Starlight

The afternoon program is always stirring with fun, friendship and, of course, rich educational moments. The girls and boys have recently shown quite an interest in penguins! During our cozy story times, the students continue to enjoy themed literature selections, both fiction and nonfiction. The Starlight kiddos have acquired some very interesting facts. Did you know penguins cannot take flight? Did you know penguins swallow their meals whole? Did you know that these cute creatures spend half of their time on land and the other half in the water? Our Starlight friends do! To expand this interest, the pupils created adorable paper plate penguin crafts. Later, they explored frozen penguin cubes in the sensory table. Tons of fun!

To release some of those wiggles, our children continue to request impromptu dance parties! “Cool Kids” is a current favorite playlist of tunes. Freeze dancing and the classic “Animal Action” are always crowd pleasers. At pick up, you may witness Club Starlight is off the hook! Looking ahead: the students will focus on studying the human body. This will infuse music (“Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”), dramatic play and art! We can’t wait!

Twilight

So many children take part in our afternoon program. It’s no wonder that their compelling interests inform and enrich our ever-evolving curriculum!

Recently, the students became interested in the Aurora Borealis. More commonly known as the Northern Lights, this enchanting show of sky colors clearly captured each pupil’s attention. After viewing some educational video clips, the boys and girls formulated many questions and scientific guesses. Simply put, this phenomenon is caused by magnetic fields, particles in the sky (atmosphere) and solar flares. To capitalize on this learning, the children engaged in easel painting sessions, creating their own versions of the Northern Lights. How cool is this?

As part of Magic Garden’s Magical Mindfulness curriculum, the Twilight kiddos have been enjoying some very thoughtful selections of literature. This includes the Rhinos and Raspberries series, a collection of cultural tales of tolerance. Also in the mix: Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon and Humpty Dumpty After the Fall by Vothy Kuon.

Coming up: Continued work on our Random Acts of Kindness tree!