What a crazy weather week it has been!  We began the week with a wind chill of 8 degrees, peaked at nearly 70 degrees on Thursday, and have ended up with temperatures in the 40s.  We’ve tried to take advantage of the benefits of the cool as well as the warm weather with a variety of indoor and outdoor activities.

The Tugboats kicked off U Week by decorating our letter of the week.  We painted our Us in a very unique way:  upside down, underneath the table!  Kristy and Peter taped each child’s U to a large piece of paper on the bottom side of the long blue table.  Adorned in smocks and armed with paintbrushes, the children lay down on their backs under the table.  This resulted in some surprisingly unique paintings.  Whenever we paint our letter of the week, most of the children cover theirs in paint from edge to edge.  During this project, they were much more economical with their paint.  I wonder if perhaps they were nervous about drips?  It seems unlike them to be so cautious (why let a little mess get in the way of some good fun?!), but it’s certainly a possibility.

We also attempted to do a few art projects with items underneath the paper.  These projects were admittedly far less successful.  Without any adhesive, the objects slipped back and forth under the paper.  With adhesive, there was an additional mark left by the tape, as well as some unsavory stickiness left on the tables.  Although these projects didn’t turn out as well as we had planned, it can be beneficial for the children to experience unsuccessful projects with their teachers.  It allows us to model for them problem-solving techniques as we assess why our project didn’t work out, what we’ve learned, and how we can do better next time.

As the temperatures rose, we spent plenty of time outside soaking up the sunshine!  We taught the Tugboats one of my old favorite Field Day games, Over/Under.  We lined up in a circle and passed a ball first over our heads, then under our legs.  It was a little confusing at first, but once we got the hang of it, we were really rolling!  Prepositions can be quite difficult for kids at this age, so games like this help them to visualize specifically what “over” and “under” really mean.  We also did a fair amount of pretending outside on the playground.  Below, you’ll see a group of fabulous ladies, sunning themselves, imagining they are on the beach!