Thanks for making this Halloween so much fun!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Bigger
I wanted to try and make the collage bigger...not sure if it worked...however I think you can click on a picture you want and it will enlarge it!!
Mother NAture Pumpkin Patch
Thanks for making our field trip so successful! I hope you had a great time!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Where does our water come from?
On Tuesday we discussed how we get the water that comes out of our sinks, bathtubs, toilets, etc. We learned about pipes and how the pipes go underground and connect somehow to different oceans, rivers, lakes, etc. We discussed how it needs to rain so that those water sources will have enough water for everyone, etc.
Then we talked about how some people (in the rain forest, etc) don't have pipes...they have to carry buckets back and forth from the lake, river, etc. So they all got a turn carrying the buckets...they were all happy they have pipes in their house!
The bowl was to demonstrate that it could be light...but then I asked if that would be enough water for a bath, or enough for their whole family to drink, etc. They had to carry enough for their whole family!
Rainforest Food
The same day we made our "special drinks" and discussed different healthy foods...we actually graphed our favorite rain forest healthy food. Their choices were nuts, bananas, or corn...I was so schocked to see that "nuts" one...I didn't hink most kids liked nuts. This was a great pre-math skill...we counted each one up , and I was able to explain how graphs work a little bit.
Lincoln Logs and doll houses
It's funny because it seems like each week a new toy is discovered...this past week it has been my Lincoln logs...in both classes. They have loved pulling these out and building houses, and cabins, and "zoos" for their animals. I love seeing their imaginations come to life and see them problem solve as they try new ways to configure things,etc.
Even with all the "new toys" we always have our favorite...the doll houses!!
Afternoon Friends--special Drinks
I wrote the description about our special drinks with the morning friends pictures...so here are some of the afternoon friends...sorry they are mostly of the same people...they kept wanting me to take their picture so they could see their "mustaches"!! They are ALL SO CUTE!!!
"Special Drink"
Last week we talked about the food in the rain forest, and how most people that live in the rain forest only eat food that grows in the ground or on trees and vines, etc. We talked about where we get our food (Safeway, Basha's, Wal-Mart, Fry's, Mcdonald's, etc.)...and they were shocked to find out that in the rain forest they didn't have places like this.
We then made a "special drink" with lots of fruits and even a few veggies...it was a big hit...except with the boys...I couldn't even get them to taste it!!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Letter "A" Week
I need to start doing these updates in Thursdays because sadly enough I forget everything we did all last week...getting old is tough!! I do know that we learned the letter "A"...I emphasized the sound "a" like apple but also taught them A:APE and AU:Autumn.
A VERY IMPORTANT THING we worked on this week (and I need lots of help from home) is the correct formation of letters. I drew a picture of a clock and explained to them where the different numbers were...I taught them they HAVE to start on the NUMBER TWO, and go up and around and go COUNTER CLOCK WISE...so many of them like to start on the bottom (or 6 o clock) and end on the bottom...or they start on the top and go clockwise....PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE sit with them for a minute while they do their homework and make sure they are forming their letters the correct way... this will help them IMMENSELY when they get to elementary school..same with their name...the FIRST letter is capital and all the rest are lower case.
I think the pictures show a lot of the other activities we did in school this week.
This coming up week we will beginning the letter "T" and will be wrapping up our rain forest unit...this should be the last week. It also will be mostly writing/drawing activities and games...the big crafts will most likely be non existent for the week. I did have a thought this weekend...I have never been there...and not sure how expensive it is...but I thought it might be fun for you as a family or possibly a mom or dad/preschooler date to go to Arizona Mills mall and either visit Rainforest Cafe and see all the animals (I know that parts free) or possibly even eat there...they would probably get a kick out of it!
Have a great week!!
A VERY IMPORTANT THING we worked on this week (and I need lots of help from home) is the correct formation of letters. I drew a picture of a clock and explained to them where the different numbers were...I taught them they HAVE to start on the NUMBER TWO, and go up and around and go COUNTER CLOCK WISE...so many of them like to start on the bottom (or 6 o clock) and end on the bottom...or they start on the top and go clockwise....PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE sit with them for a minute while they do their homework and make sure they are forming their letters the correct way... this will help them IMMENSELY when they get to elementary school..same with their name...the FIRST letter is capital and all the rest are lower case.
I think the pictures show a lot of the other activities we did in school this week.
This coming up week we will beginning the letter "T" and will be wrapping up our rain forest unit...this should be the last week. It also will be mostly writing/drawing activities and games...the big crafts will most likely be non existent for the week. I did have a thought this weekend...I have never been there...and not sure how expensive it is...but I thought it might be fun for you as a family or possibly a mom or dad/preschooler date to go to Arizona Mills mall and either visit Rainforest Cafe and see all the animals (I know that parts free) or possibly even eat there...they would probably get a kick out of it!
Have a great week!!
PM friends Rain Forest Collages
Our last project of the week was our rainforest collages...sorry they were a little messy...but we had fun reviewing the MANY things that are in the rain forest...and then they got to go out side and pick things to go in their very own rain forest for all the animals they have made!
Alligator Tails
We learned that alligators use their tails to help them swim, and to move things out of their way...so we took turns pretending our arms were alligator tails and we had to get things out of the way!
ALLIGATORS and Froggy Puzzle
Contrary to what my morning friends believe...we made a, a, alligators for our rain forest animals...not a, a, crocodiles!! :) Although it was pretty cute I must admit!! We also put together a frog puzzle...Some of your children are so AMAZING with puzzles...they are GREAT brain buster activities...pull one out someday and help them a little...it's so good for them!
Afternoon Friends Center Time
Sorry for the duplicate pictures...but here are some fun things that our afternoon friends played with this week!! I love that they all play together (morning friends included)
Rainbow Fish Painting Craft
As one of our Rain Forest crafts we read the sotry "Rainbow Fish" and then made our very own rainbow fish. I love how your children turn EVERYTHING into a learning moment...as they were painting it was so fun for me to hear "If you mix red and yellow...it makes orange" among other things they talked about as they painted their fish!
Morning Friends
More morning friend fun...if the pictures are too small too see you can double click on the collage and it will get really big!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Week 5
Well, i did so good to upload pictures right away...but I never got around to doing the write up of the week.
We learned the "letter L"...sorry if there was any confusion with the letter "A"...we are doing that letter this week.
We had fun making more rain forest animals...our parrots, iguana (or Lizard) hats, and butterflies. Before we made our butterflies I told them the story of the very hungry caterpillar. We discussed the life cycle of a butterfly, and actually have a cocoon here (my girls caught a caterpillar when we were camping...it has been a cocoon for MONTHS)...They were so fascinated by it all, I will be buying a butterfly kit in the near future so they can watch the whole cycle themselves!!
We also played a few games such as Rain Forest Bingo.
We read a lot of books, including one "book on tape"--they all LOVED that.
Our pattern this month is red flower, green lily pad, red flower, green lily pad, etc.
We learned how to say hungry and thirsty in sign language as well as every letter we have learned (m, r, s, l)
We had a good discussion about the proper way to cover your mouth (when you cough or sneeze)...into your elbow, and we talked about how important it is to ALWAYS wash our hands. I also demonstrated how we should wash our hands (front and back... in between fingers, etc) and for how long. I will be teaching them a song this week to practice singing every time they wash their hands.
Tune: row row row your boat
wash wash wash your hands
make them sparkly clean
wash your hands and do the trick
and make them nice and clean.
We related this to getting sick, and that hand washing is the best way to keep from getting sick and spreading germs. I keep hearing so much about the swine flu, etc...please please please if your child is showing ANY signs of sickness...please keep them home for 24 hours to truly give it time to see what is going on. Thank you!
We will also be moving on to the number 13. We have been doing three the past couple weeks:
around the tree
around the tree
that's how you make a THREE!
They can say that as they write a three and hopefully it will help them remember how. Practice at home for homework!! Which by the way...they are all doing fabulous with their homework. Keep it up...I can't believe how many of them can write most of their name already without any dots!!
This week we will be finishing making our rain forest animals. The last week will be more "work" they will be tracing all the letters we have learned, drawing pictures to go along with them, etc...and then we will be done with this unit.
Here are a few "teacher tips" that are in my lesson plan book...thought I would share a couple so you can see their reason for doing some of the things we do...
"Playing games like Bingo builds social competence and mathematical abilities. Repeat this game numerous times throughout the month."
"Lines are one of the core elements of art. This project (the iguana hat) invites children to explore the use of lines, both with crayons, and scissors while drawing free-form lines on the iguana and cutting small lines to create the iguanas back."
Just in case you were interested! :)
So that's a LITTLE insight as to what went on last week!! We have plenty more adventures planned for this week!! Hope you have a good one!
We learned the "letter L"...sorry if there was any confusion with the letter "A"...we are doing that letter this week.
We had fun making more rain forest animals...our parrots, iguana (or Lizard) hats, and butterflies. Before we made our butterflies I told them the story of the very hungry caterpillar. We discussed the life cycle of a butterfly, and actually have a cocoon here (my girls caught a caterpillar when we were camping...it has been a cocoon for MONTHS)...They were so fascinated by it all, I will be buying a butterfly kit in the near future so they can watch the whole cycle themselves!!
We also played a few games such as Rain Forest Bingo.
We read a lot of books, including one "book on tape"--they all LOVED that.
Our pattern this month is red flower, green lily pad, red flower, green lily pad, etc.
We learned how to say hungry and thirsty in sign language as well as every letter we have learned (m, r, s, l)
We had a good discussion about the proper way to cover your mouth (when you cough or sneeze)...into your elbow, and we talked about how important it is to ALWAYS wash our hands. I also demonstrated how we should wash our hands (front and back... in between fingers, etc) and for how long. I will be teaching them a song this week to practice singing every time they wash their hands.
Tune: row row row your boat
wash wash wash your hands
make them sparkly clean
wash your hands and do the trick
and make them nice and clean.
We related this to getting sick, and that hand washing is the best way to keep from getting sick and spreading germs. I keep hearing so much about the swine flu, etc...please please please if your child is showing ANY signs of sickness...please keep them home for 24 hours to truly give it time to see what is going on. Thank you!
We will also be moving on to the number 13. We have been doing three the past couple weeks:
around the tree
around the tree
that's how you make a THREE!
They can say that as they write a three and hopefully it will help them remember how. Practice at home for homework!! Which by the way...they are all doing fabulous with their homework. Keep it up...I can't believe how many of them can write most of their name already without any dots!!
This week we will be finishing making our rain forest animals. The last week will be more "work" they will be tracing all the letters we have learned, drawing pictures to go along with them, etc...and then we will be done with this unit.
Here are a few "teacher tips" that are in my lesson plan book...thought I would share a couple so you can see their reason for doing some of the things we do...
"Playing games like Bingo builds social competence and mathematical abilities. Repeat this game numerous times throughout the month."
"Lines are one of the core elements of art. This project (the iguana hat) invites children to explore the use of lines, both with crayons, and scissors while drawing free-form lines on the iguana and cutting small lines to create the iguanas back."
Just in case you were interested! :)
So that's a LITTLE insight as to what went on last week!! We have plenty more adventures planned for this week!! Hope you have a good one!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
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