Surprise!!

Yesterday the children at Susan's trekked to Regina to surprise Susan and Mike.  They were flying home from their holidays in Toronto and were scheduled to arrive in YQR in the afternoon.  So, we decided to surprise them by meeting them at the airport.  And were they ever surprised!  It was so much fun!  The children were exceptional travellers and very well behaved.  We are super proud of them! :)

All buckled in a rarin' to go!

Enjoying lunch before the surprise

Hiding....waiting....

Surprise!! Welcome back!! :) 

Watching the airplanes

Firehouse Visit

Today was field trip day and we got to go check out the......firehouse!  It was so much fun!  The firefighters were very friendly and taught us all sorts of things.  We got to see the "museum", the fire trucks (new, old and the big ladder truck), where the firemen do training, where they sleep and eat, how they get prepared for a fire, the inside of a truck, their locker rooms and the cool slide and poles they use. They answered our unending questions and informed us of ALL the duties they have (whew! they are busy, busy people).

Want S'more?

Our little cowpokes sat around a campfire today and made an outdoor delicacy......S'MORES!!!  My oh my were they tasty!!  We learned how to roast our marshmallows just right (although some of them did take to the flame very well and made our treat just a little crispy) and put them between two graham crackers and some chocolate.  The heat from our marshmallows warmed up our chocolate so it was a gooey treat.  Yum!  Not only did we eat our s'mores, we also wore them. ;)  And now, we revel in the scent of campfire as we mosey on our way.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

"Rollin', rollin', rollin'. Get those wagons rollin'..."  Its still the wild, wild west at Susan's this week and we prepared our wild west transportation - old fashioned covered wagons.  Now we can roll away in style.  All we need are a few oxen, some supplies and we're set to venture out into the wilderness and head west.

Banjo Bonanza

Well, today we decided to embrace our musical sides and create our own musical instruments.  Since our theme is the wild west, we made.....banjos!  Gotta love banjo music as you're sitting by a campfire or around the table at Susan's.  We learned how to properly hold and strum our very colourful banjos and can't wait to share our music with our families at home.

Outlaws

Yesterday we were the sheriffs, today we are the OUTLAWS!!  Using fun outlaw names and quite realistic "wanted for" reasons, we created our own Wanted posters today.  The children discussed how outlaws were the bad guys in the wild west and the ones the sheriffs tried to capture.  Also, when rewards were given or promoted then the public would help the sheriffs capture the outlaws.  Be on the lookout for these crazy outlaws in a town near you!

Wild West

This week's theme: the Wild West!  With the fair just leaving town and the Calgary Stampede up and running we are in to the cowboy/cowpoke/western theme.  Today we became sheriffs (no deputies, we all took on a leading role).  With our badges, we mean business!!  Rootin' tootin' sheriffs were keeping things under control at Susan's today.

Reading

Routines are a big part of Susan Cares 4 Kids.  One of our favourite activities is reading books, something we do on a daily basis (and sometimes more than once a day).  After lunch, we always get to spend time reading books and sharing stories before Susan reads aloud.  It's great to hear the wonderful stories that are being read / "told" and to see early reading behaviours in these young pre-school / toddler children.

Caterpillar Craze

It's Caterpillar Week at Susan's and the children are learning about these little critters.  Did you know that some caterpillars can turn into a butterfly?  Or that the furry ones feel funny on your arm?  Also, caterpillars will have different patterns on their bodies.  Pretty cool stuff!  As we explore nature and insects, the children get to discover wonderful things about the world around them.  They love to observe the little critters, like caterpillars, in our natural world and make observations based on their senses.  Our crafts this week are caterpillar themed.  So far we've made caterpillars that can move (or wiggle around) and cool caterpillar caps.

Nursery Rhyme Week

Last week was nursery rhyme week.  The children love these rhymes / songs and even the adults find the tunes catchy (as they are often still sung well into the evening, though not always on purpose).  Check out the various nursery rhymes and traditional songs that the children delved into this week.


5 Green and Speckled Frogs
One of  the greatest things about these traditional songs and rhymes is their repetition.  Repetition is linked with the concept of patterning which aids in literacy and math skills.  With the song "5 Green and Speckled Frogs" students enjoy a ear catching tune while learning about one less/counting back.

6 Little Ducks
Do you remember the 6 little ducks? Fast ones, short ones and of course the infamous "feather on his back" one?  We do!  Check out our little ducks we made as popsicle puppets that were easy to maneuver while acting out the song.

Here is the song sung by Raffi (classic!!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-GDn2xvFQQ

Where is Thumbkin?
Finger puppets were the perfect craft for this song.  The children quickly learn about the various names for their fingers (ring, pointer, pinkie, etc.) while learning and practising their dexterity in being able to hold up each finger individually.

Lyrics:
Where is Thumbkin?
Where is Thumbkin?
Here I am!
Here I am!

How are you today, sir?
Very well, I thank you.
Run and hide.
Run and hide.

(Repeat with Pointer, Middleman, Ringman, Pinky and everyone).






Old Macdonald Had A Farm
With this cute craft, children sang the song and by turning a board behind the barn, would pop open the barn doors to display the next animal Old Macdonald had on the farm.

Eensy Weensy Spider
Well, although many people are afraid of these eight legged creatures the children here love them!  Actually, they love and are taught to respect all creatures but it just happened that we had a rhyme related to our arachnid friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiXmqoESD9I