Autumn Time in the Infant Room

It's autumn and the infant room is bursting with activity!  We are excited to explore all the new sights, smells, and sounds of the new season.

Ms. Penny brought in some corn on the husk for us to enjoy, and enjoy it we did!

He can see the corn.   It's time for him to use some problem solving skills to figure out how to get to it.

Now that she has figured out how to get to the corn, she's trying to see what she can do with it.  

With the beautiful weather we have been having, we took some time to discover the different leaves that were falling from the trees outside.

This little one crawled out on her own to find the perfect place  to find great leaves.

There's nothing like relaxing in a pile of leaves with a nice cool drink.

We also had the chance to take a look at the inside of a pumpkin.

We are doing a great job of playing together with friends and taking turns.

We had such fun using our fine motor skills to pick out some seeds.

I used great concentration while squishing the pumpkin in my hands.

With so many great things to do in the autumn we can't wait to see what winter brings!

Social Butterflies

Over the past couple of weeks we have been noticing a great deal of social development within our classroom.  Many of our friends are speaking more and becoming more aware of the other children around them.  It is exciting to see our children growing and learning to interact with each other on a more in depth level.

This young lady is being a great friend by playing nicely.
We love to see how gentle the older children are with the youngest member of our classroom.

Learning to share can be difficult at times, but these two children make it look so easy!

Snack time is a perfect time for our children to interact with one another.
It is great to see each child showing respect by creating their own personal space and staying within it as they eat.

It's Apple Time!

Throughout the week we talked about apples.  We saw pictures of apples and played with our felt apples in the classroom.  Ms. Penny then brought in actual apples and the real fun began!

Showing great coordination, I was able to hold two apples and walk  around the room.

We used problem solving skill to figure out what exactly we could do with the apples.
I found that it makes a great ball for rolling.

We discovered when we ate the apples they were very tasty!

Water Day

Good times!

Love the hat!

Speaking of great hats... zebra hat, zebra pants, zebra toy!

Checking out a book on his own.

CLOSE friends!

Pals :)

Painting with watercolors.

Playing with the barn and farm toys together.

She dipped the paintbrush into the soapy water and then decided to scoot right in!  

Going through the tunnel.

I think she likes it :)

Having fun on the rocking toy.

Standing up at the water table.

More fun on water day.

They love to get everything off of the shelves and dive right in to the pile!

Sunny Days & Water Days

Ms. Penny and Ms. Candace enjoy taking the babies outside!  Now that the weather is warmer they are able to do more activities with the little ones.  The infants always enjoy a nice relaxing ride in the stroller outside.  Fresh air has a calming effect on all of us...especially our friends in the infant room!

Some of our favorite outdoor activities with the infants include bubbles, walks, peeking around the big pine trees, exploring in the infant play yard (feeling the grass, mulch, bird-watching, etc.), swinging in the big swing with Ms. Penny or Ms. Candace, painting with water (pine branches make a great natural paintbrush!), and playing with whatever items are in the sensory table (toys, balls, pine cones, water, etc.).

  

ball pit

water table

Every Friday during the summer is WATER DAY! Instead of filling up pools with water we use sprinklers, water toys, and the sensory table.  The older children love to run through the sprinklers while the younger ones love to get their hands into the water and splash everything in sight! :)  

Time to GIGGLE!

Sometimes only another child can bring out the giggles! 

These two went on with their little game for quite a while.

Sorry for the shaky picture...the joke teller was 

crawling on me and trying to grab the camera.  :)  

The Importance of Play

"Beginning in babyhood, play is inexorably linked to learning, socialization, development and even intellect."  10 reasons play makes babies smarter

Here are some fun pictures of the babies playing on their own and together...

Investigating the farm animals. 

Sharing a toy.

Checking out the new guy...

They can see their reflections in the little mirror.

Having a blast with a push toy!

Enjoying some toy tasting together.

Giggling at each other. Cute!