Mrs. Mundell's Lively Ladybugs: Dinosaur Fossils, Dr. Seuss and the Spring Break Party

Wearing Safety goggles the boys and girls hammered away to break open their dinosaur fossils. It took a lot of focus and steady eye hand coordination to break open the plaster of paris fossil they had poured the week before. To discover and touch the fossil just like the archeologists do was quite empowering!

The wonderfully fun author Dr. Seuss was introduced by reading one of his most popular books, "The Cat in the Hat!" The children loved his use of rhyming words and repetition. They caught on very quickly and often filled in the repetitive words and phrases. In the Exploratorium they enjoyed playing with familiar objects to the story such as cakes and rakes inside their "Cat in the Hat" house while rereading the book with a friend.

Then the children decided that we could make a phone to communicate between the upstairs and downstairs just like the "Cat in the Hat" did! So we connected two paper cups with a long strand of yarn.

Others enjoyed Dr. Seuss books under the loft with our new, big cuddly bear named "Soto!"

Playing with little dogs in trees, with ladders and driving in cars was especially fun after reading "Go, Dog, Go," by P. D. Eastman.

Which ball will move faster, the tennis ball or the golf ball? First the children predicted, and then we tested it several times. Next we experimented to see if the balls moved faster in the gutter or the tube. Connecting shorter tubes or gutters at the base of the incline was also quite interesting!

Then in the classroom the boys and girls built structures with foam blocks adding smaller tunnels, inclines and bridges transporting cars and ping pong balls! It was quite interesting to discuss the connection, differences and similarities to the large tubes and gutters.

Contemplating the number and counting goldfish crackers was a fun for snack after enjoying another Dr. Seuss book, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish!"

Patterning, pairing by color and sorting kept the lively Ladybugs busy until they just had to gobble those little goldfish up!

On Wednesday we were honored to have Shorecrest American Red Cross student volunteers come to teach us about Water Safety and Disease Prevention.

The boys and girls learned about the importance of thorough hand washing to prevent sickness by having pretend germs placed on their hands. Then they chose different familiar songs to sing when washing while learning how to thoroughly wash. Next each child checked their hands under a black light. If there were any little germs remaining they had to wash their hands again. What a great lesson.

The children identified pictures of children who were using appropriate water safety rules and then discussed the best flotation devices and WHY.

The Alpha students were entertained at a performance by the Upper Division students in Mr. Leavengood's class. "Oranges and Lemons" an old English song about the bells in London talking to each other across the city, "Soldier, Soldier Won't You Marry Me," "The Adventures of Isabel" and "The Marvelous Toy" were some of the highlights.

The Spring Break Party was quite a hit with green eggs and ham for a snack, finding our initials amidst the corn cob in the sensory table and throwing socks in the boxes using our best aim!

""My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss associated color to the ways that we might feel on different days. The boys and girls painted their own body tracing the color or colors that they chose. Next they added the same color of feathers, buttons and other objects to match their chosen color.