November 25: We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt!

“We’re going on a…LEAF hunt!”  Yes, instead of going on a BEAR hunt, we went on a leaf hunt today :)  Here is what happened..

Cooking Station

The table nearest to the entrance door was the most popular set up with all sorts of cooking tools such as pots, pans, plates, bowls, cups, spoons and tongs.  On a tray there were also assortments of sensory ingredients such as couscous, “somen” noodles and playdough.  R was one of the first friends to join and he enjoyed pouring couscous from one bowl to another.  Our hands were so busy not to mention our conversation going back and forth across the table.  J was stripping bits of playdough inside a cup and it looked like he was adding herbs in a cooking pot.  When he was asked if M cooks for him, he answered with a big smile, “Yes, my dinner.”  When there is fun, there is trouble; we had to practice our negotiating skills as we all seemed to want to use the only milk jug we had on the table.  When K asked J, “I want this one (the milk jug)” although he hesitated in the beginning, before he left the table for another activity, he remembered to give it to K who accepted his offer delightedly.  E joined the table with her baby and gently fed her baby.  J and L also loved being at this table and even kindly offered help for their younger friends.  We have to say a big thank you to Tamara who patiently sweeped and cleaned up the mess every time a bowl full of couscous dropped on the table and floor! 

Coffee Filter SnowFlake Station

On a tray, there was a white coffee filter placed in the middle.  There were also trays one with blue colored water and another with purple colored water inside.  Using a pipette, we used our squeezing fingers to collect some colored water inside the pipette and then we squeezed again to push out the liquid onto the coffee filter.  W was so amazed to see the effect of the colored water absorbing into the coffee filter and excitedly shared to his friends and teachers, “look, look!”  He also enjoyed dipping his hands inside and feeling the coolness.  Once the filters dry up, we are hoping to make snowflake buntings! 

Puzzle Station

There were wooden puzzle boards to find matching pictures.  K was the first one to sit at this table and looked for a “tiger,” “chicken,” “train,” and he asked, “Where’s apple?”  N and W worked on all the three different boards.  N called out for help for the last missing piece (a dog) by saying, “one more!”  Luckily, we found the piece and they were able to complete all the boards!

BigLego Blocks + Cushion Slides Station

We love the trains and cars but we also love to be able to construct big things with the Lego blocks.  Y made a “boat” which looked like a tower as tall as himself and even taller!  N used the empty Lego container to make herself a comfy looking bed :)

Circle Time

After shaking our sillies out, we gathered in a circle and sang, “If you’re happy and you know it…!”  Along the song, we clapped our hands together, stomped our feet, bent our knees and some of us had some great moves to share: Y showed us how to turn around with our hands and feet stuck on the floor and K showed us how to throw our arms up in the air with our tippy toes. 

Once we were all seated nicely on our bottoms with criss-cross-apple-sauce, we used our fingers to touch different parts of our body - shoulders, nose, ears, elbows, tummy and eyes.  By touching our knees and then putting our hands together repeatedly, we can make a rhythm, one two, one two, one two and keeping the rhythm, we sang our Good Morning song.  While we were singing, we realized that teacher Erika was not in the classroom, nor were some other friends who were spending some time in Petals class this morning.  In a smaller group, we started our circle time with an interactive story telling session.  One of our favorite books is We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury and today we listened to a story inspired by that book called We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger and Miki Sakamoto.  Using our hands, tapping our right knee and then the left knee, we made a walking rhythm, one two, one two, one two, as we sang the line…

We’re going on a leaf hunt.

We’re going right away.

Let’s find colorful leaves. 

It’s a wonderful day!

We climbed a mountain and went through a forest, a waterfall and a lake until we heard the sound of a SKUNK hiding in the bushes!  Hurry!  We tapped our knees in a faster rhythm and ran back all the way home ;)  

Soon our friends were back from Petals class.  Hey, what’s that tree trunk doing on the wall - so bare-looking without leaves?  Why not add some Autumn colored leaves (which we made!) on it!?  E and L stayed until the very end and helped stick lots of leaves on our Buds tree!  

Park Time

Before heading out the door to Step Park, we picked up another book called The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr and enjoyed listening to a story about a funny big tiger who visited a girl called Sophie and her mom and ate up all the food and drinks in the house.  The weather was so lovely and warm that once we walked out of the alley, E felt the sunshine on her cheeks and said, “It’s hot!”  We were lucky that the park was empty so we got to go on the big slide to our heart’s content :)  

Thank you for another lovely day!   

Love from all the children in Buds xoxo