Robot......

The boys have been building with blocks quite often with all the rainy days that we have had. What is this structure you ask? Why it's a robot! :)

Friends.......

I enjoy watching the children have so much fun together. The other day I was taking some pictures and Ezra asked me if I could get a picture of him and Maggie together. :)

Field Trip.......

We visited Brown's Oakridge Zoo last week and had such a great time. We were able to pet and feed three different breeds of tiger cubs. There was a little sugar glider that we were able to touch and watch as it stuck like velcro on our tour guide's arm. There were two adorable young kangaroos that we enjoyed getting to see. There was a very friendly sika deer that waited patiently while we found grass to feed him. We also met a sweet donkey that would come out from the shade to eat whatever clover and grass that we would offer. One of our favorite spots to kneel by was by the prairie dogs. They were so darn cute and the kids would pick up little pieces of their food and feed them. They were so fun to watch. The Clydesdale horse was huge, I think she would have stayed there all day and ate the grass that we were feeding her. :) We also really enjoyed the male Arctic fox. His name was Marshmallow and he was so sweet. The kids would call out his name and he would come running out of his house wagging his tail. There were many other animals that I didn't name or post pictures of. Our tour was great, we were told many different facts about each animal. We ate a picnic lunch under a shade tree there and headed home. We will definitely go back. :)

Reindeer food..........

LOL!! This post is a little late to say the least. My goal is to start posting on a regular basis again. Life has been so busy that I really haven't had the time to put into this blog. This is a post to show the kids making reindeer food before Christmas last year. It was huge deal for all the kids and they were so excited to make it. We used dry oatmeal, Christmas sprinkles, and some silver sprinkles from a trip to Williams Sonoma. The kids were very careful with the silver sprinkles and seemed to think they carried some sort of mystical quality. Eliott was convinced that they helped the reindeer fly. Too cute!

Caution:construction zone...........

The kids get so excited when they are able to explore and use these types of tools. This gives me an opportunity to see the children working along side each other, using their language to enlist help, support, and guidance from each other. This type of activity is great for improving their muscle strength. They are using their fine motor skills to hold that golf tee or roll up the measuring tape and using those large muscles to move the foam to just the right spot in the shade or trying to balance themselves on top of the structure. I also think that it makes them feel in control to swing that hammer and pound in those golf tees. It's great to see them beam with pride at the "work" they have accomplished. :)

Observing our environment..........

This was a day that the children were observing and recording the changes that were happening to our outdoor environment. The kids each had a clipboard, paper, and pencil to document what they saw. I asked them questions to help them along. "What is happening to the leaves on the trees?", "Does the air feel cooler than a few weeks ago?", etc. This gives us a great opportunity to think out loud and exchange ideas. I ask them to try to describe and predict what will happen. We have also been reading different books that pertain to fall, such as We're Going on a Leaf Hunt!

A little help from our friends...........

It's hard to capture this in a photo, but I gave it a try. We were working on a very difficult project that probably should have been used for second graders and needless to say most of the kids were having trouble with certain parts of the activity. Ezra seemed to master the most difficult part of wrapping the pipe cleaner around the pom pom to make a "bee." Once he finished his project, he jumped up and started helping the younger kids with the bee making and giving them instructions. "Here, see this, you wrap it around, like this." He was very patient and it was a joy to see. :)