Miss Tiff’s Tots

We did it! We actually grew candy canes.

I cannot wait for the Tots to see this! We had so much fun planting our seeds (peppermints) and covering them with soil (sugar) then topping them off with a sprinkle of water (red sprinkles). Candy cane seeds need Christmas lights not sunlight to grow which is why they are under the tree, we also sang a few Christmas songs to jumpstart the process.

Although this was so entertaining, I had a method behind this madness. I was able to incorporate a ton of skills we have been working on.

❄️ Making predictions
❄️ Drawing conclusions
❄️Using context clues
❄️ Sequencing steps
❄️ Recall
❄️ Not to mention coordination and fine motor skills!

Of course you can never trust the elf’s around candy canes so they had to go into lockup!

⛄️This weeks theme is Snowmen!

⛄️So naturally we made snow, using baking soda and hair conditioner we mixed until a dough was formed. We each made our own snowman then put them on the tray.

⛄️I had to take it to the next level and sq**rt them with vinegar. I just can’t help it, their giggles when they see the vinegar and baking soda reaction is my fav!

Best.day.EVER!!!!

🐶We had a very special guest join us this afternoon, and oh my goodness it was so much fun. The giggles were infectious and this sweet baby boy was showing off all his tricks, even the kids got in on the action giving Ringo commands. Big huge gigantic thank you to Heather for bringing him to visit our class.
We can’t wait to see him again

☕️🍫Frosty’s hot cocoa stand is just about ready for opening day next week! Of all my dramatic play centers, this could be my fav

🍫After some tips from two rice dying experts (yes, that’s a real title), I got the “hot cocoa” almost right! There was a minor incident involving my quartz countertops, my hands will remain several shades of brown and two batches of black rice are trashed, but it was worth it! I mixed in two packets of hot cocoa for the full effect 😍

🍫The Tots have order forms and everything they need to serve up the perfect cup of cocoa! I hope they love it

🦃The Tots Friendsgiving was today, this is one of my most favorite days of the year! We brought back sone fan favorite activities and added a few new.

🦃The Turkey trot will be added to the rotation for sure, this was so cute! The kids had to collect feathers around the room while keeping a balloon between their knees, then wobble over to the table to give Tom Turkey his tail feathers back!

Jj was for jam today so the Tots put their cutting skills to work, then added sugar, water and cornstarch to the pot and stirred. Since it was still a little warm by the time we were ready to eat, we decided to try it on top of ice cream!! Yummo

Today was an extra fun pajama day! We had a special theme leading into November break.

Today was all about Spookley the Square pumpkin.

📚 We read the book during circle time
🍿Then we used the popcorn maker and let it pop all over the towel before scooping it up into our cups. Their reaction was EXACTLY what I had hoped for 🥰
🎥 We built a pillow fort then watched a 15 minute version of Spookley
✂️Each tot assembled, cut and pasted their own version of Spookley
🥜Finally made special Spookley snacks!

I used this book to teach the Tots how we are each beautifully and wonderfully made, and that we are each a perfect work of art!

👻We made spooky sensory bottles today!

🎃We added a number of Halloween themed objects to the bottles, picked a color to dye the water and of course added glitter! We finished by pouring in water and oil to create the separation.

💦I looked for an extreme concentration emoji for the water pouring photos but couldn’t find anything to do their expressions justice 🤣

❗️If you’d like to try these at home I HIGHLY recommend using Core water bottles, the mouth is large enough to fit a vast variety of objects inside and the bottle itself is smooth and allows for great visualization!

😍They came out great and the process was tons of fun!

🦉It’s not all fun and games for the Tots, well to them it is! We learn tons everyday…

🦉I was super proud of them during this workmat activity. We are prepping for combining numbers and this was a fabulous way to create the Segway!

👻Boo! I’m so excited for our vanishing ghost mini sensory bins.

👻These are biodegradable packing peanuts, so when the Tots drop water on them they will vanish before their eyes!

👻We are working on a number of OT skills, hand eye coordination and problem solving strategies with this activity! We’ve got so many treats, in store for our Halloween party day, stay tuned!

🕷️Monday we learned why spider webs are sticky, to catch their prey!

Today we wondered… if the webs are so sticky why don’t the spiders stick to them?! 🕸️🕷️

With this simple but very fun experiment, we found out that spiders have an oily substance on their feet that keep them from sticking! 🤯

🕷️Today was the 1st day of our spider activities, we explored why spider webs are sticky.

🕸️After reading we found out it was so their prey would get caught.

🕷️So we put it to the test, using wiki sticks we made our own webs then stuck pipe cleaner “bugs” to it! It really was a lot of fun.

I loved how each web looked so unique. 🕷️