Week 3 Recap!

Monday:

Today we introduced the letter C. We painted Caterpillar C’s with water colors and read The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I got out the felt board story we have used in the past (you can check that out here) and let them tell the story back to me. I love when they find a certain part of the book that they love, and they put those pieces up on the board. Tristan loves to put up the moon and the tree with the egg on it, and then Lily will put up the sun and the caterpillar. They can recite small parts of the book without looking at it, and when they do have the book in front of them, they 'read' with the cadence that I do. They took turns bringing each other pieces to stick on, and only got frustrated/asked for help a few times. We also learned how to sign the letter C and the color yellow. On our walk later that night, Lily saw a yellow ball and started to sign and say "Yellow Mommy!" I am so proud of my little sponges!

Tuesday:

The day started off gloomy and rainy so we were forced to stay indoors. Yikes. These are the days where the extra planning works in my favor. We did some exercises and went on a bear hunt. Then we danced to a few of their favorite songs before starting project time.

We painted pictures of things that were yellow with water colors.  After a snack of one chocolate chip cookie (hey, that’s some triple C action right there), we talked about caterpillars and got ready to make our own. We took clothespins (two each) and smeared some Elmer’s glue on the top. They each picked out the color pom poms they wanted, and stuck four on each clothespin while I held them steady. While our caterpillars were drying, we practiced peeling some Very Hungry Caterpillar themed stickers and putting them on a foam leaf to feed our new friends.

After nap and lunch, the sun came out so we ventured outdoors for a wagon ride and some play time under the umbrella. Lily spotted a tiny yellow caterpillar so I scooped him up to show them. They were loving it until Lily let him “tickle” her hand briefly before throwing him to the ground and Tristan may have ran over him with his car. RIP Little Guy!

Wednesday:

It was chilly this morning but we still took our stroller walk and looked for leaves. When we came back and came inside, we had our C snack (chocolate chip cookie) and talked about what happens in the fall. We talked about the many leaves we saw on our walk, and all the different colors and sizes they are. I painted their arms brown from their elbows to the tips of their fingers to make a tree. Then they got to ‘dot’ their fingerprints all over in red, orange, and green paint.

After nap and lunch, we tried our fine motor skill of the week. I found small plastic containers somewhere (probably the dollar store) and had Jordan cut a slit in the top of each of them. I gave each kid a handful of buttons and sat back and watched. Lily asked me “Can I put this in here?” and all I said was “go for it!” Once again, this new activity kept their hands busy for quite some time! After each of them had filled their containers, we dumped them out and started to sort some before putting them back in. Lily wanted all the big ones, and Tristan found all the yellow ones.

Thursday:

Today on our walk, we looked for leaves to use for a special project we would be doing later. They each pointed out leaves they wanted to use and I scooped them up. When we got home, we added more leaves to our bucket and came inside for snack. After snack, I taped down a few leaves on their tray, taped a piece of white construction paper over them, and handed them each a big, peeled crayon. I showed them how to rub and roll the crayon so the leaves underneath would show up, but then I stepped back and let them go to town. Tristan even started looking for letters in the patterns he made!

After nap and lunch, we grabbed a soccer ball and a volley ball and headed to this little park up the street. It’s just a big field for them to play on and I don’t have to worry about chasing them up different pieces of playground equipment. We kicked the balls around, found some acorns, and then Lily stopped listening and ran off into the parking lot and that ended our fun there. We talked about why we had to leave, and she told Jordan when he came home that she cried at the park and she wanted to kick the volleyball. Sigh. We’re working on our listening skills so I can one day conquer the zoo or the aquarium with both of them solo.

Friday:

We took a good walk today in the crisp fall air. We came home and drew things that start with C with sidewalk chalk and then went upstairs and played in Lily’s room for something different.We might try the park again this afternoon for a little bit after lunch depending on everybody’s moods, but today, we're just going to take it easy! 

My first proud moment of the morning was when Tristan found a piece of paper on the floor that was bent in half and said "Seven Kelly!" My second proud moment of the day was during our walk when Lily turned to Tristan and said "What red things do you see?" I love seeing it all come together for them!!

Have a fun weekend everyone!