We had a magical week revisiting fairy tales and being creative! We used our imaginations to talk about what kind of spells we would cast with our magic wands. Then, of course, we had to make our own wands. I traced shapes and asked the children to identify and then cut out the one they wanted to glue on their popsicle stick. I was very impressed with the dexterity and fine motor skills I observed. Everyone will have had their chance to do this by Friday afternoon.
One circle time involved reading the book Dragons Love Tacos, discussing what goes in a taco, then running around outside as dragons trying to find tacos! It was completely their idea to use their imaginations to become dragons. I love how the children are taking what we give them and adding their own element to it! After “eating” dragon tacos, we began to assemble our own play tacos using felt pieces. Some children glued all the ingredients, and some only picked a few. They were allowed to use as much or as little as they wanted. We had another morning with productive conversations and meaningful play. During circle time we read the book The Paperbag Princess and analyzed it. We identified the bad guy, hero, who needed to be rescued, and how the hero did the rescuing. I was very impressed with the children’s attentiveness and recall of the important facts. We also discussed the following quote: Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they can tell us that dragons can be beaten. Neil Gaiman, Coraline We decided that this means we can have real problems in our own lives but they can be solved, or beaten. We talked about problems we may have encountered that seemed scary but that we were rescued from (or rescued ourselves). I will continue to challenge them with more thought-provoking quotes and ideas! Next week we have some fairy tale-related science and math activities to attempt and will end up performing stories for each other. Have a great weekend! In Spanish this week we learned about La Familia! We studied a picture of a family and found mamá, papá, hermano (brother), hermana (sister), and abuelo (grandfather) and abuela (grandmother). The children love learning these words. We also did favorite songs and activities we have learned so far this year. I am so pleased with how much they are learning! Our photos are here.
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We’ve spent the week exploring our imaginations while continuing to work with light and shadows. Our conversations about fairy tales have been very engaging! Every child has something to contribute about a story or character they know. In our morning meetings we recalled what we might find in a fairy tale such as a princess, dragon, magic, talking animals, and more. We read multiple stories and circled the words on the board that we had written. The children have loved shouting out when they hear the vocabulary words we’ve been discussing. We’ve gone deeper, too, by identifying common themes of fairy tales such as a character needing rescue, not talking to strangers, and finding a happy ending. We were lucky to have some special guests this week. We really enjoyed Mr. Levi’s presentation this about electricity! He built a model of power lines with a battery and a light bulb, and he left it with us to continue to investigate. Fischer’s mom Mrs. Mattson came today to talk with us about the differences in night and day. She demonstrated on an inflatable globe how we can have day at the same time that someone on the other side of the world can have night. The children were intrigued and had some great comments about this discovery. I continue to be impressed with the children’s interactions and discoveries as we work together for our project! This morning I heard an older child coaching a younger one and encouraging her to do something she (the older child) could do. It was such a great snapshot of the progress we’ve made in the past few weeks. Next week will be a continuation of our fairy tale and shadow study, and I am very excited about the books we plan to read and activities to explore. Our photos are here and here. I know I’ve said it already, but I’ll say it again: I am thrilled with the changes we’re seeing in both classes. Both groups are contributing so much to our daily conversations and activities, and they are constantly influencing and encouraging each other. During one lunch with the 4s, one table of children had an in-depth conversation about what methods would work to get a stuffed animal off a very high shelf. They had multiple suggestions, so of course we had to try the method of a child climbing onto my shoulders. It worked! While this was going on, the other table of children were discussing all the “p” words they knew, starting with food. It was refreshing for these to be the child-guided conversations at lunch since some wouldn’t consider that an “educational” time (of course we do!).
Mrs. Mattson (Fischer’s mom) came today to continue our study of light and shadows. She read a book about a moonbear and his shadow. Some of the children were so interested in this story that they recreated the book during center time and drew their own illustrations. Mrs. Mattson took some children to the Studio to help the bear catch a fish without the shadow scaring it away. Other children were given a variety of objects and flashlights and asked to make shadows. Once back together we predicted whether bubbles (when blown through a wand) would have shadows. They did! All the children were able to participate in all of her activities, and we’re looking forward to more next Friday. The other teachers and I were very pleased with the knowledge and behavior that the children demonstrated for our special guest. Mrs. Cook has been working on the letter Q with many of the children, so the most recent activity was quilting. During Handwriting time a child would pick out fabric squares and glue them inside the lines of a big Q. I saw patterns, great spacing, and some beautiful child-written names on these. Since we’ve been discussing shadows and fairy tales, the story of Peter Pan has been in our conversations this week. Many of the children are familiar with the characters because of the tv show “Jake and the Neverland Pirates.” If your child hasn't read the classic version of Peter Pan that would be a fun family activity for this long upcoming weekend. As you read you can discuss fairy tale concepts, identify letters your child knows, and make predictions. Being familiar with these characters and themes will help with our shadow puppet plays next week! In Spanish today we talked again about la ropa, or clothes, and added some winter clothes to our activities. We played "Bolsa Misteriosa" or Mystery Bag, where the children got to pull one item out of a bag and identify it! In the four year old class we also learned a new song, "Habia un chorrito," and learned a poem with actions: Me volteo (I spin). Palabras/Words: camisa (shirt), pantalones (pants), zapatos (shoes), botas (boots), chaqueta (jacket), mitones (mittens), gorra (hat), Here are youtube links to a few of the songs we sing in all classes; enjoy! Debajo de un boton Diez Deditos La Araña Pequenita Our photos from the week are here. We are closed Monday, January 18 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Have a great weekend! There is no newsletter from these two weeks over Christmas, but the few photos we took are here.
I am so impressed with this first week in our 3s/4s project! The levels of engagement and excitement have been so high, and staff members have pointed out how focused we are. Seeing the children interact positively and encourage each other has been very rewarding as a teacher.
We started our week by examining strands of Christmas lights and voting on our favorite colors. We found the biggest and smallest numbers and determined that more children liked the pink lights than the green lights. We liked the bulb shapes, so we identified our names, wrote our letters, and arranged them in the correct order on paper light bulbs. These will be displayed around our rooms, so please don’t take them home yet. Continuing our exploration of light, we pulled down the overhead projector. Using alphabet magnets, rocks, and our own hands, we made shadows on the wall. We traced shapes and identified letters. We demonstrated cause and effect as we experimented with objects that were too big for the projector. During morning meetings this week we solved mysteries by identifying letters and filling in blanks. Using songs and hand motions, we learned about the days of the week and the months of the year. We also introduced a fun birthday month game! Our morning meetings will continue to expand and develop as we go along. The 4s played around with shadow puppets, and it made me smile when I heard “I love this shadow show!” Next week we will be making our own shadow puppets based on well-known fairy tales. Our investigation will continue with some indoor and outdoor activities using light, reflections, and shadows. Friday will be special as we have an environmental educator coming to expand on our shadow study! Fischer’s mom Mrs. Mattson will be spending the next few Fridays incorporating our studies into lessons. In Spanish this week we talked about "la ropa"- clothes! We dressed a figure on the flannelboard with una camisa (a shirt), pantalones (pants), zapatos (shoes) or botas (boots). We also reviewed songs and calendar activities. Have a great weekend! We will be closed Monday January 18th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Our photos are here. 0 Comments I am so impressed with this first week in our 3s/4s project! The levels of engagement and excitement have been so high, and staff members have pointed out how focused we are. Seeing the children interact positively and encourage each other has been very rewarding as a teacher. We started our week by examining strands of Christmas lights and voting on our favorite colors. We found the biggest and smallest numbers and determined that more children liked the pink lights than the green lights. We liked the bulb shapes, so we identified our names, wrote our letters, and arranged them in the correct order on paper light bulbs. These will be displayed around our rooms, so please don’t take them home yet. Continuing our exploration of light, we pulled down the overhead projector. Using alphabet magnets, rocks, and our own hands, we made shadows on the wall. We traced shapes and identified letters. We demonstrated cause and effect as we experimented with objects that were too big for the projector. During morning meetings this week we solved mysteries by identifying letters and filling in blanks. Using songs and hand motions, we learned about the days of the week and the months of the year. We also introduced a fun birthday month game! Our morning meetings will continue to expand and develop as we go along. The 4s played around with shadow puppets, and it made me smile when I heard “I love this shadow show!” Next week we will be making our own shadow puppets based on well-known fairy tales. Our investigation will continue with some indoor and outdoor activities using light, reflections, and shadows. Friday will be special as we have an environmental educator coming to expand on our shadow study! Fischer’s mom Mrs. Mattson will be spending the next few Fridays incorporating our studies into lessons. Have a great weekend! We will be closed Monday January 18th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In Spanish this week we talked about "la ropa"- clothes! We dressed a figure on the flannelboard with una camisa (a shirt), pantalones (pants), zapatos (shoes) or botas (boots). We also reviewed songs and calendar activities. Our photos are here. |
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Class of 2016
Researchers TeachersMolly Fastenau Archives
June 2016
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