Are you listening?? What does it sound like?  Today we learned all about the sense of HEARING!!  The adults are pretty clear that there is a difference is hearing and listening....but to the kids, it's kinda all the same thing!!!

We've introduced some new things into the morning circle because now everyone knows the days of the week and the months of the year!  We still review them everyday, but it goes much faster now!  We are learning more specific calendar vocabulary like yesterday and tomorrow, practicing each other's last names, and even starting to talk about some letter sounds!!  I can't believe how much progress they have made from the beginning of the year!!

I know you all came to school prepared for warm, sunny weather.....but outside playground time was quite chilly today!!  There were lots of other children on the playground and it's so neat to see our classes blend in naturally.  A class favorite is definitely the bikes.....for those that can't yet ride alone....no worries....there are two-seaters available!!

Our book today was We Hear With Our Ears by Melvin and Gilda Berger.  We learned that sound travels through the air and deep inside our ear. Our ears "talk" to our brains to help us figure out what we are hearing.  We took the rest of the language circle and listened to all different kinds of sounds and guessed what animal or object produced it.  We listened to some animals, and some sirens and a even heard a song about letter sounds.  This just proves it....the kids can all listen really well....when they want to!   

After lunch, we had a special surprise!  Each child took turns and recorded a sentence video on the iPad.  When everyone was finished, the kids listened (using only their ears.....we didn't show the video part) and guessed whose voice they heard.  They were really good at this game!  The best part was watching their beaming faces when they recognized their own voice and saw themselves on the screen!