Rory (3 yrs 3 months)

Rory was also back to school on January 3. After being away from the school routine for a week, going back to class was kind of hard on him. Plus with Myer starting (and possibly 'invading' his turf) I think that it was too much for him emotionally. He's been acting different since school started up again, always in the mornings. By pick-up time in the afternoon it's always "I don't want to go home."

Rory is in the junior preschool (3-4 yrs) class, the 'Tide Pool' room, where he has lots of buddies: Ardan, Bryce, Hee Jae, and Natalie. Sunday is a birthday party for Maddie at the park; it's a super-hero theme, and he wants to be Batman. "Nobody can be tougher than Batman!" [with the costume stores closed and Halloween long over, I expect it will be some jacked-up version of the caped crusader]

The Tide Pool has been learning all about winter in December. Ms. Betty writes:

This month the children learned tremendously about the winter season being that it was a short month! The children explored through several books: Polar Animals by Wade Cooper, The Little Penguin by A.J. Wood, The Little Seal by Sue Harris, Dear Polar Bear by Barry Abletti. The use of these resources gave the children the opportunity to question and think about the coldest places to live on Earth, the North Pole and South Pole. The children gained a better understand about ice, snow, and how it feels, and about the animals who love this cold weather. They know what animals do to keep warm and how it is hard for some animals to find food during this winter season.

The children pretended to be animals using animal figures and placed as many as they could to keep the animals warm inside a mitten which were given the opportunity to create their sparkling mitten for them to keep warm, too! They also, learned that a deer antler falls off one at a time, and later is use for food to other animals that nibble because it contains vitamins and minerals.

The children participated in several sensory winter activities such as the making of a snowflake. They used flour tortilla to make a pattern using a scissor, spread butter, and added a little cinnamon sprinkle to add a tasty touch! The making of snowflakes was enjoyable for all! The children were participants of another sensory activity. They were exposed to making observations and assisting Ms. Betty with ice to make snow, which allowed children to take an adventure of thinking if they could live in the snow or ice and if they would shiver or shake? They also, used their fine motor skills to put together a penguin. During this activity, the children learned facts about penguins. Penguins are birds that cannot fly, there are different kinds of penguins, and use their feathers to keep warm. In the end, the children enjoyed these winter experiences.

Off to find a Batman t-shirt...