The new friends just keep on rolling in here at HCS and we couldn’t be happier!  The Tugboats gleefully welcomed Xavi to the group today, who already knows a few of our students here.  The rest of them were eager to meet the friend they had heard so much about!  Xavi fit right in, joining a group of builders who were working hard to construct a barn for the plastic animals in the science center.  We’re always happy to have another architect in the classroom!

During project time, we began discussing the concepts of left and right.  A few of the Tugboats understood that left and right mean different sides, and since it’s L Week, we demonstrated how their lefts hands could form a capital letter L.  Next, we used our left hands to decorate our letter Ls!  To help the children differentiate between their left and right, we put a bracelet on their right wrists and encouraged them not to get their bracelet into the ink pad.  The used large ink pads to color their lefts hands, then stamped away on their Ls.

After our art project, we needed a little bit of wiggle time, so we had one of our classic dance parties.  To reinforce the left and right concept, we did the Cha Cha Slide.  I love this dance for preschoolers because the moves are pretty simple and it requires listening and following the directions of the singer.  There are periods of free dance scattered between the choreographed moves, so the children still get to practice self expression.  The Tugboats always love a good dance party, and as the wind chill drops lower and lower, the availability of indoor gross motor development is so important.  They have a chance to exercise some of their energy, as well as their creativity.  They love observing each others moves and integrating them into their own repertoires!