A is for Apple!

Our second day at TOP and we are already getting it together!  Most of the kids were OK with their parents leaving and the ones who are still having a hard time-were able to sing and talk during circle time.  

This year our curriculum is based on the alphabet. We will be speaking about nature while going through the letters of the alphabet. Our curriculum at TOP is flip-flopped so that a child who wants to stay 2 years doesn't have a repeating program.    A is for Apple is an easy way to start-since we sit under the apple tree!

During circle time Thursday we opened with the poem we are learning:

Way up high in the old apple tree.
2 Little apples smiled at me!
I shook that tree as hard as I could.
Down came the apples.
MMM were they good!

We have motions for this and your child is beginning to learn the hand signals.
We also explain that we are doing the American Sign Language sign for "apple".

We also did silly versions of this poem-going through bananas, mangoes, plums-as the children came up with suggestions of other fruits.  We are very pleased to see that the children are speaking up-and we are working on the raising of hands during circle.  That is coming along too!  Already!  Yeah!

Then we went over some of the safety rules again and soon it was time for the TOP song and hiking!

We began our hike together as a group of 12.  During the beginning of the hike we found the following:

1. a dead mole on the trail
2. a pile of feathers from a black and white spotted bird
3. a pile of fur from an unknown source
4. a slug in a tree
5.  another pile of feathers

There was a lot to observe Thursday!  We looked at the mole, picked up the feathers, touched the fur and some people had to be redirected from poking at the slug!

When we found the feathers the 2nd time we had a talk about what probably happened to the bird. We spoke about how the bird probably did not survive losing this many feathers! In some research on the web I found that the bird feathers may have come from a European Starling.

http://nwbackyardbirder.blogspot.com/2009/04/in-backyard-european-starling.html)
Then it was time for snack and stories.  We always bring hand sanitizer so everyone was cleaned up before they put food into their mouths!

Jen and I then divided the group into the Blue Group (Teacher Jen's group) and the Yellow Group (Teacher Ann's group).  As we headed different directions the Yellow Group wanted to stop and listen...to the other kids!  They are already learning to use their senses to listen and observe.  They are becoming nature scientists!

The Yellow Group ended up at the playground and enjoyed the sun.  The Blue Group ended up playing in the stream and learning how we stay safe with rocks and sticks!

Lunch was fun in the sun and everyone had something to say about their day at TOP!