The Cardinals Blog 2024-25: Weekend News, Sensory Exploration, Team Building-Museum, Signs of Spring and More....

Monday

Weekend News

Willow - Two days in a row, I saw my cousins and I play a lot of the same games. Then I play outside a different game that was a lot like it, but it was a different game. And I met some new cousins. The game outside is the same characters, they don't have names, but we just call them Sis. In the game, two of our cousins need crutches because they hurt themselves and they can't walk without them or they will fall down while running away. We have to help them get back up and we have to bring them back to the hospital but not for real. It's just outside next to the room where we eat.

Masai - I was building a castle with my baby sister at the beach. I was watching YouTube Kids on my Mommy's laptop. I was sleeping with my Nana and I go at the Aquarium. There were six beds.

Annie - I play my baby brother and I go play outside with my sister. I don't remember what else I did.

Grant - Play with Mommy and Daddy. I watch King Kong with Clarke too. That it.

Ellery - All my family play on my playset. My playset where the woods are. And I go to my Nana's house. And I take a walk to our mailbox. There was no mail. I ride on my bike to the trail and to the ice skating rink and I watch soccer there.

Zoey - I went to Art class with Teacher Ruth. I paint. I play downstairs with my Mommy with my red ball.

Lydia - I went to go see my Nona and Grandpa. I just went to a lots of stores.

Lake - I buy a donut from Dunkin Donuts and I didn't bring it to school. I was eating it at home and I said, "Yummy, yummy in my tummy." I put on my bows to go to Baby Shower. It had presents - a lot of presents. And then I went to the cake pop store and I buy two cake pops - chocolate and pink strawberry and I didn't bring them home cause I ate them too fast in the car.

Wren - I went to the Festival and then also riding my bike. First, when I got to the Festival with Mommy, I needed to ride my scooter cause there was so many people. But then, when Ellie wanted to come to the Festival, then I rode my bike cause there was less people.

Colby - Two people were the dragons and I was the T Rex and I had fight them. And that is all the questions.

Isa - I went to my Mom Mom's house and I watch Black Annie. I play 2K or basketball with my cousin and my cousin's neighbor came over. I play wrestling and Avengers. That was my first time playing wrestling and Avengers.

Whelan - We went to Poppy's house and the aquarium and then we eat and then we went on a playground. We saw cow nose sting rays and you could touch their backs. And we saw poisonous creatures in tanks. But they were in their tanks so they couldn't sting people. And we saw a real tarantula there. It was pretty cool that we saw a real one. And we saw bats in a tank.

The Cardinals continued their work of learning the Spanish words for some of their feelings. Today we learned the words, Shy- Timido/Timida, Bored- Aburrido/Aburrida, Excited- Entusiasmado/Entusiasmada, Jealous- Celoso/Celosa, Proud- Orgulloso/Orgullosa. Today it was Wren's turn to squeeze la vaca!

The Cardinals had fun with sensory exploration of shaving cream and cornstarch with water today. Friends were excited to get started and had much to say about the activities as they explored. Some friends discovered that when they touched the cornstarch mix it was hard to the touch but when they picked it up it became a liquid form. The shaving cream was also enjoyed with friends spreading it, drawing, writing in it and having animals join in. Ask your Cardinal what they thought of these activities?

Shaving Cream - Comments

Colby - Feels good, I touch it.

Willow - It's sticky and soft at the same time. It smells good and it's warm.

Isa - Good, warm, it smell so good

Grant - Soft, I play

Whelan - It soft and cold, it looks like ice cream. It smells like cinnamon

Masai - It's so slimy, it's warm and it looks like snow.

Wren - It's squishy but warm. It's very white and smell fresh.

Lake - Smell like strawberry, it's soft.

Ellery - smooth and soft

Lidia - It's so soft and warm. I play with shaving cream before and I really really like it.

Zoey - It soft and squishy shaving cream.

Corn Starch - Comments

Ellery - It's slimy - it look like milk

Zoey - So soft, it's sticking on my hands, it look like yogurt, it feel like glue

Willow - It's warm and soft and sticky. It's also really messy. I think we made super goopy.

Colby - Sticky

Lydia - It feels like milk and it's raining goo.

Isa - It smell like oatmeal. It's hard cause I pull it but it's wet.

Masai - It's dripping down and it look like milk

Lake - It feels sticky. I'm stirring it in and it making a mess.

Whelan - It look like milk and it feel good.

Grant - Soft, sticky

Wren - Feels like sand at the bottom but I know it's not sand.

Show&Tell Sharing

Tuesday

This morning the whole AFS community took part in a practice Tornado drill. We had a conversation with our Cardinals beforehand letting them know step by step what was going to happen. Friends asked a few questions such as why are we not going outside, can we play downstairs and how does the phone talk if you are not calling someone. When it was time, our amazing Cardinals did such an incredible job walking down the stairs to the extended day space and sat down! Way to go Cardinals!!

Michelle read the Cardinals two books in library class. The first one was called Beach Day by Patricia Lakin and the second called The Serious Goose by Jimmy Kimmel. Soon it was time for friends to go choose and check out a book to bring back to our classroom. One of the first books we read back in the classroom was Potatoes pants by Laurie Keller. The Cardinal loved and truly enjoyed this book. Many giggles and comments were made!

The Cardinals had so much fun in Gym class today! They used many different kinds of play equipment -basketballs, soft balls, buckets, cones, hula hoops and more! Not only did they use the equipment as it is "meant" to be used, but they also used their imaginations. Camp fires for smores and towers were in the gym today. There was also a game of 3-way catch! Ask your Cardinal what you like about gym class today?

Wednesday

After our morning meeting and snack time, the Cardinals engaged in a Team Building activity. The teachers put 2 pieces of red, blue, green, white and yellow paper in a small box. We asked each Cardinal to pick one piece of paper without looking in the box and to hold it behind their backs until all friends had a paper. Friends then showed their paper, paired up by paper color and worked in groups of 2 to create one masterpiece.

Friends worked with different building materials such as wooden blocks, red plastic cups, duplos, designer blocks, sticks and tape.

The Cardinals were given 30 minutes to work together and then another 5 minutes to come up with a name for their masterpiece. The Cardinals worked on negotiations, conflicts, perseverance, team work, compromising, cognitive, language and social skills as they worked together. At the end of our allotted time, we all gather back on our morning meeting rug. We talked about being respectful of each other's work by looking with our eyes and not touching, like in some museums as we go to observe each masterpiece.

Each pair of friends gave a presentation on their masterpiece, while the rest of the Cardinals looked and listened. At the end of each presentation, friends asked questions to the presenters, applauded our friends and their amazing work. Ask your Cardinal about their creation?

Whelan and Annie worked with duplos and made, "A princess big slide and A halloween creation"

Annie said, "The princess went up the big steps and slide down.

Whelan said, "It has lot of halloween creators

Annie said, "It almost all the way to the sky and she not scared go up there.

Whelan said, "The ghost are haunting the spooky entrance way.

Zoey and Willow worked with designer blocks and made, "A place where cats can play".

Willow said, "The cats jump up here to get the mice.

Zoey said, "It has toys and a kitchen and a tv.

Willow said, "Yea, we have baby kitty and teenagers kitty, and toddler kitty.

Zoey said, " They so nice each other and this is their bed.

Isa and Ellery worked with sticks and tapes and made, "Linda a character"

Ellery said, " We use tape and twist it around and it stick on.

Isa said, "She wiggle her legs.

Ellery said, " She move her head cause it can move".

Isa said, She run around and had fun like we do at school.

Colby and Wren worked with the red cups and made "Water's section and Animal section".

Wren said, "Well, we made two parts of a house.

Colby said, "Bad guys can't go in. you open this door".

Wren said, "Well, Colby want to build his part and we talk it out and now we building together. I had my ideas and Colby had his idea and now we made this great creation. You know what the bad guys can't get in. "

Colby said, "Jail over here for bad guys and we made it."

Lydia and Lake worked with wooden blocks and made "The bluey house"

Lake said, "We made it together and this part is where we sleep".

Lydia said, "The square is the granny that comes to the house".

Lake said, "I add a door"

Lydia said, "It does not have a bathroom, they pee outside. I put a balance beam over here."

For Art class this week, the Cardinals were met by Johanna at the door and instructed to sit on the rug as she explained the project they were going to do today. She taught them how to draw a flower that would take up the whole sheet of paper - not just little flowers. She had the Cardinals start with a big circle and then explained how to make petals by putting their oil pastel on one part of their circle and then making a giant hop to another part of the circle. They did that all around the circle. The Cardinals enjoyed blending their oil pastels to make new colors too. The final projects together were a beautiful colorful garden!

Thursday

The Cardinals worked together to create a giant floor dinosaur and ABC puzzles. They built houses for lovies using magnatiles, played in the kitchen area, worked with ABC magnetic puzzles, drew at the back table and worked on building strong finger muscles as they worked with playdough. Friends also worked on a journal entry title, "What do you like to build with? Why?" During this time the Cardinals used problem solving skills such as decision making, turn taking, negotiation, fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, language, cognitive and social skills as they engaged with each other.

Show&Tell Sharing

Friday

Wren led us into music class and we danced, played drums and shook musical eggs while listening to Bubbles by Jazzy Ash. Followed by singing Little Wheel Turning In My Heart as Keisha played the guitar. Afterward the Cardinals did an incredible job of reading music notes. Friends joined Keisha as she continued to teach us the words and movements for Head Shoulder Baby 123. Keisha sang the book, Over In The Meadow. The Cardinals followed along by figuring out what number comes next, what animals come next and what sounds they make as friends also sang with Keisha!! Ask your Cardinal what was their favorite part of music class?