Happy 2nd Birthday Miss Tia!

Happy 2nd Birthday Miss Aristeia (Tia)! Happy Promotion to The Busy Bees Class!

We're going to miss Jackson this week! Enjoy your vacation!!!

Working Out The Vestibular System!

It was another extremely hot summer afternoon.  Since the Ducks couldn't work on their gross motor skills outside, Ms. Ann & Ms. Ampy pulled out the climber! Now, the Ducks could work on their Vestibular System. The Vestibular System is the sense of balance.  This system is based in the inner ear. The toddler climber is designed to encourage toddler to practice climbing, walking, walking up & down hills, & walking up & down stairs in a fun & safe way! Most our new students have more difficult time walking on the climber without assistance. As they practice & their Vestibular System matures, the students walk across the climber easily without assistance.  

Binoculars & Bird Watching

The Ducks spent Tuesday morning learning to use binoculars and looking for birds. Our Duck observed crows & vultures. 

Our Duck Marine Biologist

Our Ducks, on an extremely hot day, cooled off and studied all the interesting sea creatures in the water table. We had fun identifying all the creatures by shape, color, size, and species.

Duck Pond Lesson Plan: Art & Creativity 7/27/20-7/31/20

Duck Pond Lesson Plan: Art & Creativity
7/27/20-7/31/20

Monday:

Story Time: Eric Carle Book Variety
Circle/Song Time:  Listening to Mozart
Sensory/Fine Motor Coordination: Puzzles
Arts/Crafts-Fine Motor Coordination: Shape Collage
Gross Motor Time: Playground/Indoor Recess

Tuesday:

Story Time: All About Me
Circle/Song Time: Head/Shoulders/Knees/Toes
Sensory/Fine Motor Coordination: Baby Monet
Arts/Crafts-Fine Motor Coordination: Picaso Face Stickers
Gross Motor Time: Playground/Indoor Recess

Wednesday:

Story Time: Dr. Seuss-My Many Color Days
Circle/Song Time: Listening to Bach
Sensory/Fine Motor Coordination: Felt Shapes
Arts/Crafts-Fine Motor Coordination: Q-Tip Monet Painting
Gross Motor Time: Playground/Indoor Recess

Thursday:

Story Time: White Rabbit's Color Book
Circle/Song Time: Listening to Gershwin
Sensory/Fine Motor Coordination: Chalk Fun
Arts/Crafts-Fine Motor Coordination: Kandinsky Circles
Gross Motor Time: Playground/Indoor Recess

Friday:

Story Time: Baby Einstein See & Say Colors
Circle/Song Time: Listening to Beatles
Sensory/Fine Motor Coordination: Outdoor Easel Painting
Arts/Crafts-Fine Motor Coordination: Outdoor Easel Painting
Gross Motor Time: Playground/Indoor Recess

Duck Pond Lesson Plan-Explorations & Discovery/Camping & Fishing/

Duck Pond Lesson Plan

7/20/20-7/24/20

Explorations & Discover/Camping & Fishing

Monday:

Story Time: Dora's Camping Trip

Circle/Song Time: Nature Exploration

Sensory/Fine Motor Coordination: Bird Felts

Arts/Crafts-Fine Motor Coordination: Cardboard Smores

Gross Motor Time: Playground/Indoor Recess

Tuesday:

Story Time: Little Owl's Night

Circle/Song Time: 1-2-3 Little Birds

Sensory/Fine Motor Coordination: Pine Cones

Arts/Crafts-Fine Motor Coordination: Paint with Pine Cones

Gross Motor Time: Playground/Indoor Recess

Wednesday:

Story Time: Curious George Goes Fishing

Circle/Song Time: 1 Little Fish Swimming in the Ocean

Sensory/Fine Motor Coordination: Plastic Fish Table

Arts/Crafts-Fine Motor Coordination: Paper Plate Fish

Gross Motor Time: Playground/Indoor Recess

Thursday:

Story Time: Colorful World: Forest

Circle/Song Time: Going On A Bear Hunt

Sensory/Fine Motor Coordination: Tent & Tunnel Fun

Arts/Crafts-Fine Motor Coordination: Cup Stacking

Gross Motor Time: Playground/Indoor Recess

Friday:

Story Time: 5 Little Ducks

Circle/Song Time: 5 Little Ducks

Sensory/Fine Motor Coordination: Bird Calls

Arts/Crafts-Fine Motor Coordination: Handprint Bird

Gross Motor Time: Playground/Indoor Recess

Why Play is Important!

Field Studies in Geology!

The Ducks spent their morning studying rocks. At this age toddlers love rocks in all shapes & sizes. They spent 30 minutes moving the large river rocks to various places in our play area. They spent another 15 minutes putting small pea gravel in & out of containers. This is a wonderful Vestibular & Proprioception system activities! 

Rocks Are Fun!

It took the Ducks 5 weeks, but they discovered a small pile of pea gravel in their play area. Twenty minutes of uninterrupted play time! 

Duck Pond Food Prep!

The Ducks love all that is food! 

Let them out & do things now adds major benefits in the long run!

Get outside! Let them climb! Let them walk up & down hills! Let them walk up & down stairs. Let them climb trees & rocks! Click on the link below to read a wonderful article on children need to go outside and explore to lead to huge educational benefits later!
http://www.bluemangollc.com/the-unconventional-guide-to-improving-handwriting-skills-part-i/

Shadow Self Awareness!

It's always fun to watch a Duck discover their shadow.  It's even funnier when they try to explain it to their friends!

Why Do They Behave For Everyone Else But Me?

You Are Their Safe Place For Their Emotions! Your child held it together all day. They just let it go & relax when they see you. It's the trust you established with your child since birth.  They know you will love them no matter what!  It's hard to be a little one with big emotions and learning to deal with all these new feelings!

Duck Pond Lesson Plan Food Fun 7/13/20-7/17/20

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Duck Pond Lesson Plan: Food Fun 

Week: 7/13/20-7/17/20

Monday: 

Story Time: "Cooking With the Grinch"

Circle/Song Time: 1-2-3 Little Carrots

Sensory: Kitchen Tea Party

Art/Crafts: Paper Plate Pie

Gross Motor Skill Building: Playground/Indoor Recess

Tuesday:

Story Time: Food with Moods

Circle/Song Time: "On Top of Spaghetti"

Sensory: Pasta Sensory

Art/Crafts: Spaghetti & Meatballs

Gross Motor Skills Building: Playground/Indoor Recess

Wednesday:

 Story Time: "If You Give A Pig A Pancake"

 Circle/Song Time: "Red is Rojo:

 Sensory: Peppers

 Art/Crafts: Pepper Printing

 Gross Motor Skills Building: Playground/Indoor Recess

Thursday:

Story Time:"Spot Bakes A Cake"

Circle/Song Time: Smell The Spices

Sensory: Spices

Art/Crafts: Painting with Spices

Gross Motor Skills Building: Playground/Indoor Recess

Friday:

Story Time: "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie"

Circle/Song Time: "Muffin Man"

Sensory: Playdough!

Art/Crafts: Cookie Mosaic

Gross Motor Skills Building: Playground/Indoor Recess

Fun Friday!

Fridays are always a fun time in the Duck Pond! We celebrated Alex's birthday with a morning of light water play! Car washes & squirt bottles were all the rage! Even the Busy Bee class came over and sang the "Happy Birthday " Song to Alex. Alex will be joining that crew on Monday!

Happy Birthday Alex!

The Duck Pond would like to wish Alex a super "Happy 2nd Birthday "! We're glad we were all here to celebrate it with  you!

Things We Do When It Gets Hot & Don't Go Outside!

Sometimes, it's just too hot for our Ducks to go outside. Not all is lost! Our Ducks love to dance & march to fun funky music! In these pictures, the kids used ribbon rings & pumpkin lights for extra fun! On the quieter side, straws & bottles are always a fun fine motor coordination activity!

Getting Gritty!

The Ducks had lots of fun with  a little gritty action! Grits are a fun safe material to experience good sensory play. The kids loved scooping,  drawing,  & just touching this stuff! 

Welcome Emma!

The Duck Pond would like to "Welcome!" Miss Emma G. to our class! 

Construction Fun with Cups, Dirt, & Bolts!

This week's fun theme is Construction Fun! The Ducks love both building and demolition work! Today, the Ducks created structures using cups. They painted with grave. Finally,  they worked with nuts & bolts!

Sound Familiar?

Sound familiar to anyone???

Constructing Fun Duck Pond Lesson Plan 7/6/20-7/10/20

Duck Pond Lesson Plan: Constructing Fun

Week: 7/6/20-7/10/20

Group Activities	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Story Time Goal: For students to communicate through language	Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site	Mighty Movers Big Trucks! Haul Away!	Bob’s Busy Tools	Tonka’s Mudslide	Tonka’s The Steamroller
Circle & Song Time Goal: For students to develop their literacy, numeracy and social skills through daily activities	Counting Cars & Trucks	Vehicle Flash  Cards	Song: Bob The  Builder	Song: 1-2-3 Little Trucks	Cones
Sensory Time Goal: For students to develop fine motor skills	Dirt & Sand Sensory	Big Blocks	Mega Blocks	Foam Blocks	Construction Vehicles
Art Time Goal: For students to develop hand eye coordination	Painting With Dirt/Sand	Big Blocks Building	Mega Block Building	Duplo Stamping	Paint/Stamp With Shapes
Gross Motor Time Goal: For Students to develop their muscles through movement	Playground/ Indoor Recess	Playground/ Indoor Recess	Playground/ Indoor Recess	Playground/ Indoor Recess	Playground/ Indoor Recess

Happy July 4th!

Happy US Independence Day from 

The Duck Pond!

Simple Items Are Just The Best!

We just love the simple items to play with in our new play area! Plant mister, buckets,  pinecones,  shells, bubbles, rocks makes for hours of playground fun!