The Joy of Inside Outside Day

Some of the Little Frogs began their day in a very fun and messy way - with trays of shaving cream to squish about in. In addition to being a wonderful sensory experience, shaving cream also gives kids a chance to develop  some of their fine motor skills. Using our fingers, we made pictures and letters on our trays, and then squished our creations away!

 

Friends also had time for some dramatic play, and they introduced a new Little Frog to the room by inviting her to a "marshmellow cookout."

After cleaning up our room, we gathered for an early Morning Meeting. We had our moment of silence, then sang our silly face name song. Then, the Little Frogs learned about the big surprise for today - we would be joining our friends the Turtles for our very first "Inside Outside Day!"

We marched down to the Turtle room, and joined them on their morning meeting rug, where the teachers explained how "Inside Outside Day" works. Every friend has a name card and, when they choose to play inside, they put it on the nameholder that says, "Inside Choice." When they decide to go outside, they get their name card and move it to the nameholder on the door to the playground, that says, "Outside Choice." Friends can go outside or inside as many times as they want during this morning choice time, and there are different things to do in each location. This is the very beginning process of being somewhat planful about our choices, and we will help the kids develop this skill further as the year goes on.

One of our outside choices was snack, and friends enjoyed eating outdoors.

There were lots of gross motor activities outside, with building, balancing and jumping added to the usual sliding, swinging, running and biking.

Inside, there was building, painting, dramatic play, reading and musical instruments - as well as visiting with Slider the Turtle.

A giant beetle was discovered on the playground.

New friends helped each other out.

We came in, washed up and read the story, Children Make Terrible Pets, and the Little Frogs helped with the very important "squeaking" part. We sang our good-bye song for our half-day friend, and then settled into lunch together. Many of the Little Frogs are already getting use to our room and routine, and we are beginning to have a sense of ourselves as a community.