January in Review:
January is officially over, and leaves us with a burning question of "where is winter?" We have enjoyed a tame month of unseasonably high temperatures here at MAP - and hope that we can continue to spend lots of time outside in February!
With it however being a longer month without vacations - we wanted to make the month as interesting as we could. We chose to break up the longer month of mostly full weeks by bringing in guests, and making messes! Let's check out some of those guests and messes...
For our first guest,
Charlotte brought in Norbert - her bearded dragon! Norbert has visited MAP before and enjoys being with the kids! Charlotte taught about everything that goes into caring for a lizard like Norbert and let the the kids explore him! The kids always enjoy having animals come visit- and we are looking to bring more in later in the year!
As for our second guest of the month,
Connor McDermott's Grandfather came in to share some information about postage stamps and the collecting hobby! The kids learned a bit about the history of postage, how stamps are made, and even about a stray dog that turned into a nationwide postal traveler! "Papatella" brought in over
10,000 stamps and collection books for interested children to sift through and collect!
If you are interested in sharing a job, a hobby or passion with the kids- we would LOVE to have you!
AS FOR OUR MESSES....
During the winter months we put our "Exploration Station" - an area in the room where the kiddos can sort of explore on their own. We have done our take apart station, sudokus, riddles, light table with magnatiles, and many other things. We have offered some messier things of late- with
Maureen bringing out the cans of shaving cream for kids to do some sensory play in! Further, she offered rice panting for a similar sensory activity that gives that "grainy" feel rather then the "squishy" feel when dried.
|
|
But grainy and squishy is nice, too
|
For our half day we did our annual "Drive In Movie"! Each year we pick a half day to show a film to the kids, who spend some time making a "car" to watch the film in. We try to be as creative as possible with these cars to make them themed to the movie. In the past we have done a "Fly In" movie with magic carpets and
Aladin, or we have had them create basketball courts for
Space Jam. This year we showed them the Disney classic
The Absent Minded Professor - the movie Robin Williams'
Flubber was based on. With the movie being a sciency movie it fit into our weekly science theme, AND was set at Medfield College! The kids all made science labs to watch the movie in!
After our feature presentation, we offered the opportunity to make some gunky, gooey flubber! Plenty of mess, plenty of fun!
NEW CLUBS!
We about to start our third quarter of clubs! Here is a look at what is going on for the next 8ish weeks!
MONDAY: Surprise Club! A traditional Friday club, now available for Monday kids!
TUESDAY: Art Club with Charlotte and Zack: Two of our more artistic teachers combining their talents to bring out the creative side in all who sign up!
WEDNESDAY: Mythology and Magic with Matthew: Greek, Roman, Norse, and more! These stories have been passed down for eons - with fantasic heroes and a little bit of magic!
THURSDAY: Lifeskills Club with Mo and Chris: In this club, the kids will learn a variety of skills they wouldn't necessarily learn in school but are always fantastic to have - and in a fun way! Join in to learn how to sew that popped button, how to budget money with some Monopoly fun, and MORE!
FRIDAY: Minecraft Club with Kim: Love Minecraft? So does Kim! This club will be focused on not just the game, but all sorts of activities, games and crafts! Rumor has it, there will be lots of cardboard boxes involved in creating the fabled Ender Dragon!
We'll be busy this month with a half day, and a few vacation days!
