We began in Centers. The Centers for the day were:
the water measuring center,
the playdough center
the train center
and the shaving cream abc's center
Sara and I set up a good portion of the track before we began the session. The boys could choose two trains to use. They could add on to the tracks if they wanted to as well. They were told that if there was any unkind behavior, the train center would be put away. Sara and I were amazed at how well they all played together. In the beginning, Jack, Anneclaire, and Carsten were at the train center together. As Mason, Brigham & Ray joined in, Carsten & Anneclaire moved over to the playdough center. There were 4 boys in the train center and things were moving quite nicely. Trains were patiently waiting as others zoomed by, some train following was going on and they had a great time together. (a big relief, we weren't sure how it was going to go, but are excited to do it again :)).
Soon, Carsten, Ray & Jack were out on the deck measuring water together. Yes, they did get wet, but we now know how much water to let them have :). Helping each other, and enjoying the various tools, they had a great time together. Mason was soon there, and keeping the wetness to a minimum (requesting towels, etc. :)).
Meanwhile, Brigham was still at the train center. Alone, he built a village for his trains with trees, up on the couch.
Soon, it was time to clean up. As we sang the clean-up song, Sara and I made our way around, helping the boys clean the centers. We were informed that we were not to help with the train center. The kiddos were happily doing it all by themselves! All 6 of them smiling and running between the train track pile and the bucket:
As we left our Center Time, the boys sang and followed me through the house singing, "Following the Leader" to our rainbow blanket and Circle Time.
In Circle time today, we added to our calendar, sang, "Do you know the colors of our rainbow?" Then we read Eric Carle's Mixed Up Chameleon, which reviews colors, animals, and our theme from the past two weeks, all about me...being happy to be ourselves. The boys were all attentive, answering questions about the animals and colors.
Pictured above are the boys following me to Circle Time.After circle time, the boys prepared for snack by making a potty/wash hands visit. They sang the Wheels on the Bus with Miss Sara on their way.
For snack, the kiddos helped make smoothies. We talked about the blender, it's motor, the need for a lid, and they each helped add the milk, bananas and strawberries. If you'd like to help them make it at home:
2 cups milk
3 bananas
12 frozen strawberries
Those that were still hungry ate some pancakes from this morning's breakfast.
The pic below is a bit dark, but Sara and I got a kick out of how they would all cover their ears when the blender began.
After snack, we sang The Bear Went Over the Mountain and made our way back in the living room for music and movement. We read Eric Carl's I am I and the boys followed along with the movement described in the book. Then we listened, moved, and sang along to The Hokey Pokey. I was impressed with how many of them put their correct hand or foot in the circle. Finally, we began Across the floor, where the boys would walk big, small, run, hop, walk backward, spin, and take baby steps across the carpet and around the wall. Our big activity for the day was Sand Construction. Before heading outside, we sat and read together Construction Countdown, a colorful book about large construction machinery, what each vehicle is called and what it does. It is also a counting book. The boys were great counting each vehicle with me, and listening to the description of each machine. They were very excited to use their own machinery to build their construction site. As the moms probably figured out, yes, there was water involved. Sorry about the sand and mud that the boys brought home. It was worth it though. We watched them build alone, together as a team, create, wash, and communicate with one another. It was a messy learning experience.
Ray and Carsten working together in the rich wet sand.
Mason was surprised to find that when his bus was filled with water, that the water escaped. Soon he realized that it was oozing through the doors. 
Carsten and Ray worked for a while away from the main water area, digging, sand dumping, and coming back to the hose for water. They worked so well together. Way to go boys!
Brigham was busy creating his own "river" and site. The other boys enjoyed watching what he was up to. Here he is telling Miss Katrina where he wants the water to clean his dump truck. 
After a while, Mason wanted to help Brigham in his river/lake building. Instead of waiting for me to bring the hose to him, he would take the bucket to wherever I was, fill it, and return to his buddy Brigham. Great problem solving skills Mason :). 
Soon, the main lake/river was getting pretty big. It became the main dump truck car wash. I've never seen such a desire from boys to clean their vehicles. It was fun to watch. Pictured above is Mason helping Jack wash his tractor. Jack was very detailed about the cleaning process and would make sure that you got every bit of sand off :). 
After getting pretty muddy and wet, Ray decided it was time to "climb the mountain!" Carsten, Anneclaire, Sara, and Will joined him on the adventure. When the crew reached the top they waved at all of us down at the construction site.Thanks to Sara and all the boys for a wonderful preschool day. I had so much fun and am looking forward to more good fun tomorrow! miss katrina
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