Mt. Hebron Nursery School

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Greetings from the Book Bears Corner…

We are thrilled to announce that our program is now available online! Families, if you still need to finish the program (or if you haven’t had a chance to start yet and would like to begin), you are in luck. We would be delighted to have you engage in our simple, virtual program.


In our Creative Corner, you’ll find that each of our selections has been read and recorded by some familiar MHNS friendly faces. The corresponding activity cards with questions, vocabulary, and optional supplementary projects are also available. Simply listen to each story and complete the activity card options as you like.


When you complete all 12 titles (either all virtually or in combination with what you completed already), please let your classroom teachers know. We will make sure your child receives a certificate and a stuffed bear.


Families, if you happen to have Book Bears selections at home, could you please set them aside somewhere safe so that we may collect them at a later date? Thanks so much.

We wish you all health, happiness, and some special reading time with your little ones. We miss you all very much.


Your Book Bears Librarians

 

Music with Miss Karen R.

Miss Karen will be hosting virtual music classes each week. Check back for more!

Class Date
Click Below to View Video:
March 17, 2020
Music Class
March 23, 2020
Music Class
March 26, 2020
2s Class
March 26, 2020
3s Class
March 26, 2020
4s Class
April 1, 2020
April Songs to Sing 
April 2, 2020
2s Class
April 2, 2020
3s Class
April 2, 2020  
4s Class
 April 11, 2020
2s Class
April 11, 2020
3s Class 
April 11, 2020
4s Class
April 22, 2020
2s Class
April 22, 2020
3s Class
April 22, 2020
4s Class
 Aprill 30, 2020
4s Spring Sing Song Review
May 5, 2020
2s Class 
May 5, 2020
3s Class 
May 5, 2020 
4s Class 
May 11, 2020
Spring Sing Performance Video
May 15, 2020 
2s Class 
May 15, 2020
3s Class
May 15, 2020 
4s Class
May 21, 2020 
2s Class 
May 21, 2020
3s Class 
May 21, 2020
4s Class 

Art with Miss Laura

Miss Laura will be hosting virtual art classes each week.  Check back for more!

P.E. with Miss Jen

Yoga with Zenergetic Kids, LLC

Classroom Activities You Can Do At Home

Easter Wreath From Miss Lindsay:

From Miss Molly-3 Day 3s:
Happy Tuesday, Happy Green Day, hope everyone is wearing their green today!  Today is a great day to complete some fun green activities at home.

1. Making green play dough at home
2. Making a green snack or green eggs and ham!
3. Mixing blue and yellow paint together and what color do you see.
4. Go on a scavenger hunt outside and look for a lucky four-leaf clover.

Have a wonderful, safe and healthy green day!

From Miss Shawna:

St Patrick’s Day first to 20 game and CVC puzzles (consonant vowel consonant)

https://www.adabofgluewilldo.com/?s=st+patrick 


St Patrick’s Day Bingo

https://abcsofliteracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/StPatricksDaySightWordBingoGame.pdf


St Patrick’s Day 100 Chart Mystery Picture

https://abcsofliteracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/StPatricksDaySightWordBingoGame.pdf


Lucky Letters 

https://thelettersofliteracy.com/st-patricks-day-letter-tracing-printables/ 


Activities:

Make a leprechaun trap


Skittle rainbow experiment

https://raisinglifelonglearners.com/skittles-rainbow-science-experiment


Make Green playdoh


Go on a scavenger hunt outside looking for shamrocks


Mix blue and yellow paint together 

From Miss Kelly:

From Miss Kerrie:

Repurpose broken crayons

Arrange broken crayon pieces (labels removed)  in a silicon mold, muffin tin, **ice cube tray, etc. I would not plan to use again for food, water, etc after using with the crayons.  Place silicon mold on protected cookie sheet to make removal from oven easier and to catch overflow. 

Try mixing different colored crayons together for a fun drawing effect!

Heat oven to 200 degrees, heat silicon mold, muffin tin with crayons 20-30 minutes depending on oven (until wax of crayon turns liquid).  

Remove from oven and let cool, 2 hours or until hard. Draw with once cool.  Enjoy different colors as new crayon is used.  

**If using ice cube tray, heat in microwave.  Heating 30 seconds at a time, until crayons are melted.**

From Miss Shawna:

If you're like us, you've been getting everything delivered and are drowning in cardboard. Here's an idea that uses some of that cardboard and water squirters to practice skills that your child is working on. We made ours into a robot and used crayons to decorate it with things we have been practicing - shapes, letters, and numbers. Then I would pick something and have them identify it and squirt it. 

The beauty of this is that it can be modified to fit whatever your child is practicing. Here are some suggestions:
  • colors 
  • shapes
  • just the letters of your child's name
  • uppercase letters
  • lowercase letters
  • numbers
Once you have it decorated, the possibilities are endless. Aside from just identifying what you have written, you can have them spell their name, match uppercase to lowercase letters, do your address, phone number, etc. 

We used a box that we had in the house. If it was a new box from a delivery, I'd let it sit outside for a week or so to get rid of any germs. Also, if you use markers it will run when it gets wet, which can be fun so long as your little guy won't get upset. Leave it in the sun to dry and you can use it again. Enjoy!!!

Cards for the Front-line


We have two parents from different families working on the front lines.  One is a nurse currently working in the Bio-containment unit (BCU) at the University of Maryland Medical Center.  and the other works at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring.  


They has shared with us that so many people are working very hard throughout the hospital, to take care of all of the patients during this uncertain time. Staff have received some cards, snacks, and rubber band bracelets to hold their masks off their ears from children, and it always brings a smile to their face. Many of them are distancing from their families to keep them safe and do not get to live with their own children right now.


While everyone is quarantined at home, a fun activity would be to make Cards for the Front-line.  Children can draw pictures, write a little note to those who are working so hard for everyone’s safety.  Nurses and providers cannot do their job without support services. These people work on the front lines with them and risk exposure.  They don’t get as much recognition. Those people include housekeeping, environmental services, food service, and security.  It would be nice to include them as well. 


If you and your family are interested in sending notes please address them to:

Cards for the Front-line

c/o Amelia Wilson

6220 Longled Pine Road

Sykesville, MD 21784


and/or


Cards for the Font-line

c/o James Buffkin

4626 Smokey Wreath Way
Ellicott City MD 21042

You will also find a template below if you need ideas, or be creative and make your own!

Template



When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, 
my mother would say to me....look for the helpers.  
You will always find people who are helping. 

Mr. Rogers

 
From Miss Kimmie:

It’s simple to make egg shakers for music and movement or gross motor activities.  Fill a plastic egg halfway with beans and tape the egg around the seam using washi tape.  The last set of egg shakers I made lasted over 9 years!  Laurie Berkner’s song “I Know a Chicken” is the perfect song to use with egg shakers.  Students have to shake the eggs lots of different ways.  HERE is a link to a video of her song you can use.

Virtual Field Trips

Spring season at the farm is a special time. The farm comes alive after the long winter months with baby animals, bright green, healthy vegetables and beautiful flowers.  You will see some new animals at the farm as well as visit with some "old friends" like Captain Jack. 


                                                Gallery of Animals       

                    Facebook Live ~ Coffee with Baby Goats


                                                                  Activity #1   Activity #2  Activity #3  

                                                                  Activity #4   Activity #5  Activity #6  

Join Audrey Kaiss, and MHNS alum, as she takes us on a tour of her families beloved farm.  You will learn about:


  • Composting
  • Baby Chickens
  • The Greenhouse
  • How to Feed a Horse
  • and so much more!


We thank Wesley who is in Miss Sarah's 2s class, Audrey and their family, for sharing this wonderful virtual field trip!


                                               Kaiss Family Farm

Let us go to the Maryland Zoo! 

We can’t take the school bus this time, 

but we can still have a jolly visit online! 


Which animals will you see?  

What adventures will we have?  


Check out the links for resources, activities and happy times!


                          Zoo Book Recommendations

                                                      Zoo Songs to Sing

                                                      Zoo Movement Cards

                                                   Virtual Maryland Zoo Scavenger Hunt  

                                                     Maryland Zoo Scavenger Hunt I  

                                                     Maryland Zoo Scavenger Hunt II 

Looking to bring some of the fun from the Robinson Nature Center into your home?  

Please join our staff and animals in the videos below!


Picasso the Painted Turtle

Houdini the Musk Turtle

Turtle Race

Sirius the Black Rat Snake

Spotting Frogs & Tadpoles

The Raccoon Who Slept Through Summer (Puppet Show)

Caterpillar Command Center

The caterpillars have arrived!  We're so excited and hope you are too!  

We'll be following the life cycle of our caterpillars with Miss Susan.  She'll post videos so you can see that they have arrived and are getting settled with their food and the progress they are making.  

You can also follow the counter below and see how many days we've been watching them.  Then, once they are in their chrysalises, we can do a butterfly watch and count those days too!  We'll share some read alouds and other caterpillar and butterfly activities as we go along.  We hope you'll join us and check back often!

Life Cycle Videos

Read Alouds by MHNS Staff

Click on each title to view the video:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar ~ Read by Eric Carle
Wiggle ~ Read by Miss Anne 
Rainbows Pt. 1 ~ Read by Miss Laurie
Rainbows Pt. 2 ~ Activity With Miss Laurie 
Not a Box ~ Read by Miss Susan 
Let it Go, Frozen ~ With Miss Susan and Kurt 
Love ~ Read by Miss Shelley
Night Rabbits ~ Read by Miss Shelley 
Dinosaurs Love Underpants ~ Read by Miss Sarah W. 
The Color Monster ~ Read by Miss Sarah W. 
My Spring Robin ~ Read by Miss Karen R.
Hopper Hunts for Spring ~ Read by Miss Karen R.
Mrs. Honey's Hat ~ Read by Miss Karen W.  
An Extraordinary Egg ~ Read by Miss Karen R.  
Hedgehugs ~ Read by Miss Shawna plus Activity!
How to Make and Apple Pie and See the World ~ Read by Miss Andrea (Enrichment) 
I Can Read with My Eyes Shut ~ Read by Miss Cassie 
Iggy Peck, Architect ~ Read by Miss Jen 
 Llama Llama Easter ~ Read by Miss Karen W.
 Ten Easter Eggs ~ Read by Miss Karen W.
 The Night Before Easter ~ Read by Miss Shawna
 Down on the Farm ~ Read by Miss Cassie
 It's Earth Day! ~ Read by Miss Cassie

Community Resources & Links
 
NEW class April 1st!!  
Local dance studio providing FREE virtual ballet classes!
Livestreaming performances and an expanded lineup of digital learning activities and workshops, which are all available for free online.

There's nothing like experiencing the National Aquarium firsthand—but our live cams are the next best thing! Tune into our Blacktip Reef, Jellies Invasion and Pacific Coral Reef livestreams and enjoy a piece of the Aquarium from home.  * Please note our cameras are only live streaming during business hours. After hours please enjoy a previously recorded live stream segment.
Willems—he of the beloved Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Knuffle Bunny, and the Elephant and Piggy series, though you already knew that—is the current Education Artist in Residence at the Kennedy Center. He says his livestream will virtually invite “learners of all ages” into his studio and encourage them to draw and write with him.
Where Science and Technology Connect!

With kids at home and parents looking for educational activities, many of our favorite authors are offering online read alouds and activities on social media. 
Free preschool printable worksheets.
Many parents are looking for ways to occupy their children at home all day. Rather than turning to screens for an easy babysitter, there are many creative and educational activities that can keep children productively happy without fancy art supplies.
Free print and play activities through the end of March

Stuck at home with the kids for a while? Need some activities to keep them active? Look no further!  Last year, we hosted virtual farm tours for students to watch in their classrooms. But, those can be viewed on YouTube now!  For kids aged 4 to 9, watch our tour from Dutch Hollow Farm.  Kids aged 10-13 will enjoy our virtual tour from Will-O-Crest Farm.  High school kids can enjoy our tour from JoBo Holsteins Farm.
The Smithsonian Learning Lab is a major rethinking of how the digital resources from across the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, 9 major research centers, the National Zoo, and more, can be used together, for learning.
Explore, watch & play!

Songs & videos, printables, and more!

Join Laurie Bernker as she and her band share some musical fun throughout each day.  
Audible is offering free books through their link, for ages 0-18.
Teaching remotely for grades K-12, free resources and startegies.  

Free social emotional learning activities

Where learning is an adventure

 Find fun, free educational sites for activites
How to make shadow puppets.  Parents & Gurdians can find some really fun projects too!
Fine motor skills for 2s

Check out the latest version of the Get Moving Today! From SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators. Each month, you’ll find fun ways to help preschoolers be active. The activities are perfect for children to do at home with their families or at daycare!
Resources for learning with technology as well as printable choice boards for math, reading, art, music & movement.
Play bingo by generating numbers with this online bingo number generator. This generator lets you pick bingo balls one at a time randomly so that you can call out the number to friends and family. Print out free bingo cards here!   
Looking for family friendly resources to help you get outside, get active, explore science at home and be a citizen scientist? Enjoy nature activities to keep the whole family engaged and entertained. 
Virtual STEM activities and events that can keep you and your children's brains engaged! virtual STEM activities and events that can keep you and your children's brains engaged!
Facebook Live!  Every week day 12:30pm.  Live animal encounter stories, and smiles.  You can also visit their webpage for more fun!
20 Virtual Field Trips to Take with Your Kids!
Featuring three distinct blocks of educational programming, targeted to early learners, the middle grades, and high school at home learning.
Now through May 29th, join Howard County Library System's new program to track your reading, play fun educational mini-games, and find mission lists full of awesome activities! Discover HCLS e-resources along the way! Earn points and unlock badges as you go.  
Find classes and presentations in the areas of math, science, and literature.
Hop to making some Easter sensory bottles!  Your kiddos will love exploring  these bunny, carrot, and egg hunt sensory bottles in your classroom or home. 
Kacey the Quality Koala and Maryland EXCELS will be sharing daily fun and educational activities and mealtime discussion questions for families and child care programs.  Be sure to visit this page or social media each day!
Mental Health Matters'!  Children's Mental Health Week May 4th-8th

COVID-19 Resources for Families

Why Can't I Go To School?  Social Story


To keep staff and students safe and minimize the spread of COVID-19, many schools around the world have closed their doors. For children, this abrupt disruption to routine can feel confusing and scary. Translated into six languages, this social story answers the question, “Why Can’t I Go to School?” in simple and reassuring terms. https://consciousdiscipline.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Free-Resources/Printable-Posters-Tools-Activities/FREE-Printable-Why-Cant-I-Go-to-School-Social-Story.pdf