MAY
In the Garden, I Can Help Care for the World Around Me, Musicians, Balance It!
Global Gull:Soil, Butterfly, Seed, Flower, Worm, Gardening
Spring has sprung and May is here! Over the next four weeks, our Ducklings will engage in joyful learning experiences that support back‑and‑forth communication with caregivers and strengthen fine motor skills as they begin using a pincer grasp. Through nurturing interactions and consistent routines, children will continue developing self‑regulation while experimenting with object properties during hands‑on activities like water and mixing. These playful experiences also invite Ducklings to engage in simple pretend play, encouraging curiosity, imagination, and early problem‑solving.
Strong connections with caregivers support meaningful back‑and‑forth communication for our Ducklings. Turn‑taking activities using sounds, words, and gestures help children begin to understand the rhythm of conversation. In activities like Copycat and Follow My Moves, teachers model simple words and movements, inviting children to imitate and engage through both language and action.
Ducklings are strengthening their pincer grasp through inviting, hands‑on activities that build finger control and dexterity. Experiences like Finger Plays & Counting and Thumbkin encourage children to separate and extend their index finger and thumb. This is the same motion used to pick up small objects! Exploring Playdough adds fun resistance as children pinch, pull, and shape the dough, helping build the hand and finger muscles needed for this important skill.
Ducklings begin to experience what self‑regulation feels like through guided support from caring adults. Activities like My Turn/Your Turn and Talk with Me, Teacher help children practice pausing and waiting with support. When exploring how their bodies move in experiences such as Gentle Touches and Splish, Splash, Water Play, children begin to notice the difference between fast and slow movements or strong and gentle actions. With repeated practice, they gain greater awareness and control of their bodies.
The surprising changes seen in science and sensory play spark curiosity and encourage early exploration of science and math concepts such as more, less, liquids, and solids all while keeping learning fun and playful! Activities like Nature Potions and Washing Dishes invite children to mix, measure, and manipulate different materials as they actively experiment with how objects feel, move, and change, building an early understanding of object properties through playful exploration.
Activities like Going On a Bear Hunt invite children to engage in pretend play as they act out walking through the woods, wading through water, and being quiet in a cave. In Magic Wand, children explore pretending to feel happy, sad, or angry, helping them express emotions through play. These pretend experiences support memory, planning, and communication while bringing lots of joy to learning.
Teachers will provide stimulating activities and share stories that connect to our enhancement theme, “In the Garden.” Familiar stories and books give children confidence, help their memories, and strengthen their connections to language and vocabulary. Much more than that, they begin to love listening to and looking at well-loved books, creating a foundation for life-long learning and reading.
For this unit in Global Gull, our Ducklings will continue to learn the A.S.L. Core Words such as ‘play,’ ‘sleep,’ ‘diaper,’ and ‘all done.’ In addition, we will introduce our new monthly words: ‘soil,’ ‘butterfly,’ ‘seed,’ ‘flower,’ ‘worm,’ and ‘gardening.’ Teachers will use these signs in day-to-day interactions, conversations, songs, and storytelling with our young children to further expose them to this form of communication and raise their awareness of it. Teachers will offer hand-over-hand guidance and various opportunities for our young children to practice and further explore their newly learned language!
In our Paints and Pianos program, our Ducklings will experience a range of feelings as they listen to well-known musicians: The Beatles, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Ray Charles. They will move, shake shakers, and wave scarves as their bodies and brains connect during these magical musical moments. Through these artists, children will hear beautiful harmonies, fun nonsense words of Scatting, the pure emotion of the Blues, and the stories told as these songs unfold. Our Education Coordinators will provide language describing the sounds of instruments and the feelings they evoke as Ducklings become familiar with musical legends.
In Fit Buddies, our Ducklings will practice balance and hand-eye coordination while walking. Using a plastic egg and spoon, our toddlers will attempt to keep the egg on the spoon as they move. This challenge strengthens their core, arms, hands, wrists, and grip. Our Education Coordinators will provide encouragement and support while emotions of joy, laughter, and maybe a little frustration occur when the egg falls off. As we know, many children can be very persistent, and this exercise will give reason to be just that. As children become motivated and move more smoothly, teachers will set out buckets so that matching egg color to bucket color can begin. To end each class, we will practice yoga and meditation poses to help children feel connected to themselves and focus on their overall mind and body wellness!
In The Art of Living, children learn how to care for the world around them. Exploring our garden beds, clearing old vegetation, and preparing spaces for new plants helps children begin to understand the passage of time and the importance of caring for living things. By watching for items that do not belong outdoors and could affect plants or wildlife, children take early steps toward environmental stewardship. Through teacher modeling and shared experiences, children learn, “I can help care for the world around me,” building independence and pride both in the classroom and beyond.