Monday, March 29, 2010

The Spring Buds are here!

We looked at tree branches with buds from a cherry tree, an apple tree and some other leaves bursting out from the warm weather!  After talking about the buds each child got to make their own Popcorn tree!
We glued popcorn to a tree shape on construction paper and it looked just like the trees covered in blooms.  On our walk we got showered by petals from a blooming pink tree!  It looked a bit like snow coming down on our hair and shoulders! We read a book about spring and sang a song about a farm called Fiddle I fee.  It was a fun spring day.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Boating on Cottage Lake!

We had such fun today going out in a paddle boat!  Before we went out in the boat we talked about boat safety. We learned that you don't stand up in a boat and you don't make any sudden movements.  Also, that you don't jump from the boat into the water-at least not when the water is cold!  We all put on life vests-even Maddie the Monkey!  We paddled by geese and male and female mallard ducks.  We saw a cormorant spread its wings to dry them in the sun.  We played "eye spy" and saw the pink flowers on a flowering fruit tree.  We paddled all the way to the park and got to play on the playground for a while before we headed back for a snack of hard boiled eggs and popcorn.  One of the moms noticed that if you put the egg in the middle of a bowl of popcorn it looks like a nest.  Very cool!  We read 2 books, Pelle's New Suit about a boy in the spring, shearing a sheep to get wool for a new suit.  And also Seasons,  a book with gorgeous paintings about the seasons.   We all had such fun today on a Tiny Treks Excursion!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

I Spy with a Spyglass!

We made spyglasses this week so we could go search in the forest for animals, bugs, spiderwebs and colors.  We also got to meet Frannie the Fox-a fun puppet who taught us a bit about foxes.  We pretended to be different animals; kangaroos jumping, bunnies hopping, horses galloping and fish swimming. Then we were off to see animals. Outside in the sun the turkeys were doing a mating dance.  The swish of their feathers as they opened sounded like a ladies fan! When we counted the eggs we saw chickens fighting over the eggs and pecking at them.  What were they doing? They were eating their own eggs! We played "I spy with my little eye something black and white."  The children had no problem finding the black and white chickens.  We played the game as we hiked on the trail along the stream.  We peaked into holes in the ground and wondered who might live in there-a rabbit?  A squirrel?  A fox?  or even a snake.  We ended the class playing I spy and looking closely at paintings of the Amazon Rainforest.