MY Open House

I titled this blog "MY Open House", because we're going to have two this week and I wanted to clarify which one I'm discussing today. :-) As many of you know, I'm going back to work next week after a 10 stint as a stay-at-home mom. Now, granted, it's only one day a week, but I'm very, very excited about it! I'm going to be lead teacher for the 2 yr old parent/child class. I'll have two classes on Friday mornings with a total of around 13-14 kids. Audrey, my co-teacher, and I set the classroom up yesterday morning to get it ready for all our students. We got to meet them and their parents last night. It was great!




Because I never seem to want to do anything the simple way, I decided that I wanted to draw their coloring sheets, so they had characters they recognized with welcome greetings on them. :-) So, I did some Ni Hao Kai-lan characters, Yo Gabba Gabba, Wonder Pets, and Wow Wow Wubbzy. They kids seemed to like them. :-)

We will have stations each week, set up with stuff to follow our theme for the day. Last night we set up a coloring page section (obviously) and this was the playdough section. This was the most popular site of the night! I'll put the homemade playdough recipe at the bottom of this blog. So easy to make and really fun for the kids! The gal in the foreground is my co-teacher, Mrs. Garkey.

We had this water table set up and a matching game on the small table. The water table was another hit. And, amazingly, even with all those 2 yr olds in the room, not a whole lot of water got on the floor!

One of the great things about our class is that the child will get to learn and experience new things with their parents by their side. Here, Bailey's mom is reading her a story.

Looks like we're going to have a bunch of great kids! The only incident of the night was after everyone had left and we were getting ready to clean-up, one of the dads came back to alert us to the fact that he thinks he just saw a bat flying around. Now, if you know me, you know that I loathe bats. Not just hate them. LOATHE. Peggy, the director went out in the hallway to check and I closed the door behind her. Yes, I admit, I am a coward and willing to sacrifice my friends to protect myself. Even as I heard her screaming, I did not offer her refuge in our room. She came in a few moments later and said she just saw it and we huddled inside trying to figure out a way to escape without being attacked by the flying devil bird. Long story short, we made it out alive, without an further bat incident, but definitely not what I was wanting to see after a fun evening with my students!! Nor, did I want the first impression given to the parents of me to be me running down the hall, screaming, while I run over their children in an attempt to escape. Thankfully, it didn't come to that, but I told Audrey and Peggy last night, I make no apologies for what happens when a bat and I come face-to-face. It ain't gonna be pretty, let me tell you!

Anyway, looking forward to GREAT year with those adorable kids!!! I'm so lucky to be given this opportunity and to work with such a fantastic gal like Audrey! Can't wait for the 9th!

Playdough Recipe:

1 c water

1 c flour

2 tsp Creme of Tarter

1 Tb cooking oil

1/2 c salt

food coloring

Mix all of the ingredients, except for the food coloring. Microwave it for 1 min and stir. Cook for another 30 sec, stir. Keep repeating until the playdough is dough-ish. It will usually take 3 x 30 sec to make the perfect combination. Knead the playdough and then knead in the food coloring.