Wed, Oct. 13 2010

At circle this morning, the story of the day was a piece of non-fiction, recounting a trip to the zoo with Nana. After circle, the kids split up to various activities. Some to listen to stories, some to play "clean up the town" with the garbage truck toys, and others helped chop vegetables and grate carrots for Kara's special sauce...

While everyone waited for the sauce to cook, we went out to the side yard with Inky and Coco, where there was no end to nerf noodle sword play, soccer ball kicking, hide and seek and mellowing out with Jose by the sandbox.

After lunch Kara settled everyone down with some Shel Silverstein. "SARAH CYNTHIA SYLVIA STOUT WOULD NOT TAKE THE GARBAGE OUT"

Another perfect day at ALG!

-Jon Fukuda, (Maile's Papa)

Its all about splashing!

Today was a water-filled day. Right after circle time (where we heard Athena's amazing story), everyone celebrated Sidney's 4th birthday with some muffins - yum yum. Then we changed into our bathing suits. We entered the courtyard and - WOW - there was the big pool all ready for splashing and playing. Many kids decided to go right into the pool, while another group played with water canisters, pitchers and even washed the playhouse! Later on a group decided to draw with chalk and even some kids enjoyed Jose's outdoor story. After swim time was through, we went back inside, changed into our dry clothes and ate some more. Then there were butterfly and other cut-out art projects, reading, and romping in the back room to enjoy to round out a great day. Everyone is looking forward to the ALG Pool Party later this afternoon :)
Karen (Maia's Mom) and Michelle (Edison's Mom)

Muddy Fun! Muddy Thursday! We celebrated the hot day by going outside to the side yard, where we listened to stories, flew like birds and dragons and looked at bugs under logs! Then we turned on the cold water hose and ran in the water. Brrr! And YAY! Lots of the kids had swimsuits on ...but that didn't stop the kids without them. A big mud bath for all where we sang Pollywog, and Hokey Pokey, and danced in the mud. The muddy kids were taken to the courtyard to be hosed down (which was just as much fub as getting dirty) and change into clean clothes. Everyone ate lunch (kids were hungry!) and then Natasha started an assembly line face-painting extravaganza. Puppies, and butterflies, and horses, and batmans came tumbling out of her paint brush and onto the kids' faces! Free play and boogie clean-up came. The day flew by!
Don't forget to send your kids with extra clothes for the next time! Only one week left of ALG for this school year!
Karen Z (Maia's Mom) and Greg (Edison's dad)

Mache Monday at ALG

Friends, friends, friends 123...I'm so glad you are blogging with me.
And paper mache is my friend, and the water table is my friend,
And riding bikes is my friend.
Friends, friends, friends 123...all my friends are making masks with me.
And Jose's story telling time is my friend, cleaning rabbit cages is my friend,
and building with tiles is my friend.
Friends, friends, friends 123 today is Cara's birthday!
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1415060118819779386#

Guacamole Thursday!

This morning Natasha and some kids picked cilantro from the garden to make guacamole. While a small crew of guacamole-makers (Penelope, Clara, and others) carefully mashed avocados with the other ingredients, the rest of us played in the big room, building magnet structures (Kieran's space station!) or playing hopscotch or feeding the bunnies carrots. After a snack, we all went out to the side yard to enjoy the beautiful weather. The bunnies came out with us and got to hop around in their new fenced-in area. They are getting so big! Then we all came inside for lunch and enjoyed the guacamole on freshly toasted tortilla chips, courtesy of Natasha. Another great day at ALG.

Wednesday, May 19

Happy Wednesday! Since the rain stopped we spent a LONG time in the side yard today. We brought the bunnies with us and had a great time watching them in a natural environment. We dug and weeded in our garden. We smelled flowers (the honeysuckle smells amazing!). We chased Josh (Pace's dad) and he chased us! We played duck, duck goose, sang songs, listened to stories, watched insects, chatted, climbed trees and just all around enjoyed each others company. It's so nice to see how the childrens friendships have blossomed over the year. When I was watching I noticed how much they truly care about one another. The relationships are so innocent and sincere. It's really a lovely sight.

After the side yard we were very hungry, so we came in and had a great lunch and suddenly it was 1 o'clock..

It's been a grey wet morning here at ALG, but no real rain, so we managed to get outside to run out some energy in the courtyard. The atmosphere inside was bright and high energy, with guacamole production/consumption in full swing with our very own cilantro harvest; box decoration with Melissa; lots of stories; and a lively back room romp to give the post-lunch wiggles room to run. The tadpoles' legs are ever so slightly longer, and the bunnies received plenty of attention and snacks.

Rainy Monday...

Although today was a rainy day, the kids had a ton of fun! After circle time this morning, some of the kids played outside in the sprinkling rain while the rest played inside.

A bunch told stories to Deborah, painted beautiful paintings with Kara, and others made all sorts of shapes, cakes, and burritos out of clay!

While some children were out playing in the rain with Jose, other listened to stories inside and played with blocks, puppets and legos...

We ate some lunch, drew some pictures and made the best of a rainy day!

Butterflies are free to fly.... fly away!

What a great day to end this sometimes dreary week of rain and cold! At circle time we were treated to a new Story of the Day by Henry Mills, a complex tale about a man who went "boing" and ended up in Neverland with some pirates. We then spent the first part of the morning baking bunny muffins - not actually for the bunnies, but with ingredients they might like (zucchini, carrots) - to celebrate Cocoa and Inky's 3rd month birthday. Once in the courtyard, the sun was out in full force, the rabbits played and practiced new escape routes from their pen, and the kids climbed trees, chased a Jose monster, and started a rousing game of Duck Duck Goose. The highlight of the day was the birthday party for the bunnies, at which we sang "Hoppy Birthday" and enjoyed the yummy muffins in the sunshine. Oh - and by way of explaining the title of this post - we finally set the butterflies free! (Most survived.) Have a great weekend, everyone!

Butterflies and Chicks 5/10/2010

Today the children got to see the newly hatched butterflies as the last ones came out of their chrysalis over the weekend.

The eggs, sadly, did not hatch as expected as the incubator has a malfunction. Kara took a group of children to the courtyard to crack open the egg and see what happened. Some of the children opened eggs that looked like they never started at all, other eggs contained almost fully matured chick fetuses. It was smelly, but equally fascinating.

There was a range of maturity that showed that, while none of the survived they made it through various stages of development depending on where they were positioned in the incubator. - An order will be put in for some egg laying chicks to see if we can get some eggs to hatch.

After a brief snack the purple group went out for a walk in Rock Creek Park to find the trail that lead to the water. On the way down the trail, we spotted a lone dear strolling through the woods. After throwing rocks over the footbridge into the creek they decided to do some more hiking.

On the way back to school, we spotted a whole family of deer at the trail head we all stopped as we looked at the deer and the deer looked at us... then they ran off into the woods.

Lunch and games in the sunny courtyard with some rock n' roll music and the a quiet story time.

-Jon Fukuda (Kaiea's dad)

Monday, May 3, 2010

Today was a fun day. Seemed like the children had lots of energy. At morning circle we talked about how there are only two days left until our chicks hatch from the eggs. After morning circle, most of the kids had a snack then headed outside to play in the rain. However, the rain had stopped so they played outside and some kids still managed to get wet. The kids who stayed inside played with Legos, blocks on the light table and some drawing activities. When everyone came back inside, some did puzzles or listened to book readings, and later most of the kids had some physical exercise time on the mats in the back room with Natasha. That was around the time Marcy came back from the Vet with the bunnies, and that made everyone happy. During lunch, everyone listened to a great story by Jose. RB

THURSDAY JOYS

Today was a really busy day, with a lot happening at ALG. This morning, a group of us built some exercise toys for the bunnies--we built a really cool slide that lets the bunnies go down "two stories" to the bottom of their cage. They are also able to jump on a box before they get to the tall top of the slide. They seem to be happy in their new home, munching on carrots and apple slices.

We also spent most of the day outside enjoying the sunshine. the purple group walked to Upshur park with Deborah and Pickett. The rest of us went between the side yard and courtyard. In the sideyard, Maeve led us in a search for interesting insects under all the stumps. We found cool white fungus, millipedes, lots of squigly worms and a very hairy spider (Which we didn't dare touch)!

We also planted our lettuce sprouts so that the bunnies would have good food to eat.

We did have one sad thing happen today--we had to say goodbye to Pickett whose last day of the year was today. She is spending the summer in Oakgrove, and will be missed!

It was a grey day here at ALG, but the atmosphere was bright and high-energy. For starters, we met two new furry friends, Bunny 1 and Bunny 2, who now inhabit a cage over by the incubator. We are thinking of good names for each, and will vote when there's a strong short list. We did go outside for a romp in the courtyard, and did lots of triking and chalk work. Victor, Alexander, Sebastian, Oliver and Henry transformed the corner tree into an improbable pastel wonder. Back inside, we got even more energy out in the back room, where Deborah led a mighty rumpus with the colorful parachute. Clean-up was extensive -- and nearly as much fun as making the mess.

Thursday, April 22 - EARTH DAY!

Circle time included the kids pretending to be seedlings that grew into potatoes, carrots and flowers. After circle time, one group went with Pickett, while Layla, Harry, Clara and Eli R. decided to paint. Sophia painted a calendar, and Jay painted three pictures! Some kids crowded around the caterpillars with Natasha to watch their progress.
With different groups throughout the day, Pickett and Melissa read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," then acted out the story with the kids. They had scraps of fabric that could be used as butterfly wings.
Outside, some kids lined up to climb up and down a ladder, while others told stories to Melissa, ran an ice cream parlor and raced tricycles. Jose entertained us all by singing Michael Jackson songs all day.

Tuesday April 20

Pickett came today and spent a lot of time in the backroom with us!!! Please, ask me what i pretended to be.

We also went out to the sideyard and mixed our composte in with the soil to get the garden ready.

We had a good day!

Thursday, April 15

The eggs came! This morning we put the eggs we are hatching into the incubator to keep warm. Now we will watch them closely and count the days until our little chicks peck their way out of their shells. Very exciting! In the morning, small groups played in the back with Pickett, while others sculpted with clay and water , played dress-up, or put together puzzles. After a snack, we went out to the side yard to enjoy the beautiful weather. There was plenty of running, hide-and-seek, and digging in the dirt. A glorious day was had by all.

April 13th

Today Pickett came to play!
There was also a lot of puzzling and gluing going on.
It was rainy outside, so the class picture was postponed.
Melissa told a story that had been written collectively by 5 kiddos.
Another great day at ALG.

Earth and Water

All groups were outdoors today split up between the side yard and the courtyard for half the morning. The groups in the side-yard dug in the garden, played in the sandbox and ran around. Rows were prepped for seeding and some tomato sprouts went in the ground. The groups in the courtyard floated between playing at the water table with pitchers funnels and plumbing tubes and riding bikes, playing in the house and running around. The groups swapped places for the rest of the morning.

Spare clothes saved the day for some of the kids who played too vigorously at the water table. (Reminder... if you haven't checked what spare clothes are in your kids' cubbies, tomorrow might be a good time to check in and make sure they have everything they need).

After lunch, everyone rocked out to some Brazilian music and settled down with a gardening story read by Kara.

-Jon (Kaiea's Papa)

Back to Spring

After a rainy night it was a cold morning - what?? only 46 degrees?? - after a few days of summer-like weather. So after Circle Time songs about seeds and gardens, and a Story of the Day about witches (good ones and bad ones, complete with illustrations) by Daisy, we hung out inside for a little while to stay warm. Some kids explored the worm compost, others worked with pattern blocks or Magna-Tiles or made paper butterflies. All groups had some time outside in the courtyard when the sun came out, and the energy was high - lots of escaping from monsters and bike rides and ice cream making in the water table, along with climbing up and down the ladder. A few kids practiced closing eyes and feeling their way with the ladder, an interesting experiment in how to maximize the use of different senses. Now off to pack up the school for a church event - have a great weekend all!

April 8th

Another glorious day! We spent lots of time outside climbing trees, digging, telling stories, swinging to name a few. In circle we sang Happy Birthday to Kieran who turns 5 tomorrow. In the courtyard we played in the water table with buckets and scoops and we also had fun checking out PVC pipes. Enjoy the weather!

What happened to Spring?

A ridiculously warm day for April, but a beautiful one nonetheless. After singing a belated happy birthday to Callahan during circle time, everyone headed outside before it got too hot. In the courtyard we put together pipes and poured water in to see where it would come out. Others biked around and were put in jail for speeding. In the sideyard kids raced the clock, sat on and pushed the swing, and explored all the blooming flowers. Jose told a riveting story about some of the ice queen's nefarious deeds, though frankly she might have been welcome on a day like today. Back inside, we ate lunch and then different groups took turns in the back doing imaginative play with Pickett. There were many different animals - owls, cats, sharks, dolphins, and dinosaurs - as well as mermaids and princesses. They all visited the ice cream parlor that served meat flavored ice cream and were chased by or chased an animal catcher and a brain-seeking zombie scarecrow. Just another typical day at ALG.

Tuesday, April 6

Today was the first day back to school after spring break and everyone seemed excited to be back at ALG. The weather was beautiful, so we spent the majority of the morning outside in the side yard. The flowers are in full bloom, so we spend a lot of time looking (not picking) at them. We also found a silk worm nest, which Natasha cut down for everyone to look at. Another highlight of the day is that it was Leila's birthday. Leila turned 4 today, and her mom, Nora, brought in popcorn to share with the class. Today we say goodbye to cats and dogs, and hello to something else. What will that be? Stay tuned....

Rainy Friday

On a dreary day, we stayed inside playing with Pickett and Oran, sadly Oran's last day until summer camp. Lots of cats that we tried to get rid of - sending them away in a truck, up in a balloon, in a rocket to Mars, and back in time - but those darn cats kept coming back! Baby cheetahs played with and eventually ate flounders and crabs, and fought with a shark. Back up front, the day was filled with story-telling, clay castles, self-portraits, making designs with colored blocks, and building structures out of legos, blocks, and tracks.

Thursday, March 25

Spring roared in like a lion for this first-time ALG co-oper. Loads of fun today. In the morning, kids on bikes raced around the courtyard, with a few trikeless bystanders looking for inspiration. Finally, we realized that the bikes needed gas, and the bystanders turned into gas station attendants. Jay was willing to pay extra for "race" gas.
In the afternoon Yoga Jenny walked us through a transportation-inspired yoga session, where the kids improvised moves like the submarine. One more play session in the side yard was ruled by Alice, a "monster mommy" that wanted everyone to go to bed at 5 PM, with no chocolate cake! OK maybe one slice.
Then the afternoon rounded out with an awesome puppet show by Melissa about cats and dogs.
Lots of fun, but I'm ready for nap time.

March 22, 2010

Today was a bit of a slow Monday, a bit overcast, a little rain, and some sleepy headed children at times. We started out the day singing with Tiffany, and with Pickett's help we acted out animal songs. This was great fun for the kids, as everyone barked, roared and ran around. Later a group made clay sculptures, as some children played with the magnet colored blocks on the light table. There were also a few puzzle solvers, wooden block builders, story tellers and story listeners. A bit later, a group went outside and managed to play for a while before the rain started. In the back room, Natasha played music and most of the children joined in physical exercise, jumping on mats and swinging from the bar.

Ruxan Brady

It feels like Spring!

Highlights of circle time today included a Story of the Day by Ian about turtles and a tyrannosaurus rex, and a goodbye to our friend Lila, whose family is moving to CA :(. Pickett came and the groups took turns playing animals in the back room - cheetahs seem to be popular these days. In the front, Natasha made fried plantains which were a bigger hit with the grown-ups than with the kids. Once the morning chill wore off, outside we went, for a great time in the spring sunshine - nothing like sifting cool sand between your toes, digging in the dirt with a spade, running through the woods, climbing a tree, and relaxing on a swing to welcome in the new season. Have a fun weekend everyone!

Big Mess Inside, Sunny Day Outside!

After a great story of the day about popcorn and the desert (who would have thought those two things go together?), the Purple group set off for their 2-bus-ride to the Zoo. The rest of the gang proceeded to make a big mess inside - highlights included play dough desert scenes with owls, cactus, and tons of snakes, a drawing of the Washington Monument, and some letter stamping, a pretend forest near the block area, and an underwater floor puzzle. Then after a robust cleaning session and a snack we all headed to the sunny courtyard, where we enjoyed a lot of spirited bike riding, a session climbing on the ladder, and a color game led by Melissa. Close to 1:00 the zoo folks returned to hear Cara reading stories including "The Cat Came Back."

Cold Sunny Day

Today at Circle time, the Story of the Day was by Pace, who had written a very funny one involving monsters, Superman, a penguin, and his backpack. All groups took turns in back in extended play with Oran, his guitar, and Pickett, continuing their weeklong engagement as cheetahs, whales, and a frog princess - the latter of whom was married today.

In the playhouse, Jay and Sophie helped bang some errant nails down with a big hammer. Oliver was a cat who helped out by calling the police on his phone when some bad guys appeared as dinner was served. Victor and Edison did lots of work with the magnetic tiles; and Maia babysat Nicolai.

Outside in the courtyard, Cara made necklaces from yarn and found natural objects; she also fished the pool ladder up out of the well and we took turns climbing up and down. Then Natasha came up with her traveling dance party, and we worked out lots of extra energy. It was cold but sunny - so we just kept moving.

Monday, March 15

Today was an exciting day at ALG. We had so many "special" teachers. First we had music time with Tiffany, who was accompanied by Oran, Pickett and Melissa. Together we acted out songs about pets. It was particularly fun to do "The Cat Came Back". If you don't know the song ask us to sing it for you, we know it well. After Tiffany left we had more play time with Oran and Pickett. Boy, we sure love it when they are here!

We got to spend a little while outside and inside we built a huge, beautiful castle out of wooden blocks. Check it out! We're going to try to save it for more play tomorrow. We also painted, played with legos and just had a all around good time.

beautiful spring day!

Spring has sprung at ALG - and as such we all enjoyed the nice weather. The red group went to the zoo and saw cheetas, zebras, elephants and a sleeping panda. We had to take two buses to the front entrance of the zoo due to construction and the rides themselves may have been the highlight of the trip (either that or Sara's singing).

Those who stayed got centered with Yoga Jenny and spent much of the day in the side yard enjoying the sunshine, green grass and brown dirt. When the group returned inside they made hummus with Natasha (including some savory red pepper mix that is an ancient Serbian secret). All and all another great day at ALG!

Tuesday, March 9

We went outside almost immediately (after snack & potty) and stayed out all day. It was super great.
We did some digging.
We did some running.
We were pretend doggies with Pickett.
We ran from the monster Jose!
We climbed some trees.
We totally cut lose and enjoyed the fresh air!

We then came back in, had lunch and hung out for the last little bit.
Ask me about the cat book Deborah was reading - Fun!

March 8 2010

We spent as much time as possible outside in the side yard--95% of the class was out there at one point. Everyone seemed to truly enjoy the sunshine and mild weather. It was music day with Tiffannee, as well, and some new songs were introduced. The usual playing with blocks, cars, lego's, etc. went on inside. The co-opers today were exceptional; too bad we did not have a camera on them all day, as it would have been great footage for a "how-to" video.

Signed,

Objective Co-oper

Thursday 2/4/10

Today Natasha brought in her beautiful pup, Co-Co. She showed us her tricks, including sitting, high-5's, rolling over and laying down.

We also did "Spring" into yoga with yoga Jenny, where we together made a gigantic sunflower and rained down to make more flowers grow.

A nice day outside, we ran around in the side yard and enjoyed the sun.

tuesday, 3/2/10

Another great ALG day! Oran & Pickett came and played with us in the back room - 2 groups at a time so we got to stay back for a hole hour (please ask us what we played!).

We went out to the side yard and ran, ran, ran. Jose was a monster, Deborah was a mermaid mom. Some of us did some digging in the dirt.

Tomorrow we will be back in the side yard - gardening time is coming.

March 1

Finally, a sunny (though windy) day let us get outside. The sideyard was full of monsters and running, swinging and duck duck goose. We gathered many sticks that had fallen down in all the recent wind and threw them over the fence.

Before that Tiffany came for music, some kids made collages by sewing, the yellow group worked on their Secret Wonderful Auction Project. There was the usual building, playing with playdough and drawing.

We had a jolly time and a preview of more outside fun to come.

Rachel (Anna's mom)

Friday, February 26

It was an exciting Friday at ALG with a visit from Oran's dog Elizabeth. After Elizabeth got used to the action and excitement,she relaxed and played catch with the children in the back room along with Oran and Pickett. Many children created wonderful collages today, Jose and Cara had the children engrossed in story telling, Melissa had the children draw pictures to go along with their stories she has collected, Natasha had children playing in the dirt, and many boats and other vehicles were constructed from blocks and other materials. We can't wait for Monday! :-)

Wednesday, Feb. 24

After a robust and extensive sing-a-long at circle time, we broke up into groups. Red and purple groups went to the back to do capoeira with Jeremy while the rest of us played in the big room, doing floor puzzles, building with the large blocks, and playing in the playhouse. Then we switched and blue and yellow groups got a chance to do all the groovy capoeira moves. After capoeira some kids stayed in the back with Natasha to do noodling play. In the big room Daisy, Coco, Grace, Sophia, Sophie, Maeve, and others carefully helped Cara paint the terracotta planters that will contain the seedlings we are soon going to plant. All the play areas were full of industrious and concentrated players today, so much so that only a small group could be enticed away for a short walk around the neighborhood in the sunshine. Deborah and Kathi took Coco, Sophie, Henry, Harry, Sydney, and Clara out for a stroll. While we walked we did some scientific pondering: do we think the snow would melt faster on the sunny side of the street or the shady side? what was that gurgling/dripping sound we heard, and what could have caused it? Why are some leaves on the ground green and some brown? what was the squirrel chattering at us from the wall trying to say? etc. Another fun day at ALG.

Tuesday, February 23

Today was another exciting day at ALG. Pickett came and played cats and kittens in the back with all the groups, which was really fun. In the big room there was lots going on as usual -- puzzles, playing with blocks, leggos, trucks, play dough and moon sand. A special project grabbed the attention of some kids - paper making! We used recycled paper to make new paper. What a great way to make something new out of something old. Today was also a very special day at ALG -- Maeve's 4th birthday! Maeve's mom brought in some delicious muffins to share -- corn bread and strawberry, YUM! Happy Birthday, Maeve!

Monday, 22 February 2010

We had a great Music Monday with Tiffany playing along to some of our favorites - Hurry, Hurry Drive the Firetruck, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/Rock and Oats, Peas Beans & Barley. Kara and friends were whipping up batches of paper in the blender. She got lots of help with the shredding process as well. The real fun seemed to be in the back room with Deborah. There were lots of dare devils leaping onto the mattresses and running off all that energy!

Friday, February 19

Well, it's been a week since we've been back to school and I think all the kids are happy to be back in the swing of things. We still didn't go outside today, so there was lots of activity inside. Pickett came and played "Bears" with a group of kids while another group played like crazy in the back with the big rent tent and lots of music. The pipes remain a popular activity. Today we pretended we were fire fighters and the pipes were our hoses. We also had fun exploring the "treasures" that everyone has been bringing in. We've started separating the items into "families" and using them to create things on the art boards. Overall, it was another super fun day at ALG!

Today is Thursday, and that means Yoga Jenny! She read us a book called What Do You Do When It's Going To Snow?.. and we did yoga poses for all the animals [and eggs, and trees] in the story who were caught in the snow fall. Some of us dictated stories to Melissa, and there was lots of lego and light box and puzzle and big block work, too. We had a few dance parties and noodle romps to work off so of our energy -- still too icy and snow piled to go outside.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

We had lots of fun at ALG today. After singing some songs during circle time, the red and purple groups went to the back room to do Caporia with Jeremy. They all had a great time singing, following Jeremy's movements and calling out the names of the instruments.

Up front the other kids did lots of playing with blocks, looking at worms and trash, and painting.

Later on, it was too cold to go out so a bunch of us headed to the back room to run off some energy, hang from the bar, jump of the table, throw soccer balls at alligators, and play dress up.

Then it was already time for clean-up - another full day at ALG.

Tuesday 2-16-2010

So - we are getting back to normal after all the snow. We had almost a full house today. We were not able to get outside but we definitely let off some steam inside.

Oran came today and stayed for quite a while. He played with everyone in the front and then took several kids to the back with Natasha and Deborah. In the back, we had a fashion show, played with the parachute and played baseball. Also, as always in the back, much running & jumping off tables was happening.

In the front, we played with the big blocks, small blocks, legos, little people & cars. We colored, stamped, played with playdough, read stories, wrote stories with Melissa & acted out Owl Babies with the puppets.

We played with everything!

The Friday after Snowpocalypse!

A whole WEEK since ALG has been open, so a happy and hardy crew made it to ALG to shake off cabin fever. Road conditions being what they are, several families arrived before staff but in the end, with Oran, Pickett, Natasha, Marcy, and Melissa and 2 co-opers we had a great ratio: about 1 grown-up for every 2 kids. At circle time some kids shared their collected treasures. We "noodled" in the back room, had a vigorous game of duck-duck-goose, and jumped and rolled on the mattress. Dragons and princesses had pretend snowball fights, books were read, snacks were had, and the usual good time was had by all.

Enjoy the long weekend everyone. With wishes for melting ice and easy parking... See you all next week!

Yoga Jenny was sick today, so Natasha stepped in with noodles, swing, and jumping in the back room (each group had a turn, in rotation). In the big room, in addition to the usual books, dress up, and legos, Melissa guided four kids at a time in acting out the Owl Babies story with 'puppets.' Later in the day, the one-o-clockers went for a walk outside in the sun. We got to witness a "tree man" cutting off a big piece of branch with an electric saw. A rope was tied around the log to guide its safe descent to the ground. Very exciting.

Wednesday Febuary 3

Snow Day at school today. We had great fun romping in the snow. First inside wwarmed up with some Caporia. We danced, played instruments, and sang songs. It's such good exercise and a blast. Ask us to show the moves Jeremy has been teaching us. Then we heaed out for some time in the snow. We built a snowman, threw snowballs, dug with shovels and buckets... You name it we, we did it. We came back in, warmed up with some dry clothes and herbal tea and called it a morning.

A Cold Friday

Lots of kids out sick today and meager supplies for this sole co-oper (a shout out to Marcy for helping with clean-up) but spirits were high at the end of another fun week.

At circle, Melissa surprised us with a puppet show featuring a pirate named Lola, a starfish named Starry, and a robot whose name was a secret - story and puppets supplied by Daisy. Several kids were subsequently inspired to create their own stories and have been dictating to Melissa.

No outside time today - too cold - so everyone played their hearts out inside, goofing with Oran, reading books, stamping letters, or building elaborate structures with our new pvc pipe pieces and connectors (turns out they are great to talk through or send ping pong balls sliding long distances).

Have a great weekend, one and all!

Thursday Jan 28

Much fun was had at circle time as Melissa read Oliver's story about a curious cat who did some dumpster diving. Yoga Jenny's practice for today incorporated the three R's we are all learning so much about - recycle, reduse, reuse. Ask your little yogi to show you their toe-picking-up-trash moves! Leggos, puzzle-making, moon sanding and dough-shaping was enjoyed by many. And we even had time for playing outside. It was a great day.

Capoeira and Museum of the American Indian

The day started with the purple group leaving for a field trip to the American Indian Museum. They took the bus and the metro to see an exhibit on recycled art.

The remaining groups took turns with Jeremy practicing their capoeira in the back room. In the main room, there were many structures assembled and then just as quickly disassembled using the magnetic blocks.

After a snack, everyone rode bikes in the courtyard while Jose the monster terrorized the inhabitants of the house.

Back inside, there was a good mix of play dough rolling and cutting and lego building. After clean up time, there was some impromptu dancing in a ring, capped off a by a story from Natasha.

Chris (Henry's dad)
Karen (Maia's mom)

Tuesday, January 27

Happy Tuesday everyone. Today we had a great day. In circle we sang all our regular songs, plus we signed Victor and Oliver's names and heard a story by Athena as told to Melissa. This cooper especially looks forward to hearing the little ALG'rs stories.

We spent some time inside building with blocks and knocking them down, playing people family and wolf family and dragon family, and stamping with ink pads and stamps to name a few activities. Outside we sag songs, played witch and ice cream store, and rode our bikes very fast. The blue group went on a walk around the block to pick up trash. Way to keep the neighborhood looking good ALG!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Today turned out to be a beautiful day, and we had some great fun.

In the morning, we sang some songs about trash and practiced our signing. After circle time, we broke into our groups and had music with Tiffany. Later some of the children worked on vanilla play-dough creations, while others played with trash trucks, read books or made a splash in the water table.

We all enjoyed recess outside, as the weather was beautiful and temperature warm. Some mud puddles caused some of us to become messy, but overall it was great. At noon, everyone went inside for lunch and cleaning. Later, as the one o'clockers were leaving, some children enjoyed story time and then went outside to play again.

Ruxandra(Roland's mom)

Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010

Another fun day at ALG, made special by celebrating Jose's birthday with songs in English and Spanish. Happy Birthday Jose!!! Jeremy was here again for more rounds of capoeria. The children remembered the names of several musical instruments in Portuguese as well as the moves. They also had fun taking turns leading the singing.
The rain stopped and the children were able to play outside. It was a bit muddy but that didn't stop the fun- Taking turns riding bikes and playing in the house, as well as playing with the remnants of the snow/slush. Recycling continues to happen, as well as compost with dropped pieces of lunch being shared with the worms in the compost bin. The afternoon is to be filled out with more dramatic play with Pickett

Back to School Tuesday

We had a low key and fun day today. There was a lot of singing and signing at Circle time. The red and blue groups played in the back with Pickett and Melissa. Everyone had a chance to recycle, drive the garbage and recycling trucks, and be different members of families. Other people made fabric collages, drew, built with blocks and legos, listened to books, snacked and so on. Then there were dance parties, motor speedways and musical parades in the courtyard before celebrating Penelope's birthday with delicious muffins.

--Rachel (Anna's mom)

Blog from Wednesday 1.13

Today was an energetic day! At circle time, Cara led us in the alphabet insign-language and then we spelled a couple of student names in sign language. Then half the group joined Jeremy for capoeira, followed by the second half of the group. Jeremy shared instruments and we all enjoyed fun movements, counting in portuguese and clapping. Highlights of the rest of the day included a trip to the "hospital" with Stacie helping to fix many many "hurts" and "broken bones". Athena and Michelle built a wood block house complete with both recycling and garbage bins. Then Sebastian and Oliver had fun burying tucks under the rocks in the plastic bins. Edison and Athena joined and we all buried cars, trucks, and even our hands! There were also nifty clay projects on the blue table--spraying water on clay sculptures was another highlight. Many folks played oustide for a bit and then latin-dancing and clean up finished up the day!

Michelle (Edison's mom)
Stacie (Sophia's mom)

Today our yoga class with Jenny reinforced the lessons we've been learning about trash and recycling. We pretended to be a variety of garbage items--banana peel, tin foil, apple core, pizza box--and discussed which ones should be thrown away, which ones recycled and which ones composted. We spent some time in the side yard, being chased by the Jose Monster and the Deborah Monster. Indoor games included Lego work, building a swimming pool out of big blocks, and pretending to be bread which didn't want to be toasted or eaten. (In related news, a number of lunchbox items also protested being eaten, but we decided that our hunger had to take precedence over the objections of the apples, pretzels and yogurt.)

Carolyn Parkhurst Rosser
(Ellie's mom)

Tuesday, January 12

We had such a great trip to the Recycling Center today. There was so much to see and learn. We learned what types of things could be recycling, how it's sorted and then compacted to ship off for someone to use to make something new. Then the real excitement came when we got to tour the factory and see for ourselves exactly how it all plays out. It was truly fascinating! Ask us about it.

Trash Prep!

Today was Music Monday with Tiffany, always a great way to start the week. It was too cold to go outside, but we kept busy indoors with a strong focus on trash and tomorrow's trip to the recycling plant. We played trash truck, sang trash songs, and read trash books. We filled the clothes line with fresh paintings [remember to pick them up!] played with moon sand, and did lots of puzzles, too. Big rumpus in the back room and a dance party clean-up time helped us release lots of energy. Big field trip tomorrow!

Yoga Day

Yoga Jenny came today! The yellow and blue groups went first, then red and purple. We did sun salutations and themed poses like "the worm" and "the banana"(composting), and "the garbage truck", vrooming around picking up trash. We also talked about what goes into trash, what goes into recycling, and what goes into composting. After yoga we had lunch and listened quietly while Melissa read stories dictated earlier in the day by Sophia, Maeve, Kieran, and Sophie. Then we went outside in the courtyard for a short playtime. Brrr! It was cold, but we all enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine. And those small snowdrifts that have yet to melt are still fun to climb on. We kept warm dancing to boombox tunes -- mostly Queen. After the brisk outdoor time we came in and warmed up with play dough, coloring, and garbage truck pretend play.

Garbage Garbage

Another day of garbage-truck playing and stories at ALG. The children were very excited to be recycling after snack and lunch.

Jeremy resumed the capoeira class today. First with the red and blue groups, then purple and yellow. In addition to capoeira movements the children had fun taking turns leading the song and with musical instruments. They had fun learning the Portuguese names for the familiar and unusual instruments.

Even though it was cold out, it wasn't too clod for outside play today. The children had fun playing on the piles of snow that haven't yet melted in addition to their bike riding and playing in the house.

Another playful day at ALG!

Tuesday, January 5th

Still stuck in the cold spell, we played indoors today as one big group. The kids had a chance to jump from one activity to another, and many incorporated playthings from one area into new and unique areas. Bye bye to bakery items, and hello to TRASH! Trash appears to be highly popular. Trash trucks were zooming all over ALG. We had a brief circle meeting to discuss playing gently with toys, as one of the new trash trucks suffered as casualty. There was some talk of whose dad would be able to fix the broken part. Melissa and Pickett hosted creative play all around the subject of trash and recycling, we have new songs to sing on the topic, and new recycling centers set up for kids to use.

We celebrated two birthdays- Daisy turned five over the holiday, and Margo turned three today. Daisy shared delicious birthday muffins that she helped her mom make, and both kids got to blow out candles! A nice day indoors.

Monday, January 5

It was a great first day of 2010 at ALG.

Circle time was filled with new activities, including a new song about trash (which is the next topic of learning for the kids) and an introduction to the sign language alphabet. Then we divided up into groups, with half going back to have music time with Tiffany.

During music time, all of the kids learned about measures, and reviewed how many beats there are for each note and rest. They also learned some new songs about garbage.

Natasha made play-doh and everyone had a good time making birthday cakes and other fun things. Many kids played with the blocks today, and others put on bright orange vests (like garbage men) and played with the garbage trucks that are now out for playing.

While many kids ate lunch, Jose told a great story that kept everyone's attention for a long time and Natasha took some to the back room to burn some energy with the noodles.

Finally, it was clean up time - there was a lot to clean up today - almost every block had been taken out and played with.

It was a great start to the year!