Music Class/Fire Drill/ Outdoor Fun

Yesterday, we celebrated Cameron's 5th birthday! Cameron brought in snacks and a yummy ice cream cake that all the Cardinals were VERY excited to have. Thank you, Cameron, for sharing your birthday with us. We hope you had a wonderful rest of your special day.                                      

                               Happy 5th Birthday, Cameron!! 


The Cardinals explored with instruments in music class with Keisha today. We sang the hello song in different languages while Keisha played her guitar. Keisha sang first and then the Cardinals echoed. Next, Keisha asked friends, "What is the name of the person who mends our shoes?" Friends called out, "the cobbler!" When asked what mend means, a friend raised their hand to answer, "to fix." We then went into The Cobbler, where friends used their hands, feet and knees to keep the beat. Keisha shared a new chant with us today, Beehive. Friends used their voices, along with their hands and bodies to move and act out the song. 
Next, Keisha gave the sign to stand and showed the Cardinals the egg shakers they would be getting, how they sound and how to use them. Once all friends had two shakers in their "nest," friends experimented with shaking and moving them. Friends played Shake and Stop, where friends shake and shake and shake and stop. Friends practiced following directions, along with moving around the room, freezing their shakers and bodies, and then posing. When it was time to stop, the Cardinals would freeze and copy the pose of Keisha. Next up, we did Washy Washy, where we used the eggs as our "soap" to wash different parts of our bodies. 
We ended our music time together by putting away our egg shakers and then gathering back in our large group circle. Friends sang goodbye and then lined up to walk back to the classroom.

We had a planned fire drill today. Before the drill, we explained to the Cardinals that it was not a real fire and that we were practicing how to be safe. We talked about what was going to happen, such as a loud noise, going out the back door, staying together, and walking to our spot outside.
The teachers held our younger friends' hands, and our older friends held hands with a friend as we walked to our designated safe place outside. The Cardinals were brave and all did a fantastic job of staying calm and following directions. 

          We are so proud of our Cardinals!! 

After praising the Cardinals for their hard work with the fire drill, we took the class out to the Smith Field on campus which is located near the tennis courts for some large motor exercise. The Cardinals cheered as we told them where we were going! We took balls along with us to share. 

Ask your Cardinals about going to the field and playing with balls.

Have a great evening!!

Tuesday News - Spanish class/Self-Portraits

Today for Spanish class with Alicia, the Cardinals had their first class in our lower school Spanish room. It was very exciting as we walked over to the new space. As we entered, friends began chatting about the Spanish decorations in the room. The Cardinals sat in a circle and Alicia greeted each friend in Spanish. Most friends responded in Spanish. Great work, friends! Alicia talked about how we are similar and different, igual y diferente. We learned the Spanish words for nose-nariz , head-cabeza, eyes-ojos. The Cardinals then played a game with the pictures called matamoscas (fly swatter) in which friends got swatters and as Alicia called a word, two friends at a time tapped the picture relating to the Spanish word. Job well done, Cardinals!! We also sang and did the motions to head, shoulders, knees, and toes in English and Spanish.  Today it was Alycia's turn to squeeze La Vaca. 

Listening to the singing bowl as we have a moment of silence.

The Cardinals created their first self-portraits of the school year. We will be working on our self-portraits each month. As the year progresses it's quite amazing to see how skilled the Cardinals become at detailing their self-portraits. We worked in small groups of four or two, friends. We gave each friend a small mirror to help look at the details that make up their features, such as the color of their lips, eyes, and hair. We also talked about making sure to add our noses, ears, arms, correct number of fingers, legs, and shoes. Friends took a look at their clothing and then used markers to add clothing to their self-portraits. As friends worked, some noticed similarities and differences about themselves, such as the same color eyes or different color skin and hair.  We work with our resource teachers to collaborate and to expand our classroom studies, as was the case in Spanish class today. The Cardinals all did an amazing job! Come take a closer look!

                               Have a wonderful evening!