Field Trip With Bobby the Scientist

     This month's Science with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) field trip was one of our absolute favorites! Bobby, a Scientist and Science Teacher, came to visit us at SMART START! We have been focusing more on  STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) here at school during our June curriculum.

     Bobby is an amazing science teacher and is fantastic with children of all ages. He captivated the children's attention with exciting, fun, hands on learning experiments throughout SMART START and made our field trip a day to remember!         Prior to making science fun, Bobby went over precautions and gave each of our young scientists safety goggles to wear. The children listened intently and did a wonderful job following directions. The students were engaged and learning for the duration of the field trip. The itinerary of the field trip was as follows:

• Fire-Turning steel wool into iron oxide/rust by chemically changing its form through lighting the wool on fire. This amazed the children as it sparked and created fire while remaining cool to the touch.

• Temperature- Creating and releasing heat in a beaker. Calcium chloride and vinegar were mixed in the beaker which created this reaction. The children felt the temperature of the beaker change from cold to warm.

• Mealworms- Bobby displayed and explained the three stages of a mealworm's metamorphosis. The children observed the mealworms with magnifying glasses and were able to touch and hold.

• Explosion- Created an explosion using baking soda and vinegar. The two substances mixed together created a chemical substance that released a gas.

• Slime- The children each created and took home slime. They mixed together saline solution, baking soda and glue which created a slimy and safe solution to play with.

• Balloons- Balloons were blown up without using air. This was done by adding Alka-Seltzer and baking soda to water. This caused a chemical reaction that released a gas in order for the balloon to expand.

    

            We were so happy to have Bobby the Scientist with us at SMART START! Make sure to ask your children questions about the field trip.       Thank you parents for supporting our field trip programs here at SMART START by allowing your children to participate in this instrumental learning experience. We are committed to providing your children with an authentic love of learning!           Click on the video below to watch our fun day with Bobby the Scientist!

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💙 Mary and Francesca 💙

Fun With Science

     We have been experimenting here at SMART START! The children thoroughly enjoy our science units. STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) has been a large part of our curriculum focus. Our SMART START scientists are experiencing a wide variety of new topics through hands on and interactive learning while looking adorable wearing their safety goggles and smocks.     Volcanoes were explained through books, puzzles, games and more. The children were so excited to build their own volcano and create its eruption. Each child was given a recycled plastic juice container and brown and red model magic to form the volcano and lava. SMART START artists had  fun building volcanoes with these tools as well as their imaginations! Our young scientists made their volcanoes erupt by mixing baking soda, vinegar and dish detergent. All eyes lit up as the "lava" bubbled out of their very own volcanoes! 

            Learning about temperature has been fun at SMART START! During circle time we discuss the weather and its effects on temperature. Our young learners love adjusting the thermometer daily here at school to the appropriate temperature. The children are learning the difference between cold, cool, hot, and warm temperatures and what clothing is appropriate to wear depending upon the weather. We have been studying all things hot and cold and can identify and sort many hot and cold items, as well as answer yes/no questions involving hot and cold temperatures.  Knowing the difference between hot and cold is very important and will help the children make safe and educated decisions.     During our outdoor experiment, we worked with test tubes, food coloring and water. The children enjoyed working in pairs and taking turns mixing, making and changing colors. This is a great activity to not only witness the changes that can happen in water when something is added, but to reinforce color recognition and identification in a new and exciting way.         We are pleased to have science as an integral part of our program here at SMART START.  The key to understanding how science works in our world is to introduce basic concepts at an early age. This instills the love for learning, interest in the sciences, and paves the path for success later in life.  Click below to see SMART START's little scientists!      

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💙 Mary and Francesca💙

Happy Father's Day

SMART START friends loved making a surprise present for their fathers for Father's Day! The children made colorful picture frames using watercolor and paint brushes to make them extra special. We had so much fun taking adorable photos with the children. Their smiles were just perfect! We hope the children surprised you on Father's Day and that you treasure it now and always!

A special thank you to our SMART START fathers for sharing your wonderful children and allowing us to contribute to their education and care. Today and every day you deserve all the best. Enjoy your day with your families!

Here are the pictures we took for our SMART START fathers:

Emma

Mickey

Theo

Nora

Kaylee

Avery

Cody

Benny

Isla

Michael

Zoe

Wyatt

Kinsley

  

💙 Mary and Francesca 💙

Birthday Celebrations

Happy 2nd Birthday, Nora!

     We had the absolute pleasure of celebrating Nora's 2nd birthday here at SMART START. Nora was very excited to celebrate her big day with her school friends and teachers. We are so pleased to have Nora here at SMART START with us.  Nora is a bright, kind, and fun little girl that adds so much to our group.  We have watched her blossom so much during her time spent here and look forward to seeing her continued progress.  To celebrate and honor Nora we gave her a book to add to her home library and enjoyed hoodsie cups and cupcakes!

Nora opening her birthday present!

Our Birthday Girl!

SMART START friends enjoying Nora's birthday treats!

Look at those smiles!  

Happy 3rd Birthday, Emma!

     Emma was thrilled to celebrate her 3rd birthday here at SMART START with her friends and  teachers. Emma brought in cupcakes and goody bags for the festivities. We absolutely love having Emma as a student! She is always full of smiles, positive energy, loves to learn and she is a kind friend. The younger children look up to her and she continues to serve as an excellent role model. We look forward to spending more time here with Emma and watching her grow. To celebrate and honor Emma we gave her a book to add to her home library.

Emma opening her birthday gift!

Happy Birthday Emma!

Birthday fun and giggles!

Opening goody bags!

💙 Mary and Francesca 💙

Tadpoles

  We have two new friends at SMART START, Lucy and Luke. They are tadpoles that live in a clear plastic tank with a removable ventilated cover.  The children are very excited about the new editions and are eager to learn about the life cycle of a frog.  The frog metamorphosis may take up to 12 weeks so we will periodically update during the different stages.  SMART START friends are learning about the frog cycle which has four stages: egg, tadpole, froglet, and frog.  

                                                                               
     During the tadpole stage the children are learning how to help care for the tadpoles in their habitat.  They help feed Lucy and Luke and maintain a clean and safe tank. The children find great joy and feel a sense of accomplishment when they assist with Lucy and Luke. We have been integrating some fun activities into our unit on frogs. The children have enjoyed playing a frog game and practicing their number recognition by using a counting chart with frogs. They are making a lot of progress with their counting and it is so rewarding to the older children encouraging our younger learners and attempting to teach them. Here at SMART START acting like frogs is a must. The children were eager to put their hopping abilities to the test and hop, hop, hop just like the frogs. We witnessed a variety of frog hops- big hops, little hops, long hops, short hops, silly hops, fast hops, and slow hops.

     During art & crafts the children worked on a frog project. SMART START friends painted a portion of an egg carton to represent a tadpole and used circle tissue paper to represent the eggs. Once Lucy and Luke become froglets, the children will add legs to their tadpole craft. The children also decorated a frog. They used a party blower for a frog tongue. Of course the children enjoyed blowing the party blowers and being silly together- giggles galore! The children created their masterpieces using crayons, markers, glue, paint, sparkles, bonkers, and google eyes. Each project is unique and that's what makes them extra special! The children had a lot of fun getting messy and using their imaginations. We love to sit back as educators and watch their young minds at work!

Busy little hands working on their frog projects

Cody, Nora, and Kaylee are having fun testing out their frog tongues

     Be sure to ask your child about Lucy and Luke at home!  We can only imagine how excited your children will be filling you in on what they have learned so far!

Curious minds observing Lucy and Luke!

Michael and Avery are all smiles watching Lucy and Luke!

Cody and Mickey-Frog hopping fun

Counting frogs

Cody amazed when Luke swam over to him

Nora and Theo watching Lucy have her snack

Here's a cute song you can sing at home with your child...

💙 Mary and Francesca 💙

Rainy Day Fun

   Rainy days don't stop the fun and learning here at SMART START! There is always lots of sunshine with the smiles on their faces! We love seeing the children dressed in their rain gear. There is something exciting about rain when you are young. Best of all is puddle jumping! If you have a chance, let your little one jump in the puddles and sing and dance in the rain! They are only little for so long and it brings them so much joy.

Kaylee sporting her Minnie umbrella with a big smile!

     When it is a rainy day at SMART START, we go about our usual indoor routine and add indoor activities to the day to keep our young learners minds and bodies active. SMART START friends jump, dance, roll, crawl, hula hoop, stretch their bodies, play musical instruments and more.

     

SMART START Orchestra! 

Pike stretch and toe touch.

Butterfly stretch

Forward fold and touch your toes

Climbing, crawling and rolling

Parachute games

Making Popcorn with balls

Emma crawling through the tunnel

Isla shaking her tambourine and dancing around!

     We truly enjoy the rainy days here at SMART START and hope you have the chance to take advantage of some rainy day activities with your children. Whether it be singing the classic song, " Rain, rain, go away", reading or telling a story, baking cookies, working on an art project, building towers, playing outside in the rain and so on. Your children will treasure these moments because they are spending quality time with you!

Rain, rain, go away.

Come again another day.

    Little Johnny wants to play.

Rain, rain, go away.

.💙 Mary and Francesca 💙

Show and Tell

   Mickey was so excited to bring in something special from home for show and tell! He chose to bring a ball and bat to show his friends. Mickey did a fine job and was very sweet by sharing his ball and bat with his friends. He answered questions his friends asked while passing around the ball and bat. Following show and tell we all went outside to play ball!

SMART START friends enjoyed having a turn with Mickey's bat and ball!

Mickey's show and tell was a big hit!

Batter up!

Swinging for the fences!

Team SMART START playing ball!

     Theo and Nora were both super excited to bring in their favorite toys from home to share with their SMART START friends.  Theo chose to bring a drum and enjoyed showing the children how to make music.  He did a great job answering questions and letting friends beat on his drum!  Thanks for sharing, Theo!  

     Nora chose to bring in a top and loved showing her friends how it worked.  The children thought it was super cool and made it spin around and around!  Nora did a fantastic job sharing.  Thank you for sharing, Nora! 

Theo showing friends his drum.

Theo and Emma beating on the drum together.

Nora showing friends how the top works.

Nora helping Cody spin the top.

💙 Mary and Francesca 💙