Our week was full of holiday fun and focus on the letter P! Our study of the planets included making our own with marbled paper and wrapping yarn around circles. Our work is hanging on the wall outside our classroom, so be sure to check it out!
With St. Patrick's Day this week, we used our creative thinking skills to design and build a leprechaun trap. We also decorated a treasure box in the hopes Lucky would leave us some goodies. He did! The children were so excited with the festivities, and I heard some great comments about how much fun they had. One child wished "every day was St. Patrick's Day!" Next week we will bring our solar system study back down to our own planet, and Mrs. Cook will be working on the letter R. We have a field trip to the Helena House on Thursday for an Easter Egg hunt (just the 3s and 4s classes). We are closed Friday in observance of Good Friday. Have a great weekend! Our photos are here.
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We've had another great week exploring our solar system! From constellations to planets, we learned more about what's "out there" when we look up. One of the main constellations we discussed was the Big Dipper, so if you can, try to find it! Then, we designed our own unique constellations with a variety of materials. One activity used star stickers and rulers to connect them. Another fine motor lesson involved marshmallows and toothpicks as we made 3D models of constellations using our imaginations. Then, of course, we got to eat our creations!
During Handwriting this week we focused on the letter P- big line down, little curve. Mrs. Cook showed us how to make P using pompoms and pennies. Then we strengthened our finger muscles by rolling, cutting, and squishing playdoh. Baker had a great time with Pluto this week, and he confirmed that Pluto loves pizza! We used this opportunity to identify other P words that Pluto has experienced such as play, packing, planet, and more. Denise will get to play with Pluto this weekend! Friday is our trip to the Helena House with the whole school. We will leave at 9:30 and would love for you to come! Wagons are welcome, too. ¿Dónde está? This week in Spanish, we learned the name for several animals: el perro (dog), el gato (cat), el caballo (horse), la gallina (hen), and la vaca (cow). We learned that in Spanish, people say the sounds some of those animals make a little bit differently. Did you know a perro says "guau, guau", not "woof, woof"? Then we practiced the question ¿Dónde está? (Where is it?) by hiding a cat inside one of two cups, and seeing if anyone could keep track of it when we mixed them up. Our photos are here. This week we focused our outer space study on rocket ships. Using recycled materials we designed our own rockets with toilet paper rolls as the base. Mrs. Ines helped us attach “flames” as if the rocket ship is blasting off! They look great and can go home soon. The children strengthened their fine motor muscles as they squeezed glue and arranged small objects.
Ms. Weldon started a gravity painting activity outside in this beautiful weather. Using different painted objects, we dropped them to see how gravity pulls them to the paper. Some of the items left perfect prints, others rolled off or fell over. We were allowed to select our own objects, so all of our paintings are unique. They will be displayed in the hallway, so be sure to check them out. We listened to a couple of Mrs. Fastenau’s favorite songs that relate to our rocket study. We enjoyed “Space Oddity” and “Rocket Man,” both songs that you parents probably know! As we listened we paused the music as we heard words relating to space, such as “ground control,” “planet Earth,” and of course “rocket man.” It was a fun activity that required paying attention and using listening ears. Thank you all for participating in Wacky Wednesday/Dr. Seuss’s birthday! We had so much being silly and listening to our guest speakers read some of our favorite books. Mr. Fastenau read Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, Mr. Levi read Go, Dog, Go, and one of the Port Royal police officers read a Pete the Cat story in recognition of Read Across America Day. Turner turned 5 on Tuesday! Sofia and Gabe are leaving us this weekend for their move to Virginia. We will miss them so much and plan to write them letters soon! Friday March 18- the whole school will be visiting the Helena House for St. Patrick’s Day! Please plan to join us to leave at 9:30 am. Have a great weekend! Our photos are here. This week we’ve seen many changes in our room! We had a new moon book, new galaxy sensory center, and a new solar system puzzle. We spent our mornings exploring our activities and working on our stars. Another choice was to make a night-time sensory bottle- we poured water and corn syrup into empty plastic bottles, added sparkly shapes, sprinkled in glitter, then shook it up! We made predictions about the mixture and watched the items swirl.
We got to meet a special outer space friend whom we named Pluto, and then we decided to make our own aliens! Using construction paper that the children cut, we glued shapes onto a face, and then we rolled a die to determine how many eyes to apply. It was a good math activity, and the children were able to practice number recognition and counting. We listened to a very, very silly book during circle time- Aliens Love Underpants. The children laughed and enjoyed the funny images they came up with using their imaginations. We experimented with gravity today and made predictions about whether an item would float away or fall. After deciding items on Earth definitely don’t float away, we pretended to be astronauts by writing upside down or in strange places around the room. Some of us thought it was easy! Today we made moon snacks using rice cakes, cream cheese, cheerios, and banana slices. The round items looked like the craters on the moon. We had fun assembling them. Pluto the Alien will be going home with SOFIA and GABE this weekend! I can’t wait to hear about their adventures together. Our photos are here. “I love you to the moon and back!” We’ve all heard the phrase, but we weren’t sure what exactly it meant. We asked some questions, made some observations about how far away the moon is, and decided that it means we love someone SO much! This prompted some great discussion about what we already know about the moon. I was impressed with the knowledge they’ve retained since we studied light, and they had some great questions that we’ll research together.
While talking about the moon, we brought up air and gravity. We learned that our jumps on the moon would be so much bigger than our jumps on earth, so we did a gross motor activity experiment. We went outside and made real earth jumps and measured our pretend moon jumps. Turner made the longest earth jump, and his moon jump would have been 23.5 feet! Next week we will be exploring the concept of gravity even more. We talked about craters, too, so we used cotton balls and clothespins to dab paint onto a moon shape. This was a great fine motor skill activity, and we really enjoyed the different creations. During center time one new choice was to create moon craters. Having read about those big holes on the moon, we were eager to make some ourselves. We used clay to mold balls and a variety of objects to press into our moons. Clay is a less pliable substance than playdoh, so the children had to use more force with their fine motor muscles to work it. We’ve been playing word scramble games in the morning, and the children love rearranging the letters of a mixed-up word to make a real word. We’ve unscrambled the words MOON and STAR so far, and next week we might try some names of our friends! We will also be getting a special space visitor in our classroom, so stay tuned for that. The Pre-K class will be going to the Helena House Friday February 26 for lunch. We will be leaving here by 11:45, so we’d love for you to join us if possible. Our photos are here. This week we discussed the concept of love and the people we love. Our family was first on the list followed by our teachers. :) We decided when we love someone we want to spend time with them and that we like them a lot.
We identified love in some of the fairy tales we’ve been reading, such as the three little pigs taking care of each other and Snow White being kind to the seven dwarves. A prince falls in love with a princess, a queen lovingly protects her daughter, and more instances. We listened to the Oldies song “Little Red Riding Hood” by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs this morning during circle. It was amusing to watch the children’s faces as they realized what the song was about! We also howled along with the wolf, even though he was trying not to be bad. They asked to hear it again and again! We had such a good time celebrating Valentine’s Day with our grandfriends and with each other. Our bags were getting full of treats and cards, and the children were incredulous about how much they were given! Over the weekend you could talk to your child about “I love you to the moon and back” as we will be discussing the meaning of that phrase on Tuesday. We’ll be blasting off to study our new interest in outer space! We are CLOSED MONDAY February 15. Have a great weekend! Our photos are here. Another great week with the 3s and 4s classes! We worked on specific projects related to some of our favorite fairy tales, such as “The Paperbag Princess.” We painted brown paper bags in a variety of colors to be our costumes like Princess Elizabeth had to wear after the dragon burned all her clothes with his fiery breath.
Our newest center was construction of the three little pigs’ houses, so the materials provided were straws, sticks, and bricks. After a few days of exploration and attempts to build, we finally got to glue our houses together as a final product. Most of the children were very deliberate where they applied the glue and the building materials. We also took the tale “Jack and the Beanstalk" to another (high) level when we planted beans. Each child will have their own cup with soil and beans, and we are providing sunlight and water, both of which they need to grow. I certainly hope something sprouts otherwise I might have to come up with my own magic! Our fairy tale performances at the amphitheater were so fun! Everyone who wanted to was able to act out a role and wear their paperbag costume from one of the stories we’ve been reading/telling. Be sure to ask your child which character they were. Next week we are going to be identifying different types of love we’ve read about in fairy tales; we might even read Frozen to introduce the idea of nonromantic love. We will be busy working on some cards for our grandfriends and some other pretty special people whom we love. The 4s class with be exchanging Valentines cards on FRIDAY after the Helena House. Your child has been practicing how to write their friends’ names during Handwriting, so they are welcome to address the cards themselves. Please have your child write their own name as the sender. Thank you! Our trip to the Helena House is Friday at 9:15am. We’d love for you to come with us, and we could always use some wagons. In Spanish this week we acted out "¡Buenos días, Buenas noches!" (Good morning, Good night!). The children took turns waking up "monito", a stuffed animal monkey, and greeting him with "buenos días", and then putting him to bed, saying "cierra los ojos" (close your eyes) and "buenas noches." They enjoy this activity and it is easy to do at home with any stuffed animal and blanket. We also did songs and activities from past lessons. ¡Feliz febrero! Happy February! Don't forget we are CLOSED for Presidents' Day on Monday, February 15th. Our photos are here. 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. 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! |
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Class of 2016
Researchers TeachersMolly Fastenau Archives
June 2016
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