September 11th--My first day!

I had my first day leading at Anders's preschool co-op. I was nervous, even though I am not really nervous at all about preschool kids or my ability to work with them. However, the co-op runs in a particular way, and I wasn't as familiar with that as I would have liked. I knew I was going to mess up some of the transitions and timing. Of course, the co-op isn't meant to be rigid, and times given aren't meant to be law. But once you give me a schedule, I have a hard time deviating from it.

We went on a bear hunt, and I based the activities that I planned around the book "We're Going on a Bear Hunt". My simple little plan looked like this:

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Special Skills Table—Lacing Dress Up Bears

Morning Circle:

• “clap clap clap your hands, clap your hand together, clap clap clap your hands, clap your hands with ____________” Each child chooses a motion or activity to do.

· Five Little Bears

One little bear
Wondering what to do
Along came another
Then there were two!

Two little bears
Climbing up a tree
Along came another
Then there were three!

Three little bears
Ate an apple core
Along came another
Then there were four!

Four little honey bears
Found honey in a hive
Along came another
Then there were five

Five little bears
All tired from their play
They snuggled up and went to sleep
And slept until the next day

• The Bear
  
  Here is a cave,
  (make a fist)
  Inside is a bear.
  (put thumb inside fist)
  Now he comes out
  To get some fresh air.
  (pop out thumb)
  
  He stays all summer
  In sunshine and heat.
  He hunts in the forest
  For berries to eat.
  (move thumb in circle)
  
  When the weather starts to get cold,
  He hurries inside
  His warm little cave,
  And there he will hide.
  (put thumb back inside fist)

Playdough bear activity
Hide counting bears in playdough

Art
Brown paint (different shades?) ink blots, to make squishy mud pictures. Drip paint onto paper with Popsicle stick, near the fold. Fold the paper, then spread with hands.

Clean-up time
Hunt for bears. Be really quiet and look everywhere. After snack during clean up before going outside, hide a few bears around for them to find.

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It went well! The kids mostly liked playing with the counting bears that I brought, and made up some elaborate scenarios for the bears. Anders reported that his favorite part was making mud for art. I decided to let the kids mix the paint, and they loved trying to make brown and mixing up all of the colors. CeeCee slept through the whole thing while in the sling.

I didn't have to plan a huge amount, because most of their day is just play. The general schedule looks like this:

9:00 Greet children--Free play
9:15 –9:25 Circle time: “Make A Circle”
9:25-10:30 Free Play and Art Time
10:30 Potty Time & Hand Washing: “Down By the Station”
Followed by: Snack Time “Blessings On the Blossoms”
10:50 –12:00 Outdoor Time
12:00 Coming In: “La La this-a-Way”
12:00 Potty Time & Hand Washing
Followed by: Story Time & Lunch Time “Blessings On the Blossoms”
Followed by: Free Play/possible circle activity until
12:40 Clean up Time
1:00 Closing Circle

So far, we're loving it. It's a very sweet environment for Anders, and he loves the time with friends.