C is for Camping

It's our third week of school at illumiNation and so it comes as no surprise that we are all about the third letter of the Alphabet... C. We debated for a while between cowboys, camels and camping for our weekly theme, but in the end Camping seemed like the most fun. 

We even set up a tent in the main play area and loaded it full of carpets, instruments, puzzles and fine-motor-skill games.

Our Assistant Preschool Teacher made this awesome nature matching games with stones. The kids love it!

They enjoyed it so much we incorporated it into morning Circle Time, right before the Hoki Poki. Giving the munchkins shaking instruments has really helped them get a better grasp on Left and Right. It makes Circle Time much more fun too!

Our first craft of the week was this tissue paper campfire. Everybody loved smearing glue all over the paper and getting sticky.  

Some of them were more serious than others. 

 And some of them decided to make "burning houses" instead of campfires. At least that's what he said. 

Craft time is followed by free time during which a miracle happened. I walked into the room to find ALL of the preschoolers laying down with books!

 It didn't last too long though, and then the Legos came out. 

And leave it to my kid to get into trouble with the sensory bin during quiet time.

We decided to try something new to help the kids with balance and concentration. Carrying wooden balls in spoons from one station to another seemed just right. 

This handsome guy brought his own comic. Too bad my high-school didn't offer Korean as an elective. 

Quiet play is everyones favorite time, I think. 

The toddlers do get a little silly toward the end though. 

My favorite time of day is in the morning when just a couple kids straggle in. It's still cool outside and they aren't exhausted yet. Is there anything cuter than curly-headed toddlers in the morning sunlight?

Wednesday and Thursday brought nature crafts of there own.  

And lots more time to read and play.

We pulled out all the tricks with the playdough. Basically, if it could be smashed, stuck, rolled or poked, it became a playdough accessory. 

Plastic cups became rolling pins...

And elbows proved great edgers. 

On Thursday we re-tried the Alphabet trace. This time, "Y" not only traced the alphabet, but wrote it by herself! She wrote her own name too. She was so proud, and so were we! 

Stay tuned, because next week D is for Dinosaurs and it's going to be a big deal!