After looking at several countries this week, we decided to cook pizzas, as we learned a about Italian cooking. I'm sure the pizza shop in our play area made this a favorite too! Then we are deciding on our second choice this week as we're learning of other popular food choices in foreign countries like China, Ecuador, or maybe we'll pick something from Egypt or Chad. Chad's largest export is peanuts so that lends itself to a lot of great recipes.
We're continuing to learn about instruments in the orchestra. Last week we learned about the brass and woodwind section. I've asked our musically inclined staff members at Brooks-Yates to drop by the classroom with any musical instruments that they have so the children can see and hear as many instruments as possible first hand. So far, we'll see a flute, a clarinet, the keyboard-which will be played by a student in the older class, castanets. If you have any musical talent and would like to share it with our class please let me know because we'd love to have you visit our classroom with your instrument.
We planted marigolds in our terrarium and they have sprouted already. We'll be planting crocus' and tulips this week and discussing the difference between seeds and bulbs. The children are very excited that their seeds have sprouted and we talked about why the seedlings lean towards the window. After a variety of answers we learned that they lean towards the sun coming through the window. The terrarium is a wonderful learning tool as the children can see the condensation on the plastic and we can discuss the water cycle. I'm sure they'll be equally excited as they see the bulbs burst forth from the soil. We'll have a lot to compare as they can observe the bulbs vs. the seeds growth.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
What's for Lunch Around the World?
This week we're studying what other countries eat. We closed our beauty/barber shop in the play area and we opened up our pizza shop. We have several different kinds of pizza for the children to make and order forms for them to write on. So far some of the pizza takes 58 hours to bake and it costs anywhere from free to $21.00. Oh, it's so fun to eat in our pizza shop!The children are enjoying it and putting on their aprons when they cook and they love serving anyone that comes to the classroom!
We'll be looking at a few countries to compare what they eat with what we're familiar with. We'll look at China, Chad, Italy, India, Egypt, and Ecuador. We'll find each of these on the map and look into what people eat in each of these countries as we also look at a little bit of the culture of these countries.
We'll also pick a recipe or two to cook in the classroom and so far pizza and meatballs are at the top of the list as we looked through an Italian cookbook today. We fingerpainted with whipped cream today and added colors to it so the children can not only taste their work but they can mix and create many colors as they experimented with adding different colors to their creations.
We're also learning about musical instruments in an orchestra. They were able to name drums and cymbals in the orchestra as that is what they're most familiar with so far. Today we learned about the brass section and they loved watching the video about the tuba, trombone, trumpet, bugle, and the french horn. We used our rhythm sticks today to make the sound of rain and we played follow the leader with each child taking a turn to be the leader. We have a very creative group of children as they showed us many ways to play the sticks!
We'll be looking at a few countries to compare what they eat with what we're familiar with. We'll look at China, Chad, Italy, India, Egypt, and Ecuador. We'll find each of these on the map and look into what people eat in each of these countries as we also look at a little bit of the culture of these countries.
We'll also pick a recipe or two to cook in the classroom and so far pizza and meatballs are at the top of the list as we looked through an Italian cookbook today. We fingerpainted with whipped cream today and added colors to it so the children can not only taste their work but they can mix and create many colors as they experimented with adding different colors to their creations.
We're also learning about musical instruments in an orchestra. They were able to name drums and cymbals in the orchestra as that is what they're most familiar with so far. Today we learned about the brass section and they loved watching the video about the tuba, trombone, trumpet, bugle, and the french horn. We used our rhythm sticks today to make the sound of rain and we played follow the leader with each child taking a turn to be the leader. We have a very creative group of children as they showed us many ways to play the sticks!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Ice, Teeth, and Fun!
We experimented with ice cubes this week and predicted how we could get them to melt. We conducted several experiments using our gloves and mittens. We put ice cubes in the window with the sun steaming in and we put ice cubes in the shade to compare how and if they melted. Two of our favorites were adding salt to the ice cubes and adding the ice cubes to warm water. We used large spoons to stir and they loved watching the ice melt before their eyes!
Our dental hygienist came on Tuesday to talk with our children about the importance of brushing your teeth and what happens when you visit the dentist. She asked them to 'open wide' so she could look at their teeth and then she gave them a bag of goodies including a new toothbrush.
We had a wonderful time at the World of Bounce! I tried to get some pictures but the children were bouncing and sliding so quickly that I either missed them or the children were blurry! I did get a few pictures for their scrapbooks! It was such a fantastic time for the children to play and enjoy each other. A big thank you to all the parents that went! It's such a pleasure to have you there to enjoy the experience with your child and their class!
Our dental hygienist came on Tuesday to talk with our children about the importance of brushing your teeth and what happens when you visit the dentist. She asked them to 'open wide' so she could look at their teeth and then she gave them a bag of goodies including a new toothbrush.
We had a wonderful time at the World of Bounce! I tried to get some pictures but the children were bouncing and sliding so quickly that I either missed them or the children were blurry! I did get a few pictures for their scrapbooks! It was such a fantastic time for the children to play and enjoy each other. A big thank you to all the parents that went! It's such a pleasure to have you there to enjoy the experience with your child and their class!
Dates to Remember:
Monday, February, 21-President's Day, No School
Thursday, February, 24-Swimming
Monday, February 14, 2011
Music This Week and More!
Our classroom loves to sing and I mean loves to sing! It's a pleasure keeping them supplied with new songs that they enjoy. We now have music right after breakfast since we didn't have enough time after snack and we need to flex our vocal chords daily! We have introduced some Raffi songs such as Baby Beluga, Shake My Sillies Out, Brush Your Teeth, Apples and Bananas, and Knees Up Mother Brown. Very often throughout the day, the children will still be singing the songs we sang in the morning and it's great fun when several of them break out into song at the same time.....we're just working on when it's ok to break out into song and when it's not the best time.....like, when you're walking down the hall....but we're learning and having a great time.
I've also introduced several types of music with the children including classical and John Philip Sousa Marches. We also love musical instruments and the children are learning the names of the instruments and theyr'e doing very well with calling them by their correct name. With our band instruments we play parade and freeze band which is what we played today. We're playing instruments that we chose and marching to John Philip Sousa and when the music stops then we need to freeze.....when the music starts again, we begin marching again. It's so much fun!! We also have a flutophone band that is great fun as we have a conductor that tells us with their wand what how they want us to play. The children are learning how to conduct and they can tell us to play quickly, loudly, quietly, or slowly with their wand.
Tomorrow, we're all learning to play the rhythm stick games and that will be new for us. We have played with rhythm sticks in a group setting and we passed the stick along. Tomorrow we'll each have our own sticks and do different activities with them.
We had our Valentine's Party today and we all had fun and enjoyed special cupcakes and cookies! On Wednesday, we'll have a dental hygienist come in and talk to our children about the importance of brushing your teeth...maybe we can sing your Raffi, Brush Your Teeth song to her! Then on Thursday, we can finally go to World of Bounce as I don't foresee any weather conditions that will prevent us this time....YEA!! The children are very excited about this trip.
I've also introduced several types of music with the children including classical and John Philip Sousa Marches. We also love musical instruments and the children are learning the names of the instruments and theyr'e doing very well with calling them by their correct name. With our band instruments we play parade and freeze band which is what we played today. We're playing instruments that we chose and marching to John Philip Sousa and when the music stops then we need to freeze.....when the music starts again, we begin marching again. It's so much fun!! We also have a flutophone band that is great fun as we have a conductor that tells us with their wand what how they want us to play. The children are learning how to conduct and they can tell us to play quickly, loudly, quietly, or slowly with their wand.
Tomorrow, we're all learning to play the rhythm stick games and that will be new for us. We have played with rhythm sticks in a group setting and we passed the stick along. Tomorrow we'll each have our own sticks and do different activities with them.
We had our Valentine's Party today and we all had fun and enjoyed special cupcakes and cookies! On Wednesday, we'll have a dental hygienist come in and talk to our children about the importance of brushing your teeth...maybe we can sing your Raffi, Brush Your Teeth song to her! Then on Thursday, we can finally go to World of Bounce as I don't foresee any weather conditions that will prevent us this time....YEA!! The children are very excited about this trip.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Literacy Sites
I've posted some of my favorite literacy computer sites for your children to enjoy and I want to add one to that list for you. Reading Rockets has an abundance of articles and ideas for you on how you can support your child and help them become avid readers. There is so much that we as parents can do in the early years to help prepare them for becoming successful readers. There's a place to sign up for emails that might interest you also or you can just visit the site when you have an opportunity. I've added a new feature to this blog from Reading Rockets. You'll now be able to see a reading tip of the day and I will be looking for more of these to make your time on our preschool blog worthwhile for you!
Literacy Cyberspace also has great sites you can use with your children from preschoolers to high school students. When you have a few minutes, try some of these sites with your children and you'll soon find some favorites!
I found a Word of the Day for us, the parents, of our preschoolers to help keep our vocabulary sharp! If you want to see how the word is used in a sentence, you can click on the word and it will show you how it's used.
Literacy Cyberspace also has great sites you can use with your children from preschoolers to high school students. When you have a few minutes, try some of these sites with your children and you'll soon find some favorites!
I found a Word of the Day for us, the parents, of our preschoolers to help keep our vocabulary sharp! If you want to see how the word is used in a sentence, you can click on the word and it will show you how it's used.
Clean Mudd and Preparing for Valentine's Day
This week we had fun making clean mud which is a mixture of toilet paper torn into small pieces, grated ivory soap bars, and water. It mixes up into a nice texture and you can use it like clay and shape it into objects. It also has a nice aroma to it when you're using it. We also made our Valentine's bags for the party on Monday. Each child decorated theirs and we watercolored hearts. When the hearts dry, we'll cut them apart and then glue them onto a background to make a great display of their artwork.
Mrs. Amey also came into our school on Thursday and she put on a puppet show which was enjoyed by the whole school. She shared her Disney Puppets and her Disney Books. We went swimming on Thursday and it was wonderful!
Mrs. Amey also came into our school on Thursday and she put on a puppet show which was enjoyed by the whole school. She shared her Disney Puppets and her Disney Books. We went swimming on Thursday and it was wonderful!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Letter Pretzels and Popcorn Snowman
This past week we enjoyed making letter pretzels and it's always fun eating your creations! We also made a hot cocoa mix and enjoyed that with our pretzels. We've been singing a song about winter and how we can sit by the window watching the snowflakes falling down and sip hot cocoa. That sounded like fun so we made some for ourselves to enjoy. We also made popcorn snowman and we enjoyed eating the leftovers. The children melted margarine with marshmallows and then added popcorn. We shaped the mixture into snowman and then decorated them.
Dates to Remember:
Swimming on Thursday, February 10
Valentine's Party at 2:00 on Monday, February 14
Dental Hygienist on Wednesday, February 16
World of Bounce on Thursday, February 17
Swimming on Thursday, February 24
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