T4 has a big feast with lots of traditional food and lots of family involvement.
Unfortunately, I somehow didn't get a group shot of the festivities.
We'll substitute with this individual shot, though.
Because everyone needs to do a little two-handed eating sometimes!
Way back in September we spent the month focusing on kindness. It's a good way to start out the school year with preschoolers. Be kind to your friends (don't hit, don't push, take turns, share). Be kind to your teachers and parents (obey, help). Be kind to yourself (play safely, eat the healthy food first, follow the rules). Be kind to things (put them back where they belong, use toys as they're meant to be used). You know. Stuff like that.
We also involved the parents. The children were given construction paper hearts to take home. On the hearts the parents recorded the kind acts of their children and sent the hearts back to school, where the teachers read the statements during circle time -- after which the children took their hearts to the hallway and placed them all together.
As the month went on, the number of hearts grew...
and grew...
and grew...
until the big heart was full of little hearts and until the little children were full of the big idea that being kind can make a difference.
(Above is the T3, 3B, and 3C kindness heart. T4's kindness heart is below.)
Three and four year olds are masters at pretending. Sometimes they will set up elaborate group situations -- often making up and changing the "rules" and the roles as they go along.
Apparently this ailment required an entire medical team for resolution!
Other times they'll prefer to play by themselves -- again with elaborate themes and roles.
This little girl must have quite an excursion planned!
A picnic for one often sounds good to me, too!
During red week, T4 had a red snack -- juicy, sweet watermelon.
But this wasn't just about having a healthy snack.
It was a vocabulary-rich math lesson.
The watermelon was divided into equal parts, one for each person. Each part was a wedge.
To make sure there was one for each person, the wedges had to be counted. When you count things you point to each item one time. They all counted together.
Plastic knives were distributed. If you make vertical slices and then a horizontal slice, you will have bite-size pieces of watermelon.
Of course, there are easier ways. :)
So -- the red snack was enjoyed by all. And maybe a few new words (and skills) were learned in the process.
T4 spent the week experiencing the color red.
And on Thursday the red paint came out.
And the children started learning about painting inside the lines...
which was very exciting.
Lots of exploring and experimenting was going on in T4 today.
They definitely found that the kitchen was well-stocked!
Good thing, because this "girl fighter" (as she called herself) had apparently worked up an appetite -- and did a great job pretending to eat her sandwich (by not putting the plastic in her mouth).
Blocks teach children all kinds of things -- the trial and error method being a great way to learn. If you stand tall blocks on end, they are likely to fall -- especially if you are working from tile onto carpet.
