A Painting Project and Having Fun in Puddles

Today we were busy, finishing a painting project, playing in our large refrigerator box, and playing and getting wet in puddles.

Yesterday, we had used potato printing to create some birds, following Melissa at  The Chocolate Muffin Tree's,  idea from several weeks ago. First we sang an improvisation on the children's song "Five Little Chickadees", using toy birds of various kinds - so it was a robin, crow, brown bird, striped bird, and a chickadee who "flew away home".My toy birds are marvelous toys - they look and sing like each actual kind of bird - robin, wren, nuthatch, crow, owl, etc. I've had them for several years, and they have always been a favourite toy.

The birds are slowly returning here in Saskatchewan, and I have sighted crows, blackbirds and seagulls. (We have Canada Geese that winter here - but they are flying overhead and becoming more active with the warmer weather). I told the children I had seen a crow that morning on the way to daycare.

The children enjoyed the potato printing, and most spread the paint with the potato creating splashes of colour. It was alot of messy fun - which is usually the best fun!

Today I provided feathers, eyes, paper triangles, and straw, and yarn, and the children created wonderful collages onto their paintings. Later in their play I overheard quite a bit of talk about nest building, and birds' eggs - I love children's ability to take something learned and turn it into play

Outside we found our play yard had developed several large puddles, and the children scooped with shovels, floated boats, as  well as learning what wouldn't float, found a dead ladybug from last year, saw a wonderful squirrel, and we heard the "caw cawing" of crows. One of my children pointed this out to me with excitement in her eyes - the crows are cawing!

I am just so glad spring is arriving!

I hope you are enjoying spring too!





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