Bunnies, & Squirrels, & Bugs.. Oh My!

The robins are now gone from our yard, but the children don't seem to mind because they've been busy finding new and exciting animals around! It seems as if every day we hear a child scream with excitement "LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!!!" Over the past couple weeks we have found salamanders, slugs, interesting bugs, butterflies, birds, squirrels, and even a baby bunny. 

The children have been able to get an up close look at all the animals thanks to our patio door!  (We sometimes have snack out there, and the birds and squirrels LOVE the free crumb donations.) 

We watched two squirrels and a bird eat an afternoon snack for about a half hour the other day! The children decided they wanted to share some food so we "quietly" opened the door and threw out some trail mix. Naturally, they ran away, so we all decided to try out the trail mix while we waited for them to return. After a few minutes the hungry animals returned, and the children exploded with laughter when they began eating the treats. They wanted to continue throwing out food, which sparked the idea for DIY bird feeders. I put bird seed, pine cones, string, and peanut butter out on a table the next morning for when the children arrived. (Luckily we do not have any nut allergies!) The children used knives to spread peanut butter over the pine cone and then sprinkled the bird seed over it. Once we tied the strings around it, we headed to the woods searching for the perfect tree! 

                               

 

    We plan on checking the feeders on Monday to see if any birds have enjoyed their snack! 

- Leslie Dionne 

Rockin' Robins

  

Nestled amongst one of our cedar trees is a beautiful robin's nest. We noticed the brightly colored eggs from across the yard, and have been watching it closely for the past week. We haven't told the children where the nest is, however have been sharing pictures daily. It's been truly amazing to be  able to get an up close look at the transition from egg to chick. The pictures bring many questions from the children from why doesn't the baby have feathers to where the mommy is. Here are some of the pictures I've captured over the last week: 

As you can see from the picture above there was originally 4 eggs. Looking at the next picture, 2 eggs are missing from the nest. Immediately one child said, "There is 2 eggs gone!! What happened?!" I asked the children what they thought happened to the missing eggs, and they had lots of ideas: 

       "Maybe they fell."

"They grew up and left the nest." 

"Dinosaur took 'em."

"Wolf stole them." 

This led into the discussion that some animals eat eggs such as squirrels, crows, snakes, and even blue jays! We also read that not every egg has a baby inside it, and the mothers will get rid of those eggs. 

Because the children seemed  so interested in the nest,  I decided to set up an invitation for the children to try! 

Some of the children stayed at the table for about an hour trying to make their nest. After they were finished, the children used the brown string as worms, and were making the birds fly to their nest to eat a delicious snack. 

                                                            - Leslie Dionne

FAIRY tales

The snow has melted in our woods creating a brand new world to explore. Pine cones, moss, sticks, rocks, and buds of new life are some of the little treasures we've been finding. It seems that fairies  come into conversation when we're in the woods amongst some of the children which inspired me to create a "Fairy World" invitation for our classroom.

     

The first morning it was out I stood back and watched some of the children play. They used the sticks as fairy wands, created paths and roads with the rocks and wood pieces, and even set up a fairy trap! One girl told me that fairies eat gold (small wood pieces) so they needed to trap them! They took one of the houses and filled it with lots of "gold". She said the fairy would fly in the house to eat it and she was going to put her hand over it to trap her! (No luck!) 

To extend the interest of fairies I put out some materials so the children could make their very own fairy dust.....

They were all VERY excited they got to take their jars home! I can't wait to see how we can extend this in our backyard as well.. The opportunities are endless!! 

- Leslie Dionne

MUD, MUD, MUD!!!

It's Springtime here in New Brunswick and as we all know.. April Showers bring May Flowers MUD!  It may not be my favorite time of the year, but the children LOVE it. There's something about mud that is so inviting, as if it has a voice that only children can hear. It says, "Hey! come play with me. Jump on in, roll around, I AM SO FUN YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!" 

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day and the mud was in full force! The children started making mud pies, soups, and stomping in it immediately. They giggled when it made the squishing sounds against their rubber boots, and were screaming for someone to help them when they were stuck. By the end of the afternoon the children were rolling in it, wiping it on their face, splashing it, and even throwing mud balls! When the children left we had garbage bags ready to go so the parents could just throw their belongings into a bag. 

**I would like to take this opportunity  to THANK all of our amazing parents who were such good sports about the mud play! The staff & children appreciate your support!!** 

I will get to why letting children play in mud is important, but first...... please enjoy some pictures:

               So the moment some people are waiting for....

                      WHY MUD PLAY IS IMPORTANT:

Mud connects children with nature, and allows them to explore the world we live in.

Boosts creativity & imagination - mud pies, recipes, and other dramatic play

MUD IS ART!- some children used their fingers and sticks to make pictures on the fence.

Fosters Sensory Development- mud comes in many forms (dry, wet, rocky, cool, warm, etc) children are able to explore different textures  

Helps builds your immune system! 

Problem solving- some children don't like mud and must problem solve how to successfully navigate around the back yard. (Building bridges, etc) 

Team work & Cooperation - When a child was stuck or lost their shoe they helped each other out!

Developmentally appropriate for ALL ages. 

MUD IS FUN- children are developing childhood memories that will last a life time, and most importantly are having FUN while doing it. 

DON'T FORGET! INTERNATIONAL MUD DAY IS COMING UP NEXT MONTH! 

- Leslie Dionne

Meet Daisy

Out of the blue one day, a child looked up at me with a great amount of concern on their face. "Where's Duffy? Is he ever coming back to preschool?" For those of you have read the blog often probably know who Duffy is, but for the new readers, Duffy is our Elf on the Shelf. The children haven't mentioned Duffy since Christmas time so I was quite surprised to hear his name! As soon as the others heard Duffy's name it turned into a big conversation, and a lightbulb went off in my head! In storage we have a bin with some stuffed bunnies I planned on using for some Easter invitations, but I thought why not have a bunny buddy hide around our room like Duffy did. At the end of the day I found one of the bunnies, added some accessories, wrote a note to the munchkins, and put her out for the morning.

It took a little while for the children to notice Daisy in our classroom, but when she was spotted the news of her arrival spread like wildfire! When I came downstairs the children rushed over to tell me about her, and told me to read the note. Every night, Daisy "hides" in a new spot, and every morning the children rush in the door to see if they can find her. Sometimes Daisy even leaves little notes for the children to find. 

Daisy has been such a fun addition to our classroom! Like Duffy, Daisy will become a new Spring/Easter tradition here at Little Munchkins Preschool Center! Do you have any special Easter traditions you enjoy doing with your children? 

                                              

- Leslie Dionne 

Growing an avocado tree

One day during lunch a child handed me a zip lock bag with an avocado pit inside. "Here, this is for you!" she said full of pride. When I held up the mysterious object I asked the children if they knew what it was. Some thought it was a rock, but most guessed it was a seed. I passed this mysterious object around the table so the children could get a closer look. "It feels like my skin." said one boy, but then quickly changed his mind saying it looked more like a potato. As each child held the pit they told me an observation:

"It's all brown."

"It's really dark at the top."

"It's the color of skin, but it's not actually skin."

"It's going to grow."

"It's hard." 

I asked the children what they thought we should do with this mysterious object, and the answer was unanimous; we must plant it. 

The child who brought the pit in later explained it was a pit from inside the avocado her mom packed in her lunch. She gave us permission to take a piece and observe that as well. The children smelt it, poked it, and some refused to touch it. 

After lunch we looked up how to grow an avocado pit, gathered the materials, and started sticking the tooth picks in it. I will say we poked that poor pit more times then necessary, but we finally got them "just right!" We then searched the room for the perfect location. The children explained it needed a lot of sunlight, so we all agreed on the window sill by the stereo. I explained we could look at the pit and before I could explain why someone said, "Because that jar is glass and we don't want it to break!" The children decided it was imperative to make a "please don't touch" sign so everyone could read it. I noticed some of the children were even drawing pictures of what they thought our tree would look like once it grew.

Every monday for the last 5 weeks we've all come together to record our observations and measurements of the pit. The children are also responsible for adding fresh water to the jar. The first couple weeks there were no change, but week 3 we noticed a little sprout on the bottom. (I'm not sure who was more excited; the children or me) The children have been measuring every week how much the root has grown. As of today it is 1.5 inches!

This group project has been such a fun experiment to do! I'd like to bring in some avocados so the children can make some guacamole soon. This experiment has led into spring nicely, and can't wait to see what other plants we can start growing! Keep an eye out to see an update of our tree!

Why This Matters: 

Math & Measurement 

Fine Motor Skills 

Delayed Gratification

Science

Responsibility 

Sense of Wonder & Curiosity 

-Leslie Dionne