Spider Webs Two ways

 
At the easel this week the children found paper, chalk and a spider web with
a note “draw a spider web”,

It’s interesting to watch how some children approach the easel that is set up
with something other than paint.
 
This girl's first statement about drawing the web was, “don’t know how”.
As we pointed out the lines on the web,
 she picked up the chalk and started to draw.
She continued without any other conversation or help needed.
Sometimes just pointing at parts of the item to be drawn will give them a place to begin.

          
At the art table the families found lazy susans, eye droppers, paint and paper.
With a note encouraging them to 'spin a web'.
 
Tape the paper to the lazy susan, fill the eye dropper with paint then while you
squeeze the eye dropper over the paper, spin the lazy susan.
 
After spinning, they could glue little spider sequins on their webs.
Some children could manage doing the two actions (squeezing and spinning)
at the same time, while others needed their grown ups help.

Or they were content just to squeeze.

Pumpkin Dip and Chips

For special snack today we made a pumpkin dip. 
You can find many different pumpkin dips on Pinterest
and the one I chose came from Carolina Charm.

This recipe is super simple and delicious.
 
Mix cool whip and pumpkin in a bowl.
Sprinkle on vanilla pudding mix and cinnamon (I forgot to bring pumpkin spice).
 
Stir it altogether and it’s ready to eat.
(Note: we only made half the recipe and that was more than enough
for the 25 children that attended this morning).

But before you run out to grab those ingredients,
check out these pumpkin shaped tortilla chips that I made to go with the dip.
 
Stack about 6 tortillas and press the cookie cutter through.
Spray pan and place the tortilla shapes on it.
At this point you can spray the shapes again and then sprinkle with a
cinnamon sugar mix.
But because it is a sweet dip I decided to skip that step.
Bake at 350F for about 6 minutes.

One bag of small tortillas will make a whole pile of chips.

Now back to the snack table.

I provide sliced apple, carrot and green peppers with the chips to dip.

Today's snack got a big thumbs up of approval.

Pumpkins In and Out of School

 
Shamrock Farm is a wonderful experience for the whole family. 
It not only has a pumpkin patch but each year Shannon and
her family create an atmosphere of excitement to lead us in to
Hallowe’en. 
 
The hay bale maze provided fun while we waited for all the families to arrive. 
Some of the children that came last year noticed that they could see over the bales now.
 
Then off to the field to pick our very own pumpkin to take home.
 
Most chose pumpkins with a great stem.  Easy to pick up and carry.
 
Back in the barn Shannon told us about the many different varieties that they have planted. 
There are 26 different kinds of pumpkins growing on their farm this year.
 
After packing our pumpkins away in the cars we were given chicken feed. 
I appreciate that Shamrock Farm is not just a pumpkin patch
but a farm experience.
 
We also got to feed the goats.
They were gentler than the chickens and the children were able to pet them.

This little boy had no problem getting friendly with a chicken.

Back at school we set up our own pumpkin patch.
 
There were other autumn vegetables to harvest too, like onions, carrots,
gourds and more.
 
After harvesting their fruits and vegetables they took them to the market to pay. 
Looking at the first picture really makes me appreciate having the mixed age groups. 
Notice how the younger children are watching the older children.
Learning through play.
 
The children in the pictures above have been attending StrongStart for a couple of years and remember back to our last harvest market.  They slipped into their roles as shopper and vendor easily.  Knowing that using the cash register, receiving and giving back money are part of those roles.

And finally, cleaning up the market before it is closed for the day.

There’s a Spider on the Floor

There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.

There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor
There’s a spider on the floor, who could ask for anything more?
 
How about a spider on a web? Or on a bench.
Our room is crawling with spiders at the moment.

Starting at the sign in question. 
Do you like spiders?
A couple of children that have attended both days this week changed their answer from no to yes from yesterday to today.

 
At the art table we made spider head bands.
   
     
Which gave us the opportunity to talk about what a spider looks like.
How many legs?  How many eyes?  What kind of webs do they build?

At story time we sang the whole song “There’s a Spider on the Floor”
      
There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.
There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.
There’s a spider on the floor,
I think he came in through the door.
There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.

The spider crawls up our body and stops on the...

on my knee - it's ticking me.
on my tummy - do you think it tastes yummy?
on my head - oh dread!

You can stop at other parts of the body and make up a rhyme for it.