Adom אדום (Older Toddlers)
It was so nice to chat with you all this week. It’s always nice to check in and compare notes about all the kids. The toddler years have lots of ups and downs in emotional regulation and behavior so it’s good to keep communication open and support each other.
A big thank you for the generous gift cards Eric and I received for Teacher Appreciation. We are very grateful and have both discussed how we will spend our “fun” money. Thank you, again.
This week was all about spiders!!! This isn’t a topic we have covered before, but several kids have been interested in spiders and they all love the big spider we use when we sing, “There’s a Spider on My…” so we dedicated a whole week to the theme. There were a few spider facts we covered repeatedly this week:
Spiders have 8 legs
Spiders usually have 8 eyes
Spiders make sticky webs
Spiders blood is blue
Spiders lay lots of eggs in egg sacs which hatch to make LOTS of babies
On Monday we sang our favorite song about spiders and they each put their own spider on the body part that was chosen. We added in some more obscure ones to practice - such as wrist, shoulder, ankle etc. For our activity we made spider crowns. The kids used good old Elmer’s Glue to glue on 8 eyes and then helped count out 8 legs to add to the crown. They all looked so cute in their spider attire!
On Tuesday we started the day with some cutting practice. We have tension scissors which pop back open after they cut. They are a good scissor to start with for new cutters. The kids were super focused and into trying out something new. For our activity we looked at an accurate drawing of a spider. We then make our own playdough spiders with lots of google eyes and pipe cleaner legs.
On Wednesday our optional morning work was to paint recycled cardboard forms. We are now using them as a playscape for dinosaurs and people. Our activity was a spider counting book. The kids colored their book with crayons and then worked on finger printing the correct number of spiders on each page. They were sent home so you can read them together and count the spiders. We also had been watching some pretend eggs I found at home, which were supposed to hatch after being soaked in water. On Wednesday they opened and it was VERY exciting. There were little dinosaurs inside!
On Thursday we focused on the idea that spiders lay LOTS of eggs in egg sacs. They kids were able to look at a baggie with lots of orbeez eggs inside so they could imagine what an egg sac would look like. We talked about how they would all hatch and make so many baby spiders. We then went on a baby spider hunt around the school. They LOVED it and were able to find all the spiders!! We took a lovely walk around the pond and saw tons of wildlife which was very interesting for them. We saw a red winged black bird, a cardinal, a goose, two squirrels, lots of turtles (even one I picked up to show them it was a painted turtle with a orange underside) and we heard loud frogs. We then walked by the farm on the Bet Shalom grounds and saw farmer Aaron shoveling new soil for the garden. It was such a nice walk together.
On Friday the kids will have Shabbat and then focus on the number 8 in various ways.
Next week Eric will lead the class while focusing on frogs!!
Fondly,
Teachers Katie and Eric
