With such beautiful weather this week, we took the classroom outdoors and presented painting on a glass easel with a mixture of shaving cream and paint. Then, we pressed a piece of paper against the wet paint to create a reverse print. Some of our older artists are gathering quite an audience! It was a little messy but really fun. We also made stained glass windows by melting crayon shavings between wax paper. You will be amazed by how beautifully a simple concept can turn out.

        We learned about the difference between “sink” and “float” and what makes an object do either; how air and density effects whether something sinks or floats. The children sat observantly and waited for their turn to drop an object in the water – we are thus working waiting for our turn, being patient and considerate of others.

        With the upcoming field trip to Crystal Lake Bank in mind, we discussed what we might see at the bank. Many of the children thought the only function of a bank was to make money - wouldn't that be great! A fun practical life activity was presented - penny polishing with a little pinch of salt and lemon juice; there are shinier pennies all over the classroom! If your child wants to bring in pennies to school, they will return home prettier than they left. We also discussed which presidents and buildings are on our US coinage (this was a learning lesson for all of us!).

        We also introduced the concept of money and its value. Everyone knew which coin is the penny and most knew it’s worth 1 cent. We looked at the physical and value differences between a penny, nickel, dime, quarter and paper dollar bill. The children also created math equations, trying to get various amounts of coins to be equal in value. Older children were even given a monetary value and asked to create various combinations of coins to achieve that value. Also in the math area, some of the children worked with the Short Bead Stair, aligning the correct number of beads with the numeral, thus reinforcing the value of each number.

        The sensorimotor area was buzzing with activity this week. Some of the children worked with the Geometric Cabinet, which develop the child’s visual discrimination of form while also preparing him/her for geometry and writing. Other children took to working with the Pink Tower and Brown Stairs, combining the similar materials (both focus on visual discrimination of dimension) to make interesting new figures, seeing how one material correlates to the other. Younger children worked with the Red Rods (a continuation of the Pink Tower and Brown Stairs), which not only better the child’s visual discrimination for dimension of length, but also prepare him/her for the metric and decimal system. Some of our students combined a Rainbow Puzzle with Color Box #3, creating numerous rainbows varying in gradation. Other children still developed their fine motor skills by creating shapes as the placed rubber bands on various spokes to create rectangles, triangles and even letters!

        The practical life area was also quite busy this week. Many of the children continued Baking cookies (nothing better than a homemade treat to take home!) while others practiced Spooning, Transferring with a Baster and Dish Washing, all of which develop hand-eye coordination, concentration, sense of order and independence.

        Some kids have taken as interest in Window Washing, which develops large muscle control and independence. There are also children Preparing Carrots and Apples, which not only creates a tasty and healthy snack, but refines coordination of movement and develops a positive self-image.

        Maps were a big hit in the science area this week as well. We saw some children put together a world map puzzle, improving their team-working skills and introducing themselves to the map in preparation for more complex activities. Other students are tracing individual countries to create a detailed map of an entire continent, not only acquainting themselves with their surrounding world but also refining their fine motor skills in preparation for writing.

        The language area saw children refining their knowledge of the alphabet through self-created games using alphabet cards. Older students created sentences from cards while younger ones enjoyed looking through books.

        A very special “Thank you” to Kellen's family for a great lesson in Botany and the Culinary Arts about homegrown peaches from their yard. A branch from their Woodstock home was so overloaded with peaches that Kellen brought them to school. We tasted a few while on the line and discussed which fruits have a "pit." On Friday, all of the peaches were at their peak so we sliced them up for lunch and as one child said, they are "better than candy!" They were gone faster than the ever popular chicken nuggets - believe it moms and dads, it is true!

        Relating to our weekly topic of "Main Street, Crystal Lake", we looked at the physical difference between our school on Illinois Street (which just has houses and sidewalks) and compared it to the streets we see when we walk downtown (which has traffic, stores, restaurants, and white lines between which we must stay when crossing). We discussed which local establishments we knew and where we have traveled to as a family or school community.

        We worked on our Main Street scenes this week. We included the Ballet Studio, the train station, Georgio’s Pizza, the Fire Station, Starbucks and the Pet Store. Some of the stores are found on our street in Crystal Lake and some of the stores like Walmart, guitar stores and ice cream stores are stores we know about or have visited in other towns. It’s a lot of work but the children have enjoyed making their own street – so to speak –seems they really like desserts and coffee!

        For water play this week we made water balloons. Instead of playing toss the balloon, as we expected them to do, the children played with them like “pets” or babies – making slides, floaty toys, etc. Also, we found that some of the balloons with air inside floated but most of them suspended in the middle of the water – kind of neat!

        On Friday, we didn’t get a chance to do water play due to the field trip. However, it seemed as though the children really missed their playground—this recess was overflowing with different activities and games!

        Miss Donna sent us a postcard from Three Lakes, Wisconsin, where she is on vacation. We found out Miss Donna is doing a lot of fun things with her family and friends like learning to drive a wave runner! Pretty neat! So, the children wrote her a letter back to let her know what they have been up to.

        We made chocolate chip cookies this week to celebrate Cayden’s 4th Birthday. The children love to bake. We also had berry yogurt popsicles and rice crispy treats.

        Our special craft this week goes along with our field trip to the bank. We started our paper maché piggy banks. The children started by tearing up newsprint paper (not as messy as newspaper, although both work fine). Tearing 2” pieces is not as easy as it looks and we need lots and lots of torn pieces so this has been quite the project! After tearing up the pieces Miss Terri blew up a balloon for each child which we keep in a bowl so it won’t roll around. Next, we mixed flour and water for our “glue” and dipped each paper into it before applying it to the balloon. We are still talking about all the different animal ideas we have for our banks – besides pigs – cats, dogs or maybe even a turtle!

        They are still works in progress but they are shaping up to be another messy, but fun, creation by the kids.

        This week's trip involved an interesting and new location for many of our students: the bank. While some of them have no doubt heard of the bank before, or gone in with their parents, it's quite unlikely that they've been able to go "behind the scenes." Of course, as most of our walking trips, the journey there was just as interesting as the destination.

        On the way to the bank, the children noticed some of the homes they’ve seen before, particularly our neighbors with the painted tire for a flower pot! As we passed the Gazebo, the children remembered that they’ve been here for the free concert and relived some of their memories. They also took notice of some of the beautiful flowers in bloom. Right before we reached the bank, we passed some restaurants that smelled absolutely delicious. Some even claimed to have visited them before or made plans to go there that evening!

        Before our tour of the bank began, our little explorers got a nice drink of water in the waiting area and looked through some magazines, closely imitating what they’ve seen adults do at the bank. Perhaps acting like adults was one of the more enjoyable parts of the field trip.

        Our tour guide, Tiffany, began by explaining why people need banks to begin with. While it is a place to keep money, it is also one to take money out of or make a withdrawal. A surprising fact we learned is that you can make money just by giving them your money to keep. That’s called an interest. People can also borrow money from the bank to buy something big, like a car.

        Next, Tiffany pointed out a big machine standing at the entrance of the bank, the “King Coin” that can count all your extra coins quickly. The children took a guess as to how much money Tiffany had in her cup; the guesses ranged from $1 to $100! We poured the coins into the machine and within seconds it told us the amount: $4.77. Some of our guesses were very close! However, we didn’t get any cash right away. All we got was a receipt that we had to take over to the teller. The teller, as we learned, is the person that handles the money, either giving it or taking it for safe keeping.

        Our last stop was the vault in the basement. On our way there, we passed personal bankers that help take care of bigger issues. We even saw one helping a customer. The vault downstairs contains a lot of safety boxes that hold precious and valuable things other than money: jewelry, coin collections, photo negatives, etc. The biggest safety box was bigger than some of the kids! Something unusual about the boxes is that they have two locks: one is for the owner’s key and one is for the bank’s key. This is to ensure the true safety of the items.

        On our way out of the vault, the kids noticed how large and thick the door was. It’s definitely bigger than the ones at our school! Each of the kids tried to close the door and surprisingly enough even our youngest student succeeded! There was one last surprise remaining: the wheel on the back of the door that one of the kids found. However, it is not used to drive the vault somewhere. Rather, it is the handle that is used to lock the vault shut.

        The children were very thankful for the wonderful tour of the bank. As we were walking back to school, we made one last discovery. One of the students pointed out how big the American flag is as it waves on the flagpole. As we all raised our heads to looked, we noticed another flag keeping it company: the Crystal Lake flag! We had been looking for it for quite some time when we were creating our own versions of the Crystal Lake flag and now we finally found it. After a close look we decided that our creations were a bit more creative and colorful.