Salamanders, Frogs, and Chicks!

It’s been a busy week, and our nature table has certainly gotten more exciting. As of Monday we’re incubating 19 chicken eggs, have two salamanders in one tank, and a whole host of frog eggs in a second tank (thanks to Austin’s family!). To add to the excitement, on Wednesday we watched a ton of mosquito larva hatch in the frog egg tank! Don’t worry - we’re going to feed the larva to the salamanders before they become a swarm in the classroom!

In addition to the exciting additions to our nature table, we’ve been continuing with our study of tools. Kids have practiced hammering, drilling, sawing, and a few kids have started making creations of their own using scrap wood and nails. On Wednesday Mason’s mom came in and showed us some cool tools from her work as a mechanic. The kids got to patch dents in a large piece of sheet metal from a truck, and used all sorts of fun shaped hammers. Thanks Lauren!

It’s the end of the year, which means all sorts of events coming up. Here’s few things to watch out for in the coming weeks:

Arts Night - Tuesday May 7, 6:30 pm The night starts with a gallery walk through the halls, and continues on to musical performances from all the grades, including pre-k (!) led by our music teacher Steve Damon. We'll be performing first, so if you want to take your kiddo home to get to bed at a decent time you certainly can. I hope you all can make it!

Kindergarten Open Classroom - Friday May 18, 1:30-2:15 This is for families who would like to check out the kindergarten classroom, meet Mrs. Duggan the kindergarten teacher, and ask any questions you might have about kindergarten. Mrs. Duggan and I are working out our own transition activities for the kids. 

Family Barbecue in the Woods - Date TBA We’ll have an informal pot-luck bbq around the fire pit in the woods. Purely a chance to get together and be social. 





Our tool zone has been busy this week. 

A fun visit at snack time!


We've used all sorts of different building materials in our block area. This guy is working hard to build a tall, tall tower. 


After reading a book about different kinds of houses we used blocks to build houses of our own. 

This is a house boat. 



This is a house on stilts, just like in the picture!

Frog eggs in the sensory table? Feels like 'em, but they're actually silicone "water beads."



Our art this week has focused on primary color explorations. 

These kiddos are mixing primary colors by driving matchbox cars through the paint!

Our special guest shares the tools she uses as her work as a mechanic. 

The kids had lots of questions and stories to tell about the different tools. 

We brought the tools out to the woods

Kids got a chance to use joint compound to fix dents in a large piece of sheet metal. 



Buddies on the swing

The woods are quite colorful right now, thanks to the hard work of these painters. 


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