Monday, March 23, 2009

Spring is here!!!!

Since we had a free day today, so did the kids! They were able to play, color and blow bubbles to their hearts content. There was no book today because I didn't want our Mom's to miss out on their fun!

I do have some recommendations for bubble themed books though that I'd like to share with you:

Pop! A Book About Bubbles-- this answers any questions little ones may have about how bubbles work.

Bubbles, Bubbles-- this is more of a bathtime book. The darling little girl in it creates things out of the bubbles in her tub like a bubble wig.

Bubble Riding-- this was going to be our story of the day. It has amazing pictures and is designed to lower stress and increase creativity in kids. It is almost a meditation for the kids-- very fun!

As the weather gets nicer, don't forget to spend some time blowing bubbles with the kids. We are sending the kids home with bags full of bubble blowing fun for the whole family. Enjoy!!!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Today the children were visited by a leprechaun who hid treasure for them to find! We hope that they enjoyed their pots of gold (and other treasures) as well as the Lucky Charms cereal!!!

The kids were treated to the book Jack and the Leprechaun by Ivan Robertson.It is a very sweet story about an American mouse who goes to visit his family in Ireland and they teach him all about this fun holiday.

To get you into the Irish spirit this week, I'll share some St. Pat's ideas with you!

In the week leading up to the big day why not try watching some movies to get you in the spirit. This site has YouTube clips from the top 10 movies-- some of which are intended for older audiences.

Leprechauns are quite tiny-- try this game where the kids have to find tiny objects that the little sprites left behind!

For those of us who are not up on the reasons behind the symbols of the holiday you can check out this site that tells you the origin of shamrocks, leprechauns, Blarney Stones, and more!

To continue last meetings theme of cooking with the kids, try to make rainbow Jello or Irish soda bread.

The music teacher in me would like you to incorporate some of these songs into your holiday celebration. Many of them are to tunes you already know like I'm a Little Teapot and BINGO.

I hope that you find your own pot of gold this St. Patrick's day!