Group Meeting:  We have two important events happening tomorrow.  I wanted to let the children know what to expect tomorrow for picture day and for Parent Night.  I took a few minutes to explain and answer any questions.

Story:  The story for today was Mat Man Shapes by Jan Olsen.  In this book, Mat Man does not have his usual rectangle mat for a body.  Instead, he has various shapes.  The story line imagines what Mat Man would do if he had a different shape for a body.

Small Groups:  The activities for this week are listed below along with the schedule for today.
Activity #1  The children were introduced to a Name Book.  This book is what we will use to learn how to print names using one uppercase letter and the rest lower case letters.  This week, the children will be tracing their names.
Activity #2  The children listened to directions on which color to use to color Mat Man's body shapes.  This went this the story Mat Man Shapes.
Activity #3  The children participated in a gross motor activity in which they threw bean bags through hoops.

Letter Learning:  The children drew pictures of Mat Man which will be on the bulletin board in the hallway.  We are hoping that all of our families will check them out tomorrow night!

Large Group:  I introduced the children to our Quiet Cube.  This is something new that the staff learned about at a professional development class.  The Quiet Cube is used when a child wishes to have a little quiet time on their own.  It has a pillow, a few squishy toys, and books.  The children were told that they were welcome to use this whenever they feel that they need it.

Snacks:  The morning snack was bananas, peanut butter, and milk brought by Hudson.  The afternoon snack was carrots and cheese sticks brought by Isla.  Thank you, Hudson and Isla!

I've had a request for the Peeny Butter Fudge recipe.  It's an easy one.
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg of chocolate chips

Melt the peanut butter and milk together on medium heat for about 10 minutes stirring often so that it is creamy.  Remove from the heat.  Dump in the chocolate chips and stir until melted.  Pour into a greased (I used parchment paper for easy removal) 9 x 9" pan.  Cool in the refrigerator.  Cut and eat.