AFC PINE PM

  The Pine kids wrapped up their week with playing in the snow! Unfortunately, it is just a wee bit too cold to be playing outside. I do appreciate all of the kids wearing snow boots, coats, hats, and gloves though! It's helpful for the days in which we do decide to take a quick walk around the block 😊 Instead of playing in the snow outside, we brought it inside! Snow is fun to play in, but we couldn't really build a snowman, throw it around, or make snowballs.. what could we do?! Then it dawned on us, let's paint it! We got out some water colors, eye droppers, and a big pile of snow and the kids went to town. They used their knowledge of mixing colors to create new ones as they dropped them onto the white snow.  "It's so cold!" "Look, look, I am making it pink!" "It's blue snow!" They giggled and laughed as the slow melting snow absorbed the bright vibrant colors. It hardly looked like snow anymore! This was a great way to incorporate...

  Snow is quite exciting! We waited until the very end of our day to play out and the snow and I think that was best for everyone because as soon as we stepped outside the kids went crazy! They loved being able to form the snow in their hands and throw it around. They giggled with excitement at the possibility of building a snowman, going sledding, and having a snowball fight!  We went on a walk instead due to the lack of time and the temperature drop. Along our walk the kids pointed out all of the different paw prints, footprints, and snowy covered trees. It was so fun to have a different experience on our walks. I am so glad we got to get some fresh winter air today! 

  The kids were back at it with their gymnastics routines this afternoon, but today they decided it would be fun to score each other on their routines. I was hesitant about this game starting because sometimes "winning" and "losing" becomes a hard concept to understand and often ends up in a tearful experience. Thankfully, J &  O weren't too worried about winning or losing or not receiving a "10" for a score. Instead they were more focused on writing the numbers and showing off their cool moves. Each child took the time to dance or jump across the beam and stick the landing to receive the sore of a "perfect 10!"  It was really fun to watch them give each other scores, practice writing numbers, and cheer each other on just like they watched the other gymnasts do in the videos we have been watching. Just one more way we are trying to build some teamwork! So fun! 

Has anyone seen the amazing floor routine by UCLA's gymnast Nia Dennis?! If you haven't I highly suggest it! You can watch it here . The video from her floor routine this weekend caught my attention on many levels. Not only did she display the highest level of athleticism, but she also provided many powerful images and movements throughout her short time on the floor. I found her routine to be extremely important and wanted to share her Black excellence with the class.  If you watched the video, you may have noticed a lot of powerful images Nia provided that have the audience reflecting on many historical and cultural events. Although the kids watched Nia fly through the air, dance beautifully, and overall nail one of the best routines, they were also experiencing her being her true authentic self. They were able to see her kneel with her fist in the air, represent her sorority, and have her entire routine to popular influential music. She was able to express herself out on the...

Today was a beautiful day to spend it out on the playscape. The kids were doing all kinds of different things out there, it was hard to keep up!  F & J played a fun game of rolling different balls down the hill. They watched them bounce off of the large boulders and rocks surrounding the area. Both boys took turns and laughed when the ball didn't go the direction they wanted and overall had a good time with one another.  L on the other hand decided he was going to help out with moving some rocks over to rock river. The classes have been tasked with helping take care of our school community and needed all our strong kiddos to help out. L was a perfect helper! He loved being able to use the wheelbarrow to move some of the heavier ones. Nice work L!  L also had her own agenda. She was getting a kick out of watching the trucks tumble down the hill. L watched as the truck bobbled back and forth and inevitably roll into a rock and get stuck. She was cracking up!  It wa...

  Whew! It's been a busy today in the Pine room. There was a special surprise from the Sycamore room, they found the treasure in the forest! Check out their blog post containing some videos around the excitement of finding the treasure in addition to a clue to where they hid it. Our kids were quite excited to go on a new adventure!  Treasure Hunt It was our turn now to head off to the forest and look for some treasure with our trusty map and determination.  The kids LOVED being able to find and then rehide the treasure for another class to find. They continued to play "treasure hunt" during the rest of our time in the forest by taking turns to hide and find it. Each of them studied the map in hopes it would give them clues to secretive spot. They all laughed, ran, and played with such joy today. Today is a good day! 

  Oops! I accidentally posted this in the AM blog... here is yesterday's blog post!    The kids have been really into drawing lately and it has transpired into a number of different creations. They have mostly focused on making basic drawings of people that contain one big circle body, two arms, two legs, and a happy face inside. How can we incorporate more detail? How can we encourage more intricate drawings?  Today we tried mixing it up a little bit. The kids were provided a bunch of different kinds of facial features cut out from a magazine. It allowed for them to choose which eyes, ears, mouths, and noses they wanted for their person! They were cracking up putting cat ears on a person's head or replacing a human nose with a dog nose. Too funny! It inspired some more drawing at the end of our day where we worked as a class to draw different kinds of emotions. Each kid had a chance to pick a face at random and have their friends contribute a part of the face. It wa...

  It doesn't happen often, but there are days the kids feel a little homesick. It usually starts with one child saying they want to see mom or dad and the rest follow suit. Although they don't perseverate on the thought, sometimes they do want to talk about home and their family members.  Today was one of the those days. It wasn't until about halfway through our day that the kids starting saying they wanted to see mom, dad, and just go home. I totally get it! There are many ways in which we try and address the longing to be home, but today we focused on a different approach. Instead of just talking about wanting to be home, I thought it might be more helpful to build their homes. With some magnetic tiles and a little bit of prompting, just about every child took some time to recreate their homes! It was fun to watch them add details like a garage or a second story. This definitely alleviated some of the sadness for awhile before settling back into the classroom.  Don't ...

In continuation from the treasure that was found yesterday, L was determined to hide the newly created treasure in the forest! If you watched yesterday's video you will remember that L explained the plan for today's forest visit. Basically: 1. create treasure 2. hide the treasure in the forest 3. mark an X on a map 4. tell other classes to find the treasure!  The kids started the day out by creating a beautifully jeweled pipe cleaner to represent the treasure. F, L, and O worked very hard to get these beads with the tiniest holes! Nevertheless, they persisted and created beautiful pieces.  The treasure was made and ready to be hidden in the forest. Once we arrived, L took it from there.  Once he buried it, it was time to mark it with an X and place an X on the treasure map.  This was so fun and we couldn't keep the game to ourselves. L and the others agreed that it would be really fun to give the other classes in the building a chance to find the treasure! Now we wai...

  While playing in the sandbox today, a few of the kids found a treasure! It was a string of beads with one single shell attached. This is not a typical everyday find in the sandbox, but an exciting one for sure! "I found treasure!" L yelled in excitement. The kids gathered around to see what was pulled from the hole in the sand. There was a little bit of a debate on what we would do with the treasure. Unfortunately, the necklace that was found will not be returning to the sand, BUT L had another idea to include others in the same kind of fun the Pine class had in the sand. Watch below to find out our plan for tomorrow 😊

  Happy Monday! If you found that there is a sticky green substance attached to your child today then you are seeing evidence of the stickiest slime this class has ever seen! Not to worry, it comes out very easy with some white vinegar 😊 We eased into the new week getting to have a proper sensory experience as well as working on drawings, taking turns making race car tracks, and finding new ways to make playing cards stand up to represent some buildings. The kids LOVED the slime, but like I said, it was super sticky and the kids definitely wanted to wash their hands immediately. It was pretty hysterical! They would squeal when they realized the slime just would not come off and stuck between their fingers like webbing on a frog or lizard hand. They tried so many different ways to get it off, but ultimately a little soap and water saved the day.  

Today we saw some of the best interactions in terms of game play, taking turns, and overall friendship. It was seriously so very sweet! Luckily we caught it all on video for you all to watch too.  We talk about our feelings and how we can deal with the bigger ones (angry, sad, disappointed) quite frequently as well as celebrating the others (happy & calm). The kids have really become very good at identifying how they are feeling and different strategies they can use in order to help calm down or get their bodies back to good feelings. A few weeks ago we introduced a dice containing all different kinds of feelings the kids had to role and act them out. It was a huge hit!  The game has progressed since! Today, the kids used the dice to play a game of charades! It was facilitated by Margie and Jenn who reinforced the expectations of the game when they saw fit. After a few rough rounds and working out some kinks, the kids were ready to play for real. Please enjoy the video bel...

  Well, we tried to recreate the slime experiment in hopes to make the most perfect slime this school has seen. Unfortunately that didn't happen. We did learn, however, that the kids were less focused on the product and more about the process. Talk about a life lesson! These kids were never really focused on the slime itself, but could not wait to be a part of the process to create the sparkly green slime.  I think for us teachers it really put some things in perspective. We are often looking for an outcome and want to see some sort of progress to see a goal. Today, we learned a valuable lesson in the process versus the product.  Cherish the journey each child is on. Progress will be made, but enjoy the process too 😊 

  Welcome back! We are so excited to be back for a new semester here at Ambrose. It was so great to see each kid come in with a smiling face, ready to take on the day.  If the Pine PM class has learned anything this year, it's to go with the flow and be flexible in our thinking! While the teachers of Pine had high hopes to create a sensory experience with some class made slime... the slime had another idea.  Fortunately, the kids have really come a long way in not being disappointed with a failed experiment. They are usually ready to make the best of a not so ideal situation.  The PM class also really loves to help with any kind of recipe. It gives them the opportunity to participate, take turns, and watch a recipe come together.  In the video below you can see how they felt about the "slime" that they made. They used all kinds of descriptive words, interesting facial expressions, and unsure finger movements.  Such a fun day!