All sorts of fun today! We used marbles and paint to make mummies!  They shook up the marbles and paint  in a box and then added google eyes.  I made purple play dough and they made monsters using google eyes. And lastly, we made potions; I put food coloring on bottom of pumpkins, added baking soda and they used eye droppers with vinegar.  
They were encouraged to draw ghosts in their journals.  A few of them showed some interest in writing words!!  This makes me so happy to see progress! 

We painted pumpkins today!  They each picked the color they wanted to use.  
For fine motor practice, they were encouraged to draw pumpkins.  
I received two nice gifts today, flowers and a Starbucks gift card!  Thank you very much! I have some wonderful families that are always so thoughtful.  

Hurricanes are tropical storms that have powerful winds and heavy rain.  People call the center of the hurricane the "eye of the storm." The center of a hurricane is calm. When viewed from space, hurricanes can look like swirl marks. During this Invitation to Create, they created their own representation of a hurricane using a cotton swab, paint brush, paint, glue and shaving cream.
For fine motor, they drew swirls in their journals.  I placed a sticker in the center and they swirled around the sticker! 
We have been reading our monthly book "I see." We used all the letters we have been working on to form words today, taking turns finding the correct letter. 

Tornadoes occur when warm and cold air start to rotate and twist together. Usually a tornado is not  able to be seen until it starts picking up dirt and debris that form a visible, funnel-like vortex. We discussed how to stay safe in a tornado; in a basement with no windows or in a bathtub if no basement is available.
They made a tornado twirler using a paper plate, markers, and I helped them cut the plate into a spiral shape.
For fine motor we had some fun with various butcher paper activities.  I drew clouds with letters C, N, U and they used letters to match to the clouds.  I drew a spider on butcher paper and they used pom poms to outline, and they used mini erasers to place on random lines.  These types of actives get the kiddos up and moving! 
They played with dress up clothes today.  Spidey spent a good amount of time reading to his friends!  So sweet! 

Hail is made up of ice balls that fall from clouds. They can be as small as beans or as large as golf balls. Hail can create loud sounds when hitting objects.
We used bouncy balls, paint and paper to create hail art!  We talked about the sound hail can make.  We used a plastic container to shake up the balls and paint!
​They were encouraged to draw a picture of their favorite season. 
For fine motor they were encouraged to draw lightning and rain drops. 

Playing in the leaves is always a good time!

We can hear thunder and see lightning . Thunder is the sound we hear when lightning strikes and the air around the bolt moves very quickly. We use umbrellas when it is raining or storming outside. 
They created a thunder shaker using a tube and beans! They were encouraged to decorate the tube like a stormy sky.
We made lightning letters using foil! They were encouraged to make lightning bolts (zig zag lines) with the yellow paint, using their finger and rain drops with the blue paint. 

Some animals move to different places in the winter months. They search for warmer weather and better homes. Birds fly south in a "V" formation. Other animals, such as a moose, salmon, sea turtles and butterflies, migrate too.
The created a butterfly using markers and ribbon. 
For fine motor, they drew in their journals.  I used butcher paper to draw various lines, they used mini erasers to follow the lines.

Different animals sleep for long periods during the winter months. This is called hibernation. A hibernating animal's breathing and heart rate slow down.  Many animals sleep  in a protected home, such as a den.
For fine motor, they chose the type of line they wanted to draw.  
They took turns rolling the die, identified the number and placed that many bears to bed. 
We went on a walk to find items to make a den for their bears. I am so impressed with the details on their bears!!  

There is light during the day and darkness at night. Earth completes a full rotation once a day. In the summer, the top of the earth tilts toward the sun and daylight lasts longer. In the winter, the earth tilts away from the sun and we have less daylight.  
They counted and sorted links with stars. They were encouraged to identify the number on each star then place that many links of the matching color on the star. The "wild" star was 6 and any color of link could be placed on the star.  
They practiced building letter Nn using letter builders. I gave each child three strips of black paper and they were encouraged to explore making different designs.
They were invited to use strips of black paper to make letter N and glue onto the background paper.  They decorated by adding star stickers. N is for Night!
For fine motor, they chose whatever type of line they wanted to draw, for those that finished before the others they were encouraged to draw a jack-o-lantern!