Week of January 7:
The 3-4 year old class talked about triangles. We learned about the food pyramid and healthy eating. Candy and sweets are okay to eat, but only once in a while The kids even made a food pyramid with the different food groups. We were also found singing the Bear Went Over the Mountain and made moveable bears traveling over mountains.
The Pre-K class talked about the letter "L." "L" had us making lollipop people. They looked pretty and were even better to eat! We also made popsicle stick llamas and leopards that had spots made from our thumbprints. We talked about leopards being predators and how they are raised by their mothers.
January 14:
The 3-4 year old class was found writing letters to Mom and Dad and sticking them in a rectangular envelope. I am hoping you all received your letters! We also worked some on our cutting and gluing skills as we made sky scrapers like those found in big cities. When we read our book, we discussed how our town is more like the country kid's location, and not the city girl's.
The Pre-K class was alive with the sound of music for "M". We played instruments, danced, and then made our own instruments. It really amazed me at the instruments the kids thought of! There were some different instruments than what I was going to make, but when they came up and asked to make cymbals, who was I to turn them down? A magician happened to appear in our class as well. The kids tried their hands at some magic, but without their magic wands, they didn't seem to be able to perform the tricks!
January 21:
Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr! We celebrated Dr. King's birthday in all of the classes. We talked about all of the wonderful things he did for our country and how he used words instead of actions. We talked about how he worked to make it fair for all people. The Pre-K class got an important lesson on how just because you looked differently, you weren't treated the same. Half of the class got stickers, so they were special. They got to hear and see my story, get drinks, and were not ignored. The other half got to see how that felt, and then they all got a sticker! The classes then made unity wreaths that showed no matter what color we are, when we all come together, we create one and aren't complete without all the colors!
The 3-4 year old class also made oval penguins. We talked about penguins and how they live where it is really cold and eat fish.
The Pre-K class spent the rest of the week talking about the letter "N". We practiced going to bed, and if we have nightmares, don't worry, we made dream catchers to catch those nightime terrors! We also made piggy banks to put our nickles in. We learned about the different coins and saw various kinds of money, even a $100 bill! We also talked about the different faces on the money, and how the faces on those coins and bills are of important people who made a difference in our country.
January 28:
This was a special week as it was Catholic Schools week, so the kids were invited to come dressed up in cooperation with the rest of the school. We had a week of fun with Pajama Day, Walked the Red Carpet on Celebrity Day (where Jack is our local celebrity, so GO TEAM JACK!), Get up and Move Day (where we did some great letter aerobics!), Funky Hat Day, and Spirit Day (St. Joe's shirts.) I apologize that not everyone got the message in time as far as the dress up days, but thank you to those of you that participated! Thank you!
Groundhog had us talking about the special day in hopes of an early spring. The holiday also had us talking about our own shadows and then making our own groundhogs to pop out of holes.
The Pre-K class was busy talking about the letter O and all of the outrageous things you can do with "O." We did some orange splatter painting, which was a lot of fun, and messy! They wonder why we wear paint shirts when we paint! With that activity, we also did some paint mixing. We saw what happens when we mix yellow and blue, red and blue, and yellow and red. We then saw what happens when we mix all of the colors. It was a great experiment, and the kids got to see the different results. It was a little difficult to not cross colors before we were ready! We also had fun learning about owls and how they are nocturnal, meaning they come out at night.
February 4:
The 3-4 year old class was star struck this week. We learned about the closest star to Earth (the sun) and learned about all different kinds of other stars in the night sky. We made wishes upon shooting stars, and then we painted starry skies on black paper. The next class had us traveling with Little Star(fish) as he went on an adventure that took him even to space with the other stars. We ended up making our own starfish using sand and glue. We talked about how the starfish we made feel rough like real starfish feel.
The Pre-K class had fun this week as we went on a penguin treasure hunt provided by Zeke. Penguins were hidden all over the school, and as we were pirates following our treasure map, we found all of the penguins! We also looked for another treasure that had us rich with our loot! We made Piggy Pie on Wednesday using 1 eye of a fly, 2 shakes of a rattlesnake, 3 hairs of a possum, and 8 plump piggies. Our piggy pies were delicious and made for a yummy snack. Thursday had us having a P Pajama Party Picnic. The kids wore their pajamas and everyone brought a food or drink that started with P. We had pop, punch, popcorn, pizza, pretzels, peanut butter crackers, pickles, popcicles, pringles, and peanuts. It was a delicious picnic. With all of the food, we also talked about the food pyramid, and how it is a guide to healthy eating.
February 11:
Valentine's and Heart Attacked! The kids had a great Valentine's week. This week was spent doing things in preparation for Valentine's Day and the parties we had at school.
The 3-4 year old class talked about hearts and then made Valentine's presents for parents. They did projects that were heart shaped, and the poem for the heart handprints came from one of the books we read. The Valentine's parties meant lots of sweets and candies for and from friends.
The Pre-K class talked about the letter Q, and because there are only so many things that start with Q, we made a kindness quilt. Each child was given a block that started out saying, "Kindness is..." and then they drew pictures of what being kind to other people is. We then took all of the pieces and put them up on the bulletin board outside our room to create a quilt. The rest of the school was invited to participate, and a few classes did. For their Valentine project, they made Kiss Boxes based on the book, "The Kissing Box." I am hoping that you are able to put those kisses to great use. It was a great sound to hear the kids putting kisses into the boxes. They had to open the box to put the saying in, and you kept hearing, "Oh no, my kisses are getting out!" It was a fun project that the kids really got into! They definitely love their parents! :D They were very excited about making and sharing their Valentine's presents with parents!
February 18th:
The 3-4 year old class talked about pentagon's this week. What a hard shape to try and remember. We talked about how it has 5 sides, like our house. We read "Mouse Shapes" and saw that if we put a square and triangle together we can get a pentagon. We then created pictures with shapes. We saw some interesting pictures and odd colored trees, but I loved their creativity. The next class was spent building homes out of straw (shredded wheat), sticks (pretzels), and bricks (graham crackers) to keep the wolf away from the three pigs. The best part of the activity was eating our houses!
The Pre-K class talked about the presidents and President's Day. We talked about Obama being our current president, and we talked about famous presidents from the past, like George Washington being our first president and Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves. We learned about rainbows and how the first rainbow was a sign from God to Noah. We discussed that we need water (rain) and light (sun) to make a rainbow. Some of the kids then recalled seeing rainbows from crystals. This led into the discussion of prisms and how when we see the light shine through them, it creates a rainbow. We attempted to create a rainbow with some water and sunlight, but I don't think our sunlight was direct enough to create the effect. We did make suncatcher rainbows by melting shaved crayons onto waxed paper. I was very excited with how they turned out. It was amazing to see how the kids lined up their colors, and then how the colors blended upon melting. I am hoping that you were all able to see the ROYGBV pattern in your suncatchers!
February 25th:
Octagons was the topic for the 3-4 year olds for this week. Not to be confused with the pentagon, but like the octopus has eight legs, an octagon has eight sides. Octagons are not very common in our environments either. Stop signs are about the only thing we see regularly that are octagon. With that being said, stop signs were the item of choice for our first class. We talked about signs that we do see in our world and the different shapes and colors of them. When we were finished with our book, we made stop signs. The kids enjoyed driving their cars and stopping and going with their signs. The next class was spent talking about aliens. If you believe in UFO's, rumor has it that they are octagon shaped. We read a fun book called "The Alien's are Coming." The book talked about the different types of aliens, so we made our own aliens that had octagon bodies, but were all very different. I am attempting to get it put together into a book that the kids can take turns taking home.
The Pre-K class had an exciting week this week as Monday had some visitors to our classrooms. We had our Siblings join us for "Snowmen with Siblings." I am very grateful to all of you parents who brought siblings to school so they could share in the excitement. The kids were very excited to have their special guests! I also owe a huge thank you to Ki Slaymaker for helping out during the snowmen construction! THANK YOU! We read about a rotten red-headed brother who in the end really showed love for his sister, which reminds us that even when our siblings drive us crazy, deep down we love them! The next book we read was "All You Need For a Snowman." All we needed for our snowmen were donuts, marshmallows, jelly beans, pretzels, skittles, gummy worms, Reeses cups, and about any other food you can think of to make a snowman. Once the snowmen were assembled, let the dissembling begin! After snack came play time, and oh the excitement at being able to play in the preschool classroom! (Some of the older kids always want to come and play with the toys, so this gave them the perfect opportunity. It was a great day, and I loved all the excitement! The next class wasn't a let down either as the long awaited S'mores arrived! We had been looking forward to this snack and letter "S" for many weeks. A long time ago the kids asked for S'mores for snack. I told them that when we got to the letter "S" we would have S'mores. Needless to say kids do not forget! Every week we had a count down to letter "S" for S'mores. We built a tent in the room, read our book by flashlight, sang songs, and had the yearned for S'mores. It was a deliciously gooey mess! One thing I learned from the whole day... I am a TERRIBLE tent maker!
March 4:
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss. "Oh the Places You Will Go" with "The Cat in the Hat!" We learned about rhyme with all of his books, and we had a special visitor for the day. The cat in the hat himself came for a visit. He wasn't able to bring his friends Thing 1 and Thing 2, so we had to make them for a snack to chew! Too bad we didn't really get to meet, but they were delicious to eat! Now I need to stop this rhyme because I am running out of time! The kids really enjoyed making their Thing 1's and 2's out of marshmallows, blue frosting, and faces made of edible markers.
The 3-4 year old class started their numbers, so we did Hickory Dickory Dock for the number 1, and the class made clocks that the mouse ran up.
The Pre-K class took a field trip to the dentist to learn about our teeth and how we take care of them. We also got toothbrushes and toothpaste. It was a fun time and a great way to study the letter "T." We came back and had a healthy snack and made sure to drink our milk so we can have healthy teeth!
I believe I am finally caught up. I am sorry for getting so far behind! I will really try and do better about posting! Thank you for your patience and don't forget about Parent/Teacher Conferences on Thursday!
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