Week 3 of Preschool is all about Science! Today, we started by decorating a craft stick and then added a magnet to the back (we put this away to use for later).  Next we learned how molecules are formed and then made a few of our own using marshmallows! For our story today we read "The Magic School Bus & the Science Fair Expedition". The girls really liked this one. We had some cheese and crackers and then went on a walk to look at bugs, plants, rocks, clouds, the sun, and the moon; we discussed different sciences and looked at "specimens" with our magnifying glasses. We came back inside for our lesson and discussed how to make a hypothesis. We did some experiments with our magnets and talked about how it is ok for a guess to be wrong because then we learn from the things we observe. The girls really liked being scientists and doing their own experiments.  We finished the school day by making pictures of atoms by gluing pom-pom protons, neutrons, and electrons on paper.  We discovered that the girls made Lithium by using 5 pom-pom protons in their nucleus'. We had a great day of learning.

We've been busy.  Friday was our first field trip for preschool.  We invited our friends to come along with us and brave the rain and, luckily, it wasn't too wet for lots of fun.  Oh, and it was my birthday so Naomi brought cupcakes for the kids.  They were pink and had strawberries on them and were delicious; they were devoured before I could get a picture of them. My wonderful VT's brought me beautiful flowers and there were very nice cards in my mailbox.  Kyle got home from Detroit around 10:30 p.m. and that was the best gift of all, but he insisted we celebrate for real on Saturday.  We went to breakfast at Egg Harbor as a family and then shopping to get Logan more clothes for winter because it's getting cold out now and his pants are too short.  So after the kids had naps later we dropped them off with a sitter for a nice afternoon/evening out.  Kyle took me shopping so I could spend some of my birthday money and I was in heaven at Charming Charlie.  I had gone through my jewelry ahead of time and picked out the random earrings and necklaces I have and then found pieces to match.  It was so great.  Then we went to Flat Top Grill for dinner and then we saw "The Bourne Legacy" at the theater.  The food was soooo yummy! The movie was sort of a disappointment but it didn't matter because I was there with Kyle and we did not have to worry about the kids.

  

Today we learned about the season of Autumn and Leaves.  We used our scissor skills to cut out colorful Fall leaves and then our coloring skills to make a trunk.  Then we stood up and dropped the leaves onto our tree trunks.  We had a chart and we practiced writing our numbers by counting how many of each color leaf fell onto our papers and then added them.  We finished by adding ALL the leaves that we had dropped. During circle time we read "The Busy Little Squirrel" and sang songs about Autumn Leaves.  We ate apples and bananas and drank cherry juice because those things grow on trees. Then we went outside and pretended to be busy squirrels building and filling a den for winter.  We also pretended to be little seeds which grew into great trees with roots and branches.  Then we imagined we were leaves blowing in the cool wind until we landed softly on the ground.  We also liked to pretend we were raking and then jumping into big piles of leaves. For our lesson we learned about the difference between deciduous and coniferous trees; then we walked outside to identify the trees around our home.  We found "prickly pines" and "friendly firs" and collected pine cones and leaves from all kinds of trees.  We also learned that some leaves are perfect for eating.  Some are vegetables and others are called herbs.  We smelled different herbs and looked at pictures of all kinds of edible leaves. For our craft today we made pictures using leaves.  Since there weren't enough real leaves outside to use yet  we used fabric leaves and made them look like butterfly wings or hair on a face or a dress on a stick person.    We had a wonderful time today learning about Autumn and Fall leaves and what the changing season brings.

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We had a lot of fun today.  We cut and pasted, put together puzzles, listened to music and talked about the instruments we heard and how it made us feel, we ate some applesauce and graham crackers, then we tried dancing to different styles of music from around the world (ballet, mexican hat dance, irish jig, etc.) and talked about where those countries are located on a map.  Then we sorted musical instruments into sections and practiced counting and writing numbers and letters.  We decorated drums and then played them.  Then the girls had free time to play and I could crash collapse recover clean up the "classroom" and gather their projects together for them.  

I think the girls had a good time and I hope they learned a little something too.  I know I did! I especially learned a little about what Missy must have had to deal with and it makes me appreciate her even more.  That country song about being "Mr. Mom" comes to mind and, to paraphrase - "Missy, now I know how you feel.  What I don't know is how you do it!"  

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My friend, Naomi, and I are doing preschool at home this year together for our girls.  I will teach on Mondays, she will teach on Wednesdays, and on Fridays we will go on "field trips" that relate to what we've been learning about during the week and invite friends to come along.  I have had so much fun planning and preparing for school to start.  It has been a lot of hard work and time but I am so excited for the girls to see everything tomorrow and have our first day of class.  I found some great deals on supplies thanks to the dollar store and back-to-school sales.  I also found some great teacher-supply stores that had these really nice posters for only $2.50 each and, since we'll use them each at least 25 times, they are well worth the money.  It's been good for me to have a project that keeps me busy.  I know the girls will miss Missy A TON!! but we will do our best to make school as fun this year as it has been for them the past two years.  I'll take pictures of the girls tomorrow doing the different projects and dances but, like I said, I'm just so excited to show everybody what I've been working on like crazy for the past couple of weeks.  I can't wait to see Meg's face in the morning when she comes downstairs and sees all the school stuff out.  It's like Christmas for me.