As we waited for all of our friends to arrive, we did our "morning work" at the table and on the rug. (This is how we typically start our day. Our "morning work" consists of activities that can be done somewhat independently. This gives the teachers the opportunity to interact with the children and check in with them before the day gets started.) Today's morning work was coloring, puzzles, magnets, and Builders-N-Benders blocks.
Then we moved to the rug, where we found a block to sit on while heard a story, sang a song, and practiced our new friends' names. We also worked on sitting the way the big kids do...criss-cross/applesauce/hands-in-lap! We spent a little bit of time looking for the Gingerbread Man too!
It was already time for our bathroom break, so we lined up on our zebra line and tiptoed down to the bathrooms. We stood against the wall as we waited our turn and then we waited against the table until everyone in our class finishes.
When we came back to the room we had an abbreviated version of centers. We took turns working on our calendars, using our glue sticks to make our gingerbread stickers stick really well, and playing with our Little People farm sets and our kitchen dramatic play area. (Usually the children rotate through three different centers: a rug center where the play is independent; a center with Miss Kathleen where there's a little more structure and guidance; and a center with Mrs. Hennessy where we focus on another activity that might need a little more guidance and/or structure. These structured centers give us the opportunity to interact in a small group, work on preschool academics, explore art activities that might be a little messy, and lots of other things.)
By the time we finished, some of our families had already started to arrive! We can't wait to see everyone back again next Wednesday!
Our First-Day Gingerbread Song
Do You Know the Gingerbread Man?
(to the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?)
Do you know the Gingerbread Man, the Gingerbread Man, the Gingerbread Man?
Do you know the Gingerbread Man
Who lives on Candy Lane?
