a bellyache!"

Yesterday, the children began felting little wool eggs and I told them about my trip to a Scottish sheep farm this summer. Today we all made little beeswax fish from our "Golden Fish" story on Monday. At the end of the day, the children have exploration time, where they can choose to read, play a game, try the marble run, build with blocks, use the slates and chalk, explore the nature table, or draw. They have had a wonderful time building cities together and sharing favorite books. At the very end of the day, we sing and I play guitar. The children learned a song called, "Aiken Drum." Ask your child to sing it for you.