Going to the Doctor

The touch and feel today was full of all things used by doctors...gloves, cotton balls, tongue depressors, band-aids, q-tips.  With the gloves, all the kiddos enjoyed trying to put each finger into its appropriate spot, and it was fun to feel the soft cotton and the q-tips.  Several kids try to bandage me up, and I probably didn't set the best example when I showed everyone what happens when you blow a rubber glove into a balloon!  It sure was fun though, and Bristol and Ryan loved it!

It's been a while since I have posted pictures from Morning Circle.  In these pictures, Bristol is finding her name (with physical cues), and posting it on our felt board in response to our song "Where is Bristol?", and we are working on the response, "Here I am!" while placing her hand to her chest.  In the picture below, Ryan is helping us find what day it is given a initial sound cue /th/ to help him find the appropriate word for Thursday.  As you can see, they are both very engaged and attentive during circle time this morning.  Great job!  

During Language Circle today, we learned all about doctors. We read the book, Going to the Doctor, which is another Usborne First Experiences book that teaches children all about the tools and vocabulary they may encounter at the doctor.  I brought my favorite doctor kit from home today, and we used each tool as we read along with the book.  I also had additional pictures of the new vocabulary that we introduced from the book to aid in comprehension.  

After we read the book, Bristol and Ryan got to be doctors themselves.  We used all of the same tools that we learned about in the book to give a baby doll a thorough check-up.  Because our baby had a terrible cold and fever, we took her temperature with a thermometer, looked in her ears with an otoscope, listened to her chest with a stethoscope, gave her a shot, wrapped her in a blanket and determined that she was healthy enough to go home.  Bristol and Ryan were especially tickled when our baby coughed and sneezed, "achoo!"

We then headed to the art table to practice bandaging some arms made out of construction paper.  We painted a "boo-boo" red, and made it all better with a band-aid!  Our fine motor skills were put to the test as Bristol and Ryan glued, painted, and tried to open the band-aids themselves and peel the back off to expose the sticky part.  With lots of patience and only a little bit of help, they were able to bandage those arms themselves.  

Lots of smiles on the playground today!  Bristol continued to work hard with her balls, and Ryan was all about scoring two points with the basketball and serving lemonade to some other friends on the playground!  Both of them love to see just how many balls they can possibly fit on the slide.  

Ms. Gretchen and Ms. Kylie kept us busy today as we sang and danced to all songs about community helpers.  Bristol and Ryan got to play special instruments called "Boom Whackers" (I promise...that is the technical name!) as they sang about policemen, firemen, veterinarians, and mailmen.  We also sang  and danced to the "Hokey Pokey Helper Dance" as we placed different tools (hoses, leashes, envelopes, etc) in, out, and shook them all about!  Our last song was about a dentist who wanted us to open wide and vocalize all the different vowel sounds as each one was presented on a picture cue.  

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  I look forward to seeing your sweet children on Tuesday for a fun-filled week about veterinarians and pets.