Puppets and More Puppets

We had Spanish early this morning.

After we flew to our Spanish speaking country...

...and said Hola, to each other...

Alicia brought out....A PUPPET! This was pretty amazing and exciting, because we are pretty in love with puppets just now.

He helped us learn about some of our favorite colors.

Then we finished up our journals and began a very wonderful morning of play.

We went to see Sam, to find out whether she had any more horses for is (long tubes). She had a few, but no more. If you all have any laying about, we will gladly take them off your hands.

Our ponies morphed into swords and telescopes, as we took off in a boat.

They also served as microphones and megaphones - making us VERY LOUD!

Nothing goes better with a tube than a hat!

Friends also discovered the chalkboards today. It's wonderful to be able to write and erase and start over. We continued working on patterns with the counting Bears, too.

There was so much going on, that we occasionally had to pause and take our blood pressure.

Or just take a quiet break.

At Morning Meeting, we had a Moment of Race Car Noises, and then a Moment of Silence. Mason took over photography responsibilities, while we had another PUPPET VISIT!

Monkey and Cow showed up with yet another problem for the Catbirds to solve. This one was about hitting, and friends had many solutions - some very complicated, others as simple as a kiss and a hug.

Today's Choice Time was inside or outside. Inside, friends worked on making puppets with their own faces on them.

Outside, we played with the ever smaller supply of ice and snow. The pond was no longer frozen, and we wondered what happened to the snow when we threw it in.

 And more...

Puppets and Pomegranates

 

The Catbirds worked on their journals in their own, unique individual styles.

 

Some require absolute silence to create!

 

There were interesting objects out on the table, that were explored with hands and eyes and magnifying glasses.

 

Then we were off to the music room to meet Buster Williams.

 

He showed us his instrument, the bass, and how to play it with the bow or with his fingers. It made a big, deep sound.

 

He played the theme from Sesame Street, and we sang along. Then he asked friends to come up, say their name loud and clear and say something that makes us special. Then, he played The Alphabet Song, and we attempted Michael Row Your Boat Ashore in a round.

 

When we got back, we bundled up and headed outside to play in the snow. We had a blast running, sliding and making snowballs.

 

Back inside, we had snack, then played a game of Simon Says.

 

Next, we had a Moment of Wind and Storm Noises (including some animals being blown away), then a Moment of Silence.

 

Two new puppets (an elephant and a pig), came to Morning Meeting, because they had heard that the Catbirds were good at helping solve problems.We have been using the puppets as a way to bring conflicts from the classroom into our gathering and encouraging friends to examine the problem from different perspectives and try out different solutions.

 

All of the Catbirds are excited to give suggestions.

 

Then, our puppet friends helped us read the elephant and piggie book, My Friend is Sad.

 

For Choice Time, we brought out the Pattern Blocks. These are excellent for simple fine motor coordination, and also for helping friends develop the mathematical concept of creating and predicting patterns (red-blue-green-red-blue-green-red-??? What comes next?)

 

We also cut open the mystery fruit (pomegranates), and friends got to put them in water and pull out the seeds. It's a wonderful sensory motor activity, and many friends enjoyed eating the delicious and nutritious seeds.

 

And more...