The Dandelion Fluff Calls for Us

This is a wonderful time of year to be outside in Virginia! Harmony's House is seeing SO much joy, curiosity, courage, and learning happening on the playground. Please be inspired by these young learners, and spread the ideas like dandelion seeds in the breeze! Children everywhere ought to have wonderful outdoor experiences in spring!

Workin' in the MUD Kitchen!

Thanks to one of our wonderful parents (J. Covington), we have this awesome new mud kitchen in our outdoor classroom!  We have been enjoying "cooking" with sand, water, mud, snow, and even ice!

Check out the oven!  It's the perfect size for all the birthday cakes and cupcakes we make.

This day we made lemonade and floated tree biscuit "lemons" in it.  They looked just like real lemons!

Sometimes we make hot chocolate.  You have to measure everything JUST right.

This has been a fantastic addition in the few weeks we've had it!  Spring will only bring more fun to the MUD Kitchen!

We Get Wet!

There isn't such thing as bad weather at Harmony's House.  Just wrong clothes!  When you come to play here, remember we are an all-weather preschool and dress for the weather!  :)

Kids learn to have fun in all kinds of weather.  Isn't it wonderful not to require sunny days to be happy?  We practiced opening and closing our child-sized umbrellas.

We put on our rain gear: rain boots, rain suits or pants and rain coat, and umbrellas.  This helps keep our clothes (mostly) dry underneath.

Then we are ready to scoop, pour, measure, dump, float, sink, and splash with the best!

What can you do in the rain?  Hear it patter, feel it fall, catch a rain drop on your tongue, take a duck walk, catch a bowlful, make mud cookies, and stomp in those puddles!  Have fun this week in the wet, wet weather!

The Hot Days are Almost Gone

We are looking forward to fall, but since we have a few more warm days we are squeezing in as much water play as we can.  :)

The outdoor Mud Kitchen also continues to be a hit!  So much sensory, scientific, mathematic, and culinary experience is going down here.  It's no wonder the children are totally absorbed in their work.

Sometimes mud is the best part of childhood, right?  ;)

Mud Day: Success!

  

International Mud Day is a real thing.  And we REALLY celebrated here at Harmony's House!  (Thanks to C. Tweedy for most of these awesome pictures!)  The perfect mud is a mixture of clay, dirt, soil, and water.  It was great for painting the climbers and playhouse, making "mud brownies" and "cupcakes" with "crushed Oreo topping," painting our bodies, and making super slick mud slides!

    

Summer is Happening!

Summer is FINALLY here and happenin'!  Our spirits were high with energy to match!  Here's some of the plans we made on our first day back.  The sand wheels and cups were turned into a Juice Factory where drinks were served complete with straws and fuzzy stick adornments.  ;)

Friend "Hammer" worked on magnatile floor plans, Friend "Kangaroo" built pyramids with wedgits, and Toddler "K" and Friend "Sandwich" used cusinaire rods to fill in the maze.  All of these awesome plans really stretched the friends' spatial awareness and fine motor skills.

Friend "Sunflower" and "Sandwich" couldn't wait to get to the House Area where they enjoyed playing baby and doctor.  Their collaboration in this role play activity was extensive as they worked through an "appointment" and then traded roles.

Friend "Hammer" first found his favorite pink hiking boots, then took care of the babies in the nursery, and even cooked dinner.  It is quite impressive to see his expertise in cooking, and how carefully he rocked his baby in the cradle.  That is a tender heart right there.  :)

Lastly, we moved outside to play in the water, mud, with brooms and books, and also with gross motor equipment.  Ms. Harmony recently fenced in the playground area so that Outside Time could be a more developed part of our day instead of just a few minutes in duration while we wait for our parents to pick up.  It was really humid today, but none of the school friends even mentioned the heat.  We were too busy having fun!  Can't wait till Thursday!