Ms Shelby's Class - Toddler 3

Oh, what fun we have had this past month! We have been embracing every opportunity we have had to get outside and play! We’ve also enjoyed several walks or stroller rides around the pond where we are greeted by some puppies who say hello to us from their fenced yard. The children giggle and laugh as they wave and say, “Hi, puppies!” every time we walk by. I think they enjoy seeing the puppies more than anything else at the pond.

Our favorite lesson this month was about sea animals. I hung pictures from our globe lights in our classroom, which sparked discussions between the teacher and children about what they saw. The discussions usually started with one child pointing at the lights and saying, “I see animals” and then we would name and describe what we saw.

The read aloud books for this lesson were a huge hit with the children as well. Especially Pop-up Peekaboo! Under the Sea. This book is filled with different animals that can be found in the sea, and each page has a different animal hiding behind a flap that pops up once the flap is lifted. The children loved taking turns opening the flaps and giggled once they named what sea creature was behind each flap. Because the children loved the ocean animals so much, we made flipbooks of all the animals we discussed, and the children took these books home. One child was excited to see the flipbook and said, “Wow, look, animals!” with a huge smile. We will soon be exploring our bodies! We will have read-alouds and discussions that show and describe our physical characteristics and features such as eyes, ears, mouth, nose, hands, feet, arms, legs, fingers, and toes, etc. We will then have lessons over our emotions and our actions. These lessons will again be supported by read-aloud, group discussions, and picture examples for the children to learn from.

Finally, we will explore ways for our children to handle or deal with their emotions in a way that is developmentally appropriate for them. These could include calming down in safe space, asking a teacher for a hug, using your words to express your wants/needs, pointing to or showing someone what you want/need, etc. The idea is that the children will get to know themselves better, begin to self-regulate, and be able to communicate how/what they are feeling and what they think they need in order to deal with that emotion. As always, I hope my friends and their families are staying happy, healthy, and safe during this time. I can’t wait to see all of you again.

Ms. Shelby