Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day...

On Monday we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's birthday and N's 6th birthday!

Mother Goose provided us with this new celebratory pack!  I LOVED being able to teach an entire day about diversity and embracing peace & kindness!

We started our circle time with the song, "Let's Spread Peace" to the tune of "London Bridges."

I taught the kids the peace sign, and asked them to share ways we can show kindness...

I read the following participation story to the kids about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

When I read a happy part of the story, the kids held up the happy face.  When I read a sad part of the story, the kids held up the sad face.  This helped them participate in what was being read to them.

What dates of the year are special to you?  Why?

We completed new yearly calendars!  Mother Goose has provided these for the kids in January for a number of years now.  They are definitely a special project, and have become treasured keepsakes for many parents.  The calendar has a spot for each child's hand print at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year.  They also include a spot to write the child's measurements (height and weight).

Painting hands...

Taking measurements...

What do you do to calm down or relax?  I explained that sometimes when we want to feel peaceful inside, it helps to be quiet and stretch your body.  Mother Goose provided us with this peaceful poses poster...

...and this spinner.

The kids took turns spinning the spinner.  We named each pose, and then we stretched each way.  We held each pose as we counted to 10 in a whisper.

The butterfly pose...

The tree pose...

The dog pose...

The surfer pose...

What do you see that makes you think of peace, kindness, or acceptance?  We played a game of Memory with these new peace symbol matching cards that Mother Goose provided us.

Next, we completed a few calming activities...

Station #1: Color Mixing

The kids colored a paper towel with markers and then sprayed it with a water bottle.  The observed how the colors spread and blended when their marks got wet.

I taught the kids how to make a peace sign...

Station #2: Tranquility Sand Trays

I set out two cake pans filled with sand, rocks, and seashells.  The kids created peaceful designs and they played with the textures and raked the sand with a wide toothed comb.

Station #3: Discovery Bottles.

I set out our Lakeshore Learning discovery science bottles.  The kids sat peacefully as they shook the bottles and observed what happened.

On Monday we also celebrated N's 6th birthday!  I was so happy he didn't have school so he could be with us all day!

He requested a Mario and Luigi cake.  He has never played Mario, but he knows what they are, and he really loves cars so...

In the afternoon we talked about how our world is a colorful place where there are people of all different races.  The colors of our world are something to be celebrated!  We made a colorful Froot Loop necklace (similar to a candy necklace).  The kids were encouraged to sort their Froot Loops and make a pattern with them on their string.  They were also encouraged to estimate how many they had, and then count them to verify their guess.

Lastly, I took out a Mother Goose project that I had saved from last month.  The kids had a blast making shadow puppets and playing with them at our light projector station!  We also talked about how dim lights can be a calming experience for someone.