Halloween!!

Halloween is so much fun when you work with little ones! Mrs. Connie and Mrs. LeeAnne absolutely loved seeing all of our kiddos in their costumes! We spent the morning parading through a few offices and classes, snacking on special holiday treats, and watching Dora's Halloween. Here are some pictures of our fun ...

Parading through Mrs. Aytes' room. 

Parading through the main office (& check out Mrs. Esther as Queen Esther!!).

Snack time!

There are more pictures on Mrs. LeeAnne's good camera, including some group shots - we will get those up soon!



Fall fun

Today we went on a fall treasure hunt! This was similar to last week's leaf hunt, except we were looking for more than leaves! Today was better because we were able to find a bigger variety of colors in our leaves, plus pine cones and other seeds. 

Mrs. Connie explains each new discovery.

As you walk through life, it's always best to hold hands with a buddy!

We engaged our sense of hearing by crunching through the leaves!

Each child got their own bag in which to keep their treasures.

So much fun!

Taking a quick break ...

As we finished up, we stopped to check out the school garden. We enjoyed sampling some mint, which has been thriving all summer!

Getting a group shot is NOT easy!

We also got a chance to sample homemade roasted pumpkin seeds. One girl didn't like them, but everyone else asked for seconds! 

Leaf hunt

Today we went on a leaf hunt!!! We started by making a leaf identification book ...

Next, we paired up and walked across the side street to a gorgeous maple tree whose colors are just beginning to turn. 

The kids were told to pick the BEST yellow leaf they could find. What fun we had!

Getting these active kiddos to sit still for a group picture is even harder than it sounds!

So we gave up and let the kiddos jump and toss leaves. :-)

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

On the way back, some of our pairs turned into trios ... so cute!

Pumpkin planters

Remember those pumpkins that "magically" grew overnight a few weeks ago? Today we used them as the cornerstone for our day's lesson and a fall break science experiment.

First, we had fun painting our pumpkins!

While the paint dried, we read a book about pumpkin seeds, then we dida little   sequencing. We were proud that so many of our students remembered that seeds came first, followed by a sprout, then a vine, then finally pumpkins! 

Once the pumpkins were dry, Mrs. Connie cut open the top of each, revealing the seeds inside. 

Each student got to examine his or her pumpkin "guts" for a minute, then we added potting soil right into the top of each pumpkin!

We can't wait to see what happens over fall break!

F is for FIRE TRUCK!

What is it about fire trucks? Today's fire truck visit, which has been planned for ages, just happened to coincide with the week we're learning letter F. (Or maybe Mrs. Connie is just that good ...) :-)

The kiddos were so excited! We visited with firefighters from the Chattanooga Fire Department, talking about what a fire truck does, what a firefighter does, and even identified colors on the truck and on the uniforms. The children learned about stop, drop, and roll. Finally, each of our kiddos got to to inside the fire truck. Yes, inside! Some of them could barely contain their excitement!

The tires on the truck were bigger than some of our students!

Here are photos of each child on the truck:

Five Fish, Fruit loops, and Feathers

We've been doing lots of Fun things with the letter F this week! We glued feathers, fruit loops, and frogs onto a letter F template.

As our students felt the soft feathers, we reminded them that they were using their sense of touch, reinforcing our five senses lessons. 

We also did a fun F activity that teaches colors and numbers: 

Five Fish swimming in a paper plate fish bowl. 

Have students count the fish, identify each written numeral, and point out each color prior to gluing the fish in the bowl.