Our Walk to Bocce Ball

Today, instead of just going outside on the playground, the CDLL chose to take the children on an adventure around campus being it was a beautiful day.  With the Special Olympic games going on at CMU's softball field we decided to take the children on the bleachers to watch the athletes compete.

 As we were walking we enjoyed looking at the flowers. Alexis said, "Look, those flowers are the same color as my dress."

We all got settled in on the bleachers and spent time watching bocci ball.  The children asked if the sport was bowling but we explained to them that it was bocce ball. Christopher noticed the red team was defense and James said that the orange team was trying to score a goal.

We began to feel the heat coming from the sun so we decided to take a break and have snack under the bleachers in the shade.

I hope that everyone has an enjoyable weekend and am looking forward to seeing everyone next week!

Ms. Burlison

Teaching Strategies Gold
Physical: Objective 6- Demonstrates gross-motor manipulative skills

5/28/15

Outdoor Activities!

With the summer days staying warm the new outdoor items have been being used a lot throughout the week. Today the children were excited to explore the bugs in their habitat. Many of the "creepy crawlers" were found throughout the different outdoor centers and were brought into the habitat for their new home. The Lego table was one area that the children were able to build at with the different Lego pieces. The bead working station was an area where many children were making bracelets. The wet sand table was used from a pretend ice cream stand to finding different plastic bugs in it!

 

 

The students have been very excited to explore the different outdoor table items throughout the week and share their findings throughout the day! 

Teaching Strategy: Physical 7a. Demonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination, uses fingers and hands

 Ms. Simlik

Planetarium Fun!

Today the children had the opportunity to experience an activity in a Planetarium. Inside,the children watched a video that discussed constellations, gravity, planets, and other topics that were presented in a fun way that included Elmo, Big Bird and a new character that was a blue pig from China! As the children exited, they were also given a sticker that said they explored the sky today!

Michigan State Standard: Early Learning Through Science: 1. Children develop positive attitudes and gain knowledge about science through observation and active play. 

Ms. Arena 

Back from the long weekend!

After a four day weekend the children came back to a lot of new things to explore in our outdoor area. There was a station set up for bubble painting where the children could experiment with many different colors! Bubble trays were set up and the children could dip into each color and then blow the colored bubbles onto their paper.

The children were also excited to see that a bug habitat was added to the outdoor area. The children enjoyed catching their bugs and putting them in their new home. They could bring their bugs grass and sticks to add to their habitat.

A sensory table filled with sand and water was a popular for the children 

who like to use their hands to get dirty. Many of the children interested in the bug habitat also enjoyed the mud table! They searched for bugs in the mud as well!

It was a great start to this week! Glad to see everyone

 after such a long weekend!

Ms. VanDrese

Teaching Strategies: The Arts: 33. Explores the visual arts

Bug Fun!

Today the children were busy looking and collecting different bugs from around the playground to add to the new bug habitat. Children were also encouraged to add natural materials to the habitat that the bugs may like. The natural materials the children added included dirt, leaves, sticks and grass. Many bugs were found and added to their new home!

Looking forward to seeing all new the bugs found this week. Enjoy the week!

Mrs. Fair

Teaching Strategies- Science and Technology: Demonstrates knowledge of Earth's environment

Small Group Discussions

Today in Mrs. Potter’s small group, we talked about Mrs. Potter’s upcoming trip to Nepal. She explained that she is going to Nepal to contribute to the earthquake relief; specifically with children who have families that are unable to provide shelter and care. Since she is planning on bring materials over for the children in Nepal, she asked the children in her small group if they had any ideas of what she should bring. 

The children discussed what materials/toys they would want if they had lost all of their belongings. Dominic suggested that Mrs. Potter bring lollipops, while William and Kallix thought the children might like a new Lego bin/Lego set.  

Olivia said, “I would give them my Sophia the First set.” 

Destiny and Isabell thought the children would like new shoes, at which Mrs. Potter replied, “While I’m in Nepal, it is supposed to rain for 21 days.” All children agreed that bringing rain boots, rain jackets, and rain pants similar to what they use at the CDLL would be beneficial for the children there. 

William suggested a notepad, which led to Dominic’s suggestion: “You could put a bunch of stuff in a backpack for them. They could have the backpacks for school.”

TS Gold Objective 10: Uses appropriate conversational and other communication skills

Enjoy the long weekend! 

Ms. Damm

Gardening Fun!

Today at center time, the weather was so nice that the children were able to spend time outside. The children were able to help Mrs. Nelson plant peas. There was a process that had to be followed and many children were able to participate. Some even worked together to help plant their peas in their hole. The first thing they had to do was loosen up the dirt so they would be able to dig their hole. Once they used small rakes to break up the soil, the children were then able to dig a hole to plant the 2 week old pea sprouts. The children shared their shovels, rakes, and even turns digging in the dirt.

The children each had their own spot to dig their own hole and plant the pea sprouts. Jamie's favorite part was digging her hole.

While digging around in the dirt, Jaquez even found an old onion sprout deep in the dirt that "smelled kinda funny".

When filling back up their hole, Jaquez and Carter found many worms and pulled them out to the side to "save them from the plants"

The children all worked together making sure the dirt was all filled in and their sprouts were resting on the fences. 

TS Gold Objective 27: Demonstrates knowledge of Earth's environment

Not only did the children get to plant peas, on the other side of the garden were chives that had been planted a while ago. Mrs. Nelson allowed the children to try some of the chives right from the garden. Most of the children really liked them and wanted more. They had such a great time in the garden today. We can't wait to watch our peas grow!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and a fun Memorial Day. See you all Tuesday!

Ms. Moraw