This circle time idea came from Carver. One day we were outside talking about balance. We explored a few things and he asked if apples could be balanced on heads. I said we could try it and find out and I promised to buy the apples. We tried balancing apples and oranges (because I decided to add a different challenge.) Predictably, the older kids did better at the activity but kids of all ages participated and we all had some good laughs and "discovered' that apples are easier to balance because they have a bigger flatter part to sit on our heads. Afterwards we cut up the fruit and used it to make fruit prints, because we decided together that bruised fruit might not be tasty to eat. Domains: cognitive, physical, language

PJ decided that there must be a different way to put shoes on. He felt maybe people had not given this issue enough thought. He engaged Che in this and they proceeded to attempt various ways to put shoes on their feet. They shared many ideas and laughs along the way. In the end they acknowledged that the traditional way was the most comfortable and put their shoes back on and moved onto something else together. It was a most interesting theory to test and they went about it quite methodically. Domains: cognitive, langauge, social

This day the toddlers were having fun exploring their balance. They were laughing and encouring each other as they practiced an important skill. They had Amy Waxman (Maddy's mom) with them as they learned about using their arms to help them stay on their balance beam. Domains: social, language, physical