Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Just Enough Water To Test Our Boats....
We all watched patiently while the teachers tested the styrofoam boats we made at the creek in the park. There was just enough water.....and they all floated!! The funniest part was watching Ms. Ellen and Ms. Cortney try to catch the boats before they floated away! Those two have all the fun!!
Where Did The Caterpillars Go??
The morning observation of our caterpillars was SUPER interesting! We all watched closely as Ms. Cortney and Ms. Ellen transferred each chrysalis to the butterfly home! Some of them were even wiggly!! It won't be long.....and we'll have butterflies!!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
When the day starts out with a shaving cream activity.....you know it's gonna be a FUN day! It's so fun to watch the children when they first sit down at the table. They always investigate the pile of shaving cream first.....then they might touch it with one finger....some even need some hand over hand to get started. But once they get going.....it is everywhere! In the hair...up to the elbows...on the face....on the shoes?? I can't really explain it all, but they LOVE it!!
Today we read Curious George, The Boat Show by H.A. Rey . This book was a perfect lead in to our main purpose of the day, which was to introduce the opposite concepts of sink and float. George's friend Bill asks the troublesome monkey to watch his model boat before the boat show. George accidentally sinks the boat. He experiments with some other objects to find things that float so that he can make another boat before the show. The kids all listened to Ms. Cortney read the story and then voted on their favorite kind of boat.
Science was a sink or float experiment that didn't quite turn out like expected! After a vocabulary lesson, to make sure they understood the concepts.... something that floats stays on top of the water and something that sinks goes under the water.....the kids were ready to get near the water. We had some visual cues to help us track the results of our experiment. I really did think that a pencil and a wooden block would sink....but today I saw it with my own eyes....they float! That just proves how important science experiments really are.....sometimes even grownups don't know all the answers!!
Ms. Angela came back today! Her activities were all about running and jumping. We practiced our crunches and jumping jacks from last time. She was really impressed at how the kids have improved. She had jumping balls that you could sit on.....the kids raced those in groups of two. There were some falls, but everyone always gets up laughing with Ms. Angela. She had a relay race, which is always fun! This week she let everyone help start the races by yelling "GO"! We ended the morning with one big jump off the high barrel. The trick was that each kid had to stand on top and count to three before jumping! I remember the first time she brought that barrel and some of kids cried because it seemed so high! No tears this time.....and there were even several requests for TWO turns!!
Today we read Curious George, The Boat Show by H.A. Rey . This book was a perfect lead in to our main purpose of the day, which was to introduce the opposite concepts of sink and float. George's friend Bill asks the troublesome monkey to watch his model boat before the boat show. George accidentally sinks the boat. He experiments with some other objects to find things that float so that he can make another boat before the show. The kids all listened to Ms. Cortney read the story and then voted on their favorite kind of boat.
Science was a sink or float experiment that didn't quite turn out like expected! After a vocabulary lesson, to make sure they understood the concepts.... something that floats stays on top of the water and something that sinks goes under the water.....the kids were ready to get near the water. We had some visual cues to help us track the results of our experiment. I really did think that a pencil and a wooden block would sink....but today I saw it with my own eyes....they float! That just proves how important science experiments really are.....sometimes even grownups don't know all the answers!!
Ms. Angela came back today! Her activities were all about running and jumping. We practiced our crunches and jumping jacks from last time. She was really impressed at how the kids have improved. She had jumping balls that you could sit on.....the kids raced those in groups of two. There were some falls, but everyone always gets up laughing with Ms. Angela. She had a relay race, which is always fun! This week she let everyone help start the races by yelling "GO"! We ended the morning with one big jump off the high barrel. The trick was that each kid had to stand on top and count to three before jumping! I remember the first time she brought that barrel and some of kids cried because it seemed so high! No tears this time.....and there were even several requests for TWO turns!!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Boats by Byron Barton introduced us to many different kinds of boats. The kids were amazed at how many different kinds there were. I attempted to draw some of them on our Water Transportation list, but my artist capabilities aren't really that skilled!
For science, we took some aluminum foil and predicted whether that would be a good material for making a boat. Some liked it because it was shiny and some said it would be good because it was not heavy and would float. They are getting better at making plausible predictions!! Ms. Ellen demonstrated several ways to manipulating the foil....wadded up in a ball, with the sides folded up like a cup, and flat out. The kids job was to decide which was the best boat and could hold the most pretend people. We separated out into small groups (always a good idea when there is any quantity of water involved) and experimented. I think my group liked sinking the "boat" and rescuing the pennies better than anything!!
Ms. Michelle came today! She had some neat fine motor tasks that really keep the kids attention. There were plastic hammers and nails with a train picture on top of thick foam. The object was to find the dark circles and put the nails in using the hammer. There were also tiny plastic fish and tweezers for the kids to move from one tub to another. AND....She brought scooter boards this week! The kids all remembered the vote and were so excited that Ms. Michelle followed through on her promise! In groups of two, they took turns, holding on to long ropes and being pulled up and down the hallways on their tummies. They quickly learn that they go faster if they extend their bodies and get their legs up off the ground! Such a fun and good sensory activity for the kiddos.....and a good workout for the adults!!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Airplanes, jets, hot air balloons, hang gliders, blimps, helicopters, and rockets are just a few of the things we added to our transportation "through the air" list! Rockets and spaceships were the class favorite. We had a momentary diversion where we had to talk about ailens and little green men, but we recovered quickly and got back on track!! So many questions from the children....and never a dull moment!!
Today's book was Flying by Gail Gibbons. This book reviews all the ways that people can travel by flying. We learned a big new vocabulary word: aviation. It's so funny to watch the children experiment with a fancy new word! The kids were so excited to add each one to our list.
Our rocket ship art was held together with A LOT of tape and a few prayers! It had way too many pieces and steps to be deemed "easy to do", and I thought the finished project looked a little like a dragonfly.....but, the kids loved blasting them off into outer space.....so it turns out they were just perfect. Lesson for today....true art really is about perspective!!
Outside time was quite warm today. No jackets needed. I even saw some beads of sweat on the foreheads of some of the boys. It was so beautiful and sunny. Ms. Angela was out sick today so we spent some extra time outside to burn off some of the Wednesday, middle of the week weather.
We ended the day with Ms. Cortney's stomp rocket. WOW! The kids really liked seeing another way that air can make things go. They each took a turn and ran to get the rocket, reloaded, and launched! We must have counted backwards from 5 at least 20 times today!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Today we started talking about a whole new method of transportation.....things that go by AIR! Naturally, the children all immediately thought of airplanes, and that's where we began our discussion, but we have so much more planned this week!
Olvina Flies by Grace Lin was our book of the day, and although it talks about an airplane it has a little twist. Olvina, the chicken, gets invited to a bird conference in Hawaii. Olvina doesn't know how she will get there since chickens can't fly. Her friend, Will, persuades her to take an airplane, but Olvina is nervous because she has never flown before. Olvina is very brave and goes to the airport, buys her ticket, goes through security, and finds her seat on the plane. Her seatmate turns out to be another bird friend headed to the conference....a penguin!
Science was a big hit.....and it was all an experiment watching balloons move by air. Ms. Ellen was so amazing as she blew up an orange balloon. The kids laughed....oohed.....ahhed.....it was simply fascinating! (Fascinating for the children.....the adults were watching carefully to make sure Ms. Ellen had enough oxygen for this activity!!) Once she let the balloon go and we all watched what happened.....she hit rock star status! They loved it!! We repeated this at least 10 times....and could have done it 10 more times without any complaints.
Ms. Michelle brought her special shaving cream/glue mixture, made fancy with green glitter. The kids used it to paint shamrocks. They all took turn bowling.....you wouldn't believe how patient they have gotten. The catch was that after your turn bowling, you had to crab walk or log roll back to the line for another turn. Very motivating way to incorporate exercises!! At the end of the lesson, Ms. Michelle took a vote. We have been doing so much voting lately, I think the kids are finally starting to understand. They voted on which activity she would bring next week. Scooter boards or a parachute. Hands down....scooter boards won. Not even really a contest!!
Olvina Flies by Grace Lin was our book of the day, and although it talks about an airplane it has a little twist. Olvina, the chicken, gets invited to a bird conference in Hawaii. Olvina doesn't know how she will get there since chickens can't fly. Her friend, Will, persuades her to take an airplane, but Olvina is nervous because she has never flown before. Olvina is very brave and goes to the airport, buys her ticket, goes through security, and finds her seat on the plane. Her seatmate turns out to be another bird friend headed to the conference....a penguin!
Science was a big hit.....and it was all an experiment watching balloons move by air. Ms. Ellen was so amazing as she blew up an orange balloon. The kids laughed....oohed.....ahhed.....it was simply fascinating! (Fascinating for the children.....the adults were watching carefully to make sure Ms. Ellen had enough oxygen for this activity!!) Once she let the balloon go and we all watched what happened.....she hit rock star status! They loved it!! We repeated this at least 10 times....and could have done it 10 more times without any complaints.
Ms. Michelle brought her special shaving cream/glue mixture, made fancy with green glitter. The kids used it to paint shamrocks. They all took turn bowling.....you wouldn't believe how patient they have gotten. The catch was that after your turn bowling, you had to crab walk or log roll back to the line for another turn. Very motivating way to incorporate exercises!! At the end of the lesson, Ms. Michelle took a vote. We have been doing so much voting lately, I think the kids are finally starting to understand. They voted on which activity she would bring next week. Scooter boards or a parachute. Hands down....scooter boards won. Not even really a contest!!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Growing Butterflies
Meet our new "class pets".....at least until it's time to release them!! Some of the caterpillars have already gotten really sleepy, while others have started the journey to the top of the jar. We will be watching close to see what happens next!!
Riding the BUS!!
We navigated the Transportation Center today to find the bus that would take us back to school for lunch. Thank you #19! The kids LOVED the ride.....we will definitely do it again!!
Wow!! What a busy day!!
Right after morning circle, we headed out for a day FULL of things that go by wheels! We walked....and noticed cars and trucks and buses and police cars! We go to the train station.....and noticed, just like in our book, the wheels on the track! We even saw a group of bike riders out the train window! Wheels are everywhere!
ImaginOn is always so much fun! This time we joined the larger storytime group with many other kids that we didn't know. And guess what the theme of storytime was.....transportation!! We didn't even plan that!! The leader was wonderful! The kids were engaged and sang and participated appropriately. She read three books: Monkey Truck, Friday My Radio Flyer Flew, and Rocket Countdown. She ended with bubbles....and the kids joined right in the chaos of children popping bubbles and laughing at each other.
After that was over, we headed out for another walk. This time our destination was the Transportation Center. We told the kids that this is where all the city buses parked. I'm not sure they understood what they were going to see, but they were excited! I must tell you how very proud of them I was as we navigated through the noisy buses to find the exact one that would take us back to school! Route 19!!
The bus ride was a new experience....and one that the kids LOVED!! I think the other passengers enjoyed the fresh perspective of little people riding the bus for the first time! We looked out the windows, read the signs of things not allowed on the bus, and thanked the bus driver as we got off. As we walked from the bus stop back to school for lunch....they all wanted to know when we could ride again!
We usually do more walking on our Out and About trips than we did today.....but, finding new transportation through the city sure is fun!
Right after morning circle, we headed out for a day FULL of things that go by wheels! We walked....and noticed cars and trucks and buses and police cars! We go to the train station.....and noticed, just like in our book, the wheels on the track! We even saw a group of bike riders out the train window! Wheels are everywhere!
ImaginOn is always so much fun! This time we joined the larger storytime group with many other kids that we didn't know. And guess what the theme of storytime was.....transportation!! We didn't even plan that!! The leader was wonderful! The kids were engaged and sang and participated appropriately. She read three books: Monkey Truck, Friday My Radio Flyer Flew, and Rocket Countdown. She ended with bubbles....and the kids joined right in the chaos of children popping bubbles and laughing at each other.
After that was over, we headed out for another walk. This time our destination was the Transportation Center. We told the kids that this is where all the city buses parked. I'm not sure they understood what they were going to see, but they were excited! I must tell you how very proud of them I was as we navigated through the noisy buses to find the exact one that would take us back to school! Route 19!!
The bus ride was a new experience....and one that the kids LOVED!! I think the other passengers enjoyed the fresh perspective of little people riding the bus for the first time! We looked out the windows, read the signs of things not allowed on the bus, and thanked the bus driver as we got off. As we walked from the bus stop back to school for lunch....they all wanted to know when we could ride again!
We usually do more walking on our Out and About trips than we did today.....but, finding new transportation through the city sure is fun!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Everyone's heart gets racing while watching a good roller coaster, right? Whether those feelings come from a place of fear or excitement or anticipation or happiness or shear terror depends on the person! Today's story, Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee, took the kids through one little girls experience with a roller coaster. She waited in line....and was a little nervous since it was her first time on a roller coaster. The ride went up, down, and around and around. At the end of the story she liked it so much, she decided to ride it again!
Roller coasters didn't make our initial list of things with wheels, so we had to go back and add it! It's so neat to keep a list of all the things we are learning posted and add to it as the week progresses. They often take the initiative to remind me to add things to our list!! The kids also heard the TK kiddos talking about a wagon from their story, so we added that too! If parents have eyes in the back of their heads.....kids have a million set of ears!!
Since we've been talking about wheels all week, we did some art with our new vocabulary word "tracks". We took cars and trucks of all shapes and sizes and dipped the wheels in paint to make Track Art. I can honestly say that this painting experience was much less traumatic for me than some of the others.....most of the paint was actually on the paper!!
Ms. Angela returned today with some cool new activities and some of our favorites from the fall. We started by learning some new warm up activities. Sit ups and jumping jacks! WOW! She means business! We practiced each one individually, then added it to our warm up song! We raced our friends in a "Can you find?" race, where everyone had to listen and find the colors Ms. Angela called out. We did some limbo....going over and under a pole and ended with a BIG obstacle course all around the courtyard! We were all so excited that Ms. Angela was back! We missed her so much!
Roller coasters didn't make our initial list of things with wheels, so we had to go back and add it! It's so neat to keep a list of all the things we are learning posted and add to it as the week progresses. They often take the initiative to remind me to add things to our list!! The kids also heard the TK kiddos talking about a wagon from their story, so we added that too! If parents have eyes in the back of their heads.....kids have a million set of ears!!
Since we've been talking about wheels all week, we did some art with our new vocabulary word "tracks". We took cars and trucks of all shapes and sizes and dipped the wheels in paint to make Track Art. I can honestly say that this painting experience was much less traumatic for me than some of the others.....most of the paint was actually on the paper!!
Ms. Angela returned today with some cool new activities and some of our favorites from the fall. We started by learning some new warm up activities. Sit ups and jumping jacks! WOW! She means business! We practiced each one individually, then added it to our warm up song! We raced our friends in a "Can you find?" race, where everyone had to listen and find the colors Ms. Angela called out. We did some limbo....going over and under a pole and ended with a BIG obstacle course all around the courtyard! We were all so excited that Ms. Angela was back! We missed her so much!
Tinker Toy Fun!
Looks like a bunch of random pieces to me....but Ms. Cortney figured it out! She was definitely the "engineer" of the day!!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Transportation is a VERY big word with lots of letters and FOUR syllables! (And an obvious favorite topic!!) After we practiced saying it several times, we talked about things that go using wheels. Lots of everyday things use wheels.....and the kids could name a whole bunch of them! We talked about cars, trucks, vans, bicycles, tricycles, unicycles, buses, jeeps, trains, and motorcycles. I didn't realize that they knew so many!
Today's book was My Truck is Stuck by Kevin Lewis. It's a story about a truck that's accidentally driven into a gopher hole. All kinds of different vehicles (car, van, bus) arrive to try and pull it out, but none can help until the tow truck arrives! The whole time the drivers are trying to get the truck unstuck.....the gophers are working to empty the dump truck's load of bones! At the end the tow truck pulls out the dump truck and everyone goes on their way.....but the dump truck is empty!
We explored all kinds of cars and trucks during centers today, and even went out to look at the wheels on the big transfer truck in the parking lot. We determined that it was missing some wheels and place for the driver to sit.....so that truck is stuck......just like the one in our book. It's nice when something real life happens to support the vocabulary and literature in the classroom!! And we didn't even plan it that way!!
Today's book was My Truck is Stuck by Kevin Lewis. It's a story about a truck that's accidentally driven into a gopher hole. All kinds of different vehicles (car, van, bus) arrive to try and pull it out, but none can help until the tow truck arrives! The whole time the drivers are trying to get the truck unstuck.....the gophers are working to empty the dump truck's load of bones! At the end the tow truck pulls out the dump truck and everyone goes on their way.....but the dump truck is empty!
We explored all kinds of cars and trucks during centers today, and even went out to look at the wheels on the big transfer truck in the parking lot. We determined that it was missing some wheels and place for the driver to sit.....so that truck is stuck......just like the one in our book. It's nice when something real life happens to support the vocabulary and literature in the classroom!! And we didn't even plan it that way!!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
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