Princess Elena Bane Pictures

Hi guys! Here's pictures from Princess Elena Bane's rockin' birthday party today at Ramsey Park. Happy Birthday Elena!!!!

Elena's Birthday Party

Last Friday

This is a little (lot!) delayed post about last friday. I've been amazed at the positive vibe in the class this fall. Either all the kids miraculously matured over the summer break or Natasha's magical coins are doing their magic or it's the positive energy and the enthusiasm that she brings to the class. Whatever the reason, it is a true pleasure to see the kids so engaged and actually taking pride in being nice.
I did not witness any crying or tantrums. The new kids in the class have adjusted so well and so quickly.
For snackwe had the absolute favorite of all times Veggie booty. There was also frozen blueberries and soy milk. We all enjoyed becoming bluberry monsters and admired our very blue mouths and fingers in the mirrors for some time. I'm experiencing a camera malfunction so there are no pictures to show fo this.
The art activity involved paints and straw and then folding the paper to make a pattern and guessing what the pattern was.
Mr. Craig brought Howdy the cowboy and a racoon hat that scared a few of our friends but they recovered pretty quickly. He also brought a string instrument that kids took turn playing.
I had a fantastic time and am looking forward to the next parent helper day.

Hi everyone! I was the parent helper this morning, and it was super fun. Natasha has amazing patience and enthusiasm -she's an inspiration to me. It was so much fun to meet the new friends and see the new class dynamics. In circle time, we read the Berenstain Bears Go to School, which was all about Sister Bear starting kindergarten. Center time was a total madhouse, with lots of dressing up and clacking around in shoes. Zaye, Caleb and Sophie showed exceptional puzzle skills. 

We had bagels, cream cheese, peanut butter and juice for snack, which the kids seemed to like (several just ate blobs of cream cheese off of their placemats). After snack, we went outside for playground time, then on a nature walk to the Littlefield House where each child picked up a leaf. When we got back to the classroom, we traced the leaves onto colored construction paper and then used - SCISSORS - to cut them out! Some kids were totally into the scissors, and some weren't that interested. Tiago did a really good job with scissor control. Peter drew some awesome monsters. Laney traced her hand. Jocelyn did an amazing leaf and then did a cool sunflower.

First Days

Hello fellow coop mamas - I just wanted to fill you in a little on the first two days and share some photos before I crash. Overall, I think the first couple of days have been good. Only one tricky spot which came at the end of day one when I was trying to coordinate mats and which child was going where at the end of the day - but problem solved on Tuesday. The kids have been playing well together. The dress up brigade,with Emma as their leader (Ava, Jocelyn, Elena, Sophie, Emma and at times Anjali and Reva) have been dancing and pretending up a storm. As far as other pretending goes, Santi was a cat today and he managed to do some cartwheels. Laney has been the "mommy" to Elena two days stright now and Tiago was a fireman. Peter and Zaye are still finding their niche but Peter has taken to the animals and the dollhouse. Zaye is quite fond of books. Sophie is a puzzle wiz. Santi and Tiago have become sticker and stamp crazy (spiderman in case anyone wants to bring extras in). Reva is learning how to take pictures (the one of Anjali is taken by her). I have started measuring everyone for the "watch me grow wall "(hence the solo photos). The room is not quite finished, but I will put the finishing touches on this weekend after we unpack our house. Also, look for our September newsletter by Monday. Hmmm, anything else?...Jocelyn is our in-house artist always creating something. Caleb could listen to books on the reading rug the entire day and not move, if I let him. Sophie and Santi both earned a "magical coin" for the treaure box for helping their friends open the string cheese without anyone asking. Anjali and Ava graciously showed the class some yoga moves to transition into nap time. Ava and Zaye are the our biggest coposition book fans, writing whenever the have moment. A big thanks to Lin and Kim who co-oped the first two days, it was a treat to work with you both. Until next time, Natasha

Last Day of 2's!

Does anyone know if the kids are doing anything special for their last day (Monday, August 18)? I'm debating about whether to send Emma to her grandparents the weekend before, or to wait until Monday evening.

Correct email address

Hey All,
I just sent out a mass email to the future 3's class parents however I am not sure that I have everyones correct e-mail address. If you and/or your spouse do not receive something from me by Monday evening will you please forward your current email address to me natashaulack@yahoo.com Thank you so much. I am trying like crazy to get everything together before I leave on Thursday...Ahhhhhh.

Terrific 2's Fieldtrip

We had a great time on Tuesday visiting the Nature & Science Center despite Lynn and Gunjan having to load 9 carseats into the UUMC van! Our little friends managed to survive the 100 degree heat and stay in good spirits - they looked at fossils and bones, had a snack, saw the rescued animals and dug for dinosaur bones. The stuffed egrets and other birds were a little confusing for the kids "Are they alive?" When are they going to walk?"" Why are they stuffed?" Taxidermy is difficult to understand apparently. Posing for a class photo was an adventure - like herding cats!! Gunjan, Lynn, Chris & I survived the heat too and enjoyed Santi's owl song on the way back to the ECC "hooooooooooo, hooooooooo, hooooooooo, hoooooooo".
Enjoy the pictures and thanks to Angela for getting us out and about - it was so fun!

Terrific 2's Fieldtrip