Hi Everyone!! I hope you have all been enjoying watching the chickies these last few days. On the day before the official hatching day, the kids watched eagerly and excitedly as the chicks used their egg tooth to peck at their shell. We had a few early hatchers, but on the 21st day, all of the chicks hatched out of their eggs. Some eggs did not develop, and unfortunately, a few chicks hatched but did not survive. This opened up conversation about death among the children, so Marcia brought a dead chick for the class to touch and observe if they chose to. This experience was followed by a discussion. The class was asked questions like "How do we know this chick is not living?" "How does it look different from the other chicks?" One of the children asked "what does 'die' mean?", to which his friend responded "Die means it's not living". The kids observed that the chick was not moving, it's eyes were closed and that the feathers were still wet, unlike the other chicks.
On Monday, the children will be making a 'playground' for the chicks in our classroom using blocks. This is a really fun experience for both the chicks and the kids. In addition to building a playground, we've been doing various other chick activities. The kids have been doing observational art in front of the chick tank, painting with feathers, and simply observing their every move throughout the day. They love noticing when the chicks notice them... who's watching who!?
We had our field trip to the New Victory Theater on Tuesday. This was the first field trip we've been on where we were required to take our shoes off. So cool! The kids first learned how to use their hands and body to demonstrate the life cycle of a butterfly. They were then lead into a dark and mystical theater where they watched a very interpretive performance of two 'butterflies'. It was incredibly engaging, and many of our kids got to go up on stage to interact with the performers, but mostly the stage itself. Projected images on a white and brightly lit stage floor moved and transformed by the movements of the children. All of the kids had a lot of fun, but they wondered why it was called "The Butterfly Garden" when there weren't any butterflies! This was a show that really required them to use their imaginations.
On Wednesday, we had a songwriter come in to our classroom to work with us and teach us about song writing. She played the music she wrote for our very own song while the kids worked together to come up with lyrics. The class learned about the different parts of a song, including a verse, chorus and a bridge. They also had to come up with a lot of rhyming words to get the song to flow together. It was quite a challenge! They did an awesome job and they all really enjoyed it. The class requests to sing and dance to it throughout the day, and I've been singing the song in my sleep since Wednesday. Thank you to Michael Stack for putting this together!
Thursday was our smoothie day! Thanks to all for bringing in the delicious fruits, yogurts and juice. One at a time, each child made their own, original smoothie recipe as they added their chosen amounts of their chosen ingredients. Once it was all blended up, they enjoyed their homemade healthy treat for snack.
Because the weather could not have been more perfect on Friday, we took a surprise visit to safari park in the morning. The kids spent time hanging out with the hippos, stopping for a fresh fruit snack, and then they requested to take a walk by the reservoir on our way back to school. Many of them noticed the trees and flowers we learned about on our tree walk with Joe Bondy. I thought they were totally exhausted, but they wanted to stay even longer to eat lunch and rest in central park. Because we didn't have our lunches with us on Friday, we will have a planned picnic in the park THIS TUESDAY. Please make sure you pack a completely disposable lunch that does not need to be heated. We will start our day with literacy, snack and story, and leave for safari park around 10:00, followed by our picnic for lunch. We should return to school between 12:00 and 12:30 and finish our day with rest and freeplay.
Also, our last day of school is on Wednesday, June 9th from 8:30-10:30. All parents are invited to join us for our 'moving up' ceremony and celebration. I will keep you informed of the details as soon as everything is arranged and finalized. Let me know if you have any urgent questions.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Amanda
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The Chicks are Coming!!
We've been doing lots to prepare for the newest members of our classroom, which should be arriving early this week. The kids have been religiously been counting the days until their expected date of arrival. The class is also aware of the signs that the embryos are indeed developing. We met in McKenzie's classroom with Marcia as she candled the eggs to observe whether or not there is a shadow present. The kids thought about what it means if there is or isn't a shadow. They also thought about what it means if an egg feels heavy or light. Most of our eggs were heavy and had a large shadow... very exciting!!
Staying consistent with our egg hatching theme, the kids played a sensory activity using 4 plastic eggs which were filled with 4 different objects. The class knew what the objects were, but they didn't know which egg they were in. Each egg was passed around for the kids to shake, and they described features of the unknown objects based on the sounds they made. When the objects were revealed, what was inside wasn't exactly what the kids expected because of a few similarities in sound. They were also able to figure out what was in egg number 4 through process of elimination.
Throughout the week during freeplay, there were various activities that were very sensory oriented. The class squished shaving cream with sea shells, noticed the effects of drawing with wet chalk, built on felt using bristle blocks, designed with sand and glue, painted at the easel with textured and unusually shaped brushes, and ink pads to make finger and hand print designs. It was definitely a very interactive and exploratory week.
We've also been doing more preparation for the end of the year and moving to a new classroom and/or a new school. We've been reading books about what we can expect for next year, how some things will be the same and some things will be different. We also talked about how everyone in their new class next year is experiencing the exact same things and feelings as they are and that they're not alone. The kids are feeling excited and nervous at the same time, but they know that moms, dads and teachers will ALWAYS be there for them and with them. We will be having a CPS alumni visiting our classroom to talk about all of the cool things he does in his new classroom, and the kids will have the opportunity to ask questions, too.
Just a reminder: our field trip is this Tuesday. Please make sure you return your photo release form and permission slip (which is more of an explanation of the trip than an actual permission slip) by tomorrow. Let me know if you need more handouts tomorrow.
We'll also have a special visit from the song writer this Wednesday afternoon.
Have a great Sunday evening!
Amanda
Staying consistent with our egg hatching theme, the kids played a sensory activity using 4 plastic eggs which were filled with 4 different objects. The class knew what the objects were, but they didn't know which egg they were in. Each egg was passed around for the kids to shake, and they described features of the unknown objects based on the sounds they made. When the objects were revealed, what was inside wasn't exactly what the kids expected because of a few similarities in sound. They were also able to figure out what was in egg number 4 through process of elimination.
Throughout the week during freeplay, there were various activities that were very sensory oriented. The class squished shaving cream with sea shells, noticed the effects of drawing with wet chalk, built on felt using bristle blocks, designed with sand and glue, painted at the easel with textured and unusually shaped brushes, and ink pads to make finger and hand print designs. It was definitely a very interactive and exploratory week.
We've also been doing more preparation for the end of the year and moving to a new classroom and/or a new school. We've been reading books about what we can expect for next year, how some things will be the same and some things will be different. We also talked about how everyone in their new class next year is experiencing the exact same things and feelings as they are and that they're not alone. The kids are feeling excited and nervous at the same time, but they know that moms, dads and teachers will ALWAYS be there for them and with them. We will be having a CPS alumni visiting our classroom to talk about all of the cool things he does in his new classroom, and the kids will have the opportunity to ask questions, too.
Just a reminder: our field trip is this Tuesday. Please make sure you return your photo release form and permission slip (which is more of an explanation of the trip than an actual permission slip) by tomorrow. Let me know if you need more handouts tomorrow.
We'll also have a special visit from the song writer this Wednesday afternoon.
Have a great Sunday evening!
Amanda
Monday, May 10, 2010
Hi Everyone!
Thank you to those of you who were able to come to the Children's Art Show last Thursday. The class was so excited to have their family and friends see what they had been working so hard on these last several weeks. The process was an incredible learning experience with each project they did.
The piece de resistance, I believe, was the flower canvas paintings. This piece was composed of several steps. We began discussing painting "en plein air", or in the open air, with the introduction of Claude Monet's Water Lilies. Afterwards, we planned a trip to the community garden to study the flowers there by drawing them and finding a flower that was most special to them. Once they found their flower, they took their own photograph of it which they would later represent on their canvas using pencil. When drawing, they observed all forms from the stem to the petals to the rocks on the ground. They counted petals, noticed if there was a lot of grass or a little grass, if there was a stem taller than the rest, or how the leaves look different from each other. There was not a detail overlooked. Finally it was time to add color. They observed what they learned to be shadows, highlights and low lights. They learned how to make a color lighter and darker or how to make a color more green or more orange. The also observed that a single petal or leaf is not necessarily one single color. This entire process took weeks to complete and all of the kids took great pride in what they accomplished.
The Still Life was also a very intricate observational process. The children each chose three items from our still life objects and arranged them any way they'd like under a lamp. The lamp was used to create more intense shadows and highlights. This project had the children become extremely careful observers. They were asked several questions to become very aware of each and every line they were about to draw, and took careful consideration of the relationships between their three objects. "is this taller or shorter than that? Is this touching that? Is this rounder than that? Is this closer to you than that?" An incredible amount of time was put into this project-- It is my hope that the relentless questioning of form has turned the class into keen observers!
On Friday when the kids came in to a classroom that was blank on Thursday, they were in total awe when they saw everything up on the walls... and were especially engaged in the fashion show video as most of the audience was. With the rearranging of some of the shelves to better display their work, this presented an opportunity to do some rearranging of the classroom. The kids liked the changes so we made a few more. Our classroom now seems brighter and more spacious. We also had Barbarah Denham come in on Friday to bake her famous Zucchini Bread with the class during freeplay. The kids worked in small groups to add ingredients, grease the pans and shred the zucchini. After gym, we had a little picnic outside and the kids DEVOURED the bread. Thanks Barbara!
As most of you know, we've been incubating chick eggs for almost 2 weeks, 13 days to be exact. This year all of the eggs are being kept in McKenzie's class (just for the incubation process) because our class's incubator was not able to maintain the temperature needed for the embryos to develop. Even thought it was a little disappointing, the kids used this experience to learn that sometimes with science experiments, things may break or not work the way you think they're going to work. We found a solution to the problem by fitting all of the eggs into one incubator instead. And, even though our eggs are not with us in our classroom, we are still keeping track of the process. The kids put together a paper chain of 21 links that they each decorated, and we also made a chart that consists of 21 squares. Each day we remove one chain link to keep track of how many days are left until the eggs are hatched. We also tape one feather to one box to keep track of how many days the eggs have been in the incubator. The kids noticed that the number of empty boxes is the same number of chain links that are left.
Tomorrow there will be a workshop for the kids given by the actors of the New Victory Theater to prepare for our trip next Tuesday. They will talk to the kids about the show and give them opportunities to act things out themselves. We will be leaving for the trip promptly at 9:30 and will return around 12:00 for lunch at school.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Have a great evening!
Amanda
Thank you to those of you who were able to come to the Children's Art Show last Thursday. The class was so excited to have their family and friends see what they had been working so hard on these last several weeks. The process was an incredible learning experience with each project they did.
The piece de resistance, I believe, was the flower canvas paintings. This piece was composed of several steps. We began discussing painting "en plein air", or in the open air, with the introduction of Claude Monet's Water Lilies. Afterwards, we planned a trip to the community garden to study the flowers there by drawing them and finding a flower that was most special to them. Once they found their flower, they took their own photograph of it which they would later represent on their canvas using pencil. When drawing, they observed all forms from the stem to the petals to the rocks on the ground. They counted petals, noticed if there was a lot of grass or a little grass, if there was a stem taller than the rest, or how the leaves look different from each other. There was not a detail overlooked. Finally it was time to add color. They observed what they learned to be shadows, highlights and low lights. They learned how to make a color lighter and darker or how to make a color more green or more orange. The also observed that a single petal or leaf is not necessarily one single color. This entire process took weeks to complete and all of the kids took great pride in what they accomplished.
The Still Life was also a very intricate observational process. The children each chose three items from our still life objects and arranged them any way they'd like under a lamp. The lamp was used to create more intense shadows and highlights. This project had the children become extremely careful observers. They were asked several questions to become very aware of each and every line they were about to draw, and took careful consideration of the relationships between their three objects. "is this taller or shorter than that? Is this touching that? Is this rounder than that? Is this closer to you than that?" An incredible amount of time was put into this project-- It is my hope that the relentless questioning of form has turned the class into keen observers!
On Friday when the kids came in to a classroom that was blank on Thursday, they were in total awe when they saw everything up on the walls... and were especially engaged in the fashion show video as most of the audience was. With the rearranging of some of the shelves to better display their work, this presented an opportunity to do some rearranging of the classroom. The kids liked the changes so we made a few more. Our classroom now seems brighter and more spacious. We also had Barbarah Denham come in on Friday to bake her famous Zucchini Bread with the class during freeplay. The kids worked in small groups to add ingredients, grease the pans and shred the zucchini. After gym, we had a little picnic outside and the kids DEVOURED the bread. Thanks Barbara!
As most of you know, we've been incubating chick eggs for almost 2 weeks, 13 days to be exact. This year all of the eggs are being kept in McKenzie's class (just for the incubation process) because our class's incubator was not able to maintain the temperature needed for the embryos to develop. Even thought it was a little disappointing, the kids used this experience to learn that sometimes with science experiments, things may break or not work the way you think they're going to work. We found a solution to the problem by fitting all of the eggs into one incubator instead. And, even though our eggs are not with us in our classroom, we are still keeping track of the process. The kids put together a paper chain of 21 links that they each decorated, and we also made a chart that consists of 21 squares. Each day we remove one chain link to keep track of how many days are left until the eggs are hatched. We also tape one feather to one box to keep track of how many days the eggs have been in the incubator. The kids noticed that the number of empty boxes is the same number of chain links that are left.
Tomorrow there will be a workshop for the kids given by the actors of the New Victory Theater to prepare for our trip next Tuesday. They will talk to the kids about the show and give them opportunities to act things out themselves. We will be leaving for the trip promptly at 9:30 and will return around 12:00 for lunch at school.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Have a great evening!
Amanda
Sunday, April 18, 2010
We started the week with our trip to the MoMA! After looking at pictures of the works of art for so long, the kids finally got to see them in person. We started our journey in the sculpture garden where the kids gave me the opportunity to explain to them why we can't touch the art!! We had fun looking at the sculptures, Monet's Water Lilies, Seurat, Klee, Orozco, and the grand finale, van Gogh's Starry Night. The kids were most excited to see this and were captivated by van Gogh's swirls and motion. By the end of our trip, one of the kids said " I'm gonna make art you can touch when I get back to school". It was so hard for the kids to keep themselves from touching, but they really did an awesome job. My main goal for them was exposure, and the more exposed they are to the diversity of creativity, the more open minded they become.
We continued to focus on art in the classroom as the kids made their own collages, fashion pieces, still-lifes and sculptures. One of the teachers donated mounds of packaging Styrofoam pieces which were scattered all over our rug. Some of the kids sat for almost all of freeplay building and taping the pieces together. I brought in 2 cacti plants to observe, and some of the kids wanted to draw what they saw. From there, we talked about still life paintings and arranging objects in front of us to draw. We read stories about color mixing, and by now the kids know fairly well how to mix primary colors to get secondary colors. We also talked about songwriting as a form of art because we are going to have a special visitor coming in to work with the kids on writing the lyrics to their very own song. This unique experience has been set up by Michael Stack, Darby's dad, and the kids are really looking forward to it. We talked about what we'd like our song to be about and decided to write about making new friends for next year but remembering our friends from this year and all the memories we had together.
On Thursday, Joe Bondy, Sarah's dad, took us on a tree walk/sing-along trip in central park. The kids loved being out in nature as they soaked up a bunch of fun facts. Joe pointed out and discussed the Elm, cherry blossom, pin oak, goji, and pine tree. The kids learned about how tree branches get the water they need, how to determine how old a tree is and about the relationship between trees, aphids and ants. After finding a flat and grassy area, we stopped to sing, dance and skip along to Joe's guitar. We finished our expedition at Safari Park and then headed back to school for lunch.
On Friday, we had fireman Tommy come to visit us! Tommy told us all about fire safety like 'stay low and go', 'stop, drop and roll', and 'don't hide, go outside'. He showed the class the different parts of his uniform using me (ah!) as a model. That thing weights 80 pounds! And, before he left, the kids got to try on his hat and mask if they chose to.
We also spent lots of time on Friday making goo! Finally... art you can touch.
I hope you all had a great weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing you Thursday or Friday for conferences.
We continued to focus on art in the classroom as the kids made their own collages, fashion pieces, still-lifes and sculptures. One of the teachers donated mounds of packaging Styrofoam pieces which were scattered all over our rug. Some of the kids sat for almost all of freeplay building and taping the pieces together. I brought in 2 cacti plants to observe, and some of the kids wanted to draw what they saw. From there, we talked about still life paintings and arranging objects in front of us to draw. We read stories about color mixing, and by now the kids know fairly well how to mix primary colors to get secondary colors. We also talked about songwriting as a form of art because we are going to have a special visitor coming in to work with the kids on writing the lyrics to their very own song. This unique experience has been set up by Michael Stack, Darby's dad, and the kids are really looking forward to it. We talked about what we'd like our song to be about and decided to write about making new friends for next year but remembering our friends from this year and all the memories we had together.
On Thursday, Joe Bondy, Sarah's dad, took us on a tree walk/sing-along trip in central park. The kids loved being out in nature as they soaked up a bunch of fun facts. Joe pointed out and discussed the Elm, cherry blossom, pin oak, goji, and pine tree. The kids learned about how tree branches get the water they need, how to determine how old a tree is and about the relationship between trees, aphids and ants. After finding a flat and grassy area, we stopped to sing, dance and skip along to Joe's guitar. We finished our expedition at Safari Park and then headed back to school for lunch.
On Friday, we had fireman Tommy come to visit us! Tommy told us all about fire safety like 'stay low and go', 'stop, drop and roll', and 'don't hide, go outside'. He showed the class the different parts of his uniform using me (ah!) as a model. That thing weights 80 pounds! And, before he left, the kids got to try on his hat and mask if they chose to.
We also spent lots of time on Friday making goo! Finally... art you can touch.
I hope you all had a great weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing you Thursday or Friday for conferences.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
This week was all about preparing for our upcoming field trip to the Museum of Modern Art. We read the Book "Seen Art", which is about a boy looking for his friend Art, but was misdirected to the MoMA. Every page was full of sculptures, drawings and paintings found in MoMA's permanent collection. The class looked closely at them, observing various compositions,media and techniques. After we finished the story, we closed our eyes to imagine our world with out art. The kids thought about not having paintings and drawings on our walls, everyone dressing the same, having no music to listen to or stories to read. It would be pretty dull! We talked about what they know about art and who can be an artist (everyone, of course!), but people have many different ideas of what art can be. We also listed the various types of art including architecture, culinary, literature, fashion, dance and music.
After talking about general art theory, we focused on a few modern artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. The kids viewed pictures of Claude Monet's Water Lilies as we talked about the impressionist movement and painting "En Plein Air". They learned that, a long time ago, most artists painted inside their studio and often worked from memory. When artists, such as Monet, began to use portable tubes of paint, they could work outside, "in the open air", painting what they see in front of them in nature.
The class experimented with this idea during a journal activity. They took their journals outside and found a place to work, drawing what they saw in front of them. They paid attention to color and form and thought about how they felt while viewing particular objects and scenes.
We studied artist Paul Klee, who is known for his remarkable use of color. The kids loved looking through his paintings, noticing his figures and symbols. They thought about why certain symbols were used and what the figures were doing. There was one painting with an arrow pointing East over a figure's head. When asked "Why do you think there is a pointing arrow?", one of the kids responded "Because there is a bear the other way!" FYI, there was no bear in the painting.
The class was very drawn to "Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. After looking at a series of his paintings, the children picked up on a lot of movement and bright colors. We talked about the use of brush stroke and how van Gogh layers his paint and uses a lot of it.
The last artist we studied this week was Hans Arp, which actually came about after some of the kids were making paper collages that were strikingly similar to one of his paintings. The kids learned that some artists left their work up to chance or randomness, and used "ready-made" objects as art, such as a shovel, wheel or cut out pieces of paper.
Taking a break from art, we started doing basic addition using our snack menu. For example, if we have 1 cup of water, 5 grapes and 2 crackers, how many pieces of snack should you have on your plate? We tallied up each item and counted them together for our final answer.
Also this week, we made it to hippo park before the rain came (90th and CPW). The kids loved being in central park and suggested we have a picnic there one day. When I asked them what they wanted to bring many of them declared they would bring different fruits and vegetables! I can't really argue with that.
For this week, we will have our field trip to MoMA on Monday and will continue learning about, observing and making our own art. I told the kids that what we've been doing is analyzing or critiquing art as we question and observe it.
I hope you all had a great weekend. Remember to sign up for conferences if you have not done so already.
Amanda
After talking about general art theory, we focused on a few modern artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. The kids viewed pictures of Claude Monet's Water Lilies as we talked about the impressionist movement and painting "En Plein Air". They learned that, a long time ago, most artists painted inside their studio and often worked from memory. When artists, such as Monet, began to use portable tubes of paint, they could work outside, "in the open air", painting what they see in front of them in nature.
The class experimented with this idea during a journal activity. They took their journals outside and found a place to work, drawing what they saw in front of them. They paid attention to color and form and thought about how they felt while viewing particular objects and scenes.
We studied artist Paul Klee, who is known for his remarkable use of color. The kids loved looking through his paintings, noticing his figures and symbols. They thought about why certain symbols were used and what the figures were doing. There was one painting with an arrow pointing East over a figure's head. When asked "Why do you think there is a pointing arrow?", one of the kids responded "Because there is a bear the other way!" FYI, there was no bear in the painting.
The class was very drawn to "Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. After looking at a series of his paintings, the children picked up on a lot of movement and bright colors. We talked about the use of brush stroke and how van Gogh layers his paint and uses a lot of it.
The last artist we studied this week was Hans Arp, which actually came about after some of the kids were making paper collages that were strikingly similar to one of his paintings. The kids learned that some artists left their work up to chance or randomness, and used "ready-made" objects as art, such as a shovel, wheel or cut out pieces of paper.
Taking a break from art, we started doing basic addition using our snack menu. For example, if we have 1 cup of water, 5 grapes and 2 crackers, how many pieces of snack should you have on your plate? We tallied up each item and counted them together for our final answer.
Also this week, we made it to hippo park before the rain came (90th and CPW). The kids loved being in central park and suggested we have a picnic there one day. When I asked them what they wanted to bring many of them declared they would bring different fruits and vegetables! I can't really argue with that.
For this week, we will have our field trip to MoMA on Monday and will continue learning about, observing and making our own art. I told the kids that what we've been doing is analyzing or critiquing art as we question and observe it.
I hope you all had a great weekend. Remember to sign up for conferences if you have not done so already.
Amanda
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Our week before spring break was definitely event PACKED. We had a lot to talk about and a lot to accomplish. It was also the last week for our friend, Macy. The kids worked hard all week drawing her pictures and dictating what they love to do with her in school, all of which was put inside a special "Goodbye Book" for Macy to take with her to her new home. She can read her book whenever she feels like she misses her friends at Columbus Preschool, and we talked about how writing letters is another way for us all to stay in touch.
We had a special goodbye party for Macy, and the class decided to make her cupcakes for a treat... with cinnamon! This deliciously sweet and healthy spice has been the biggest craze among the kids. As a class, we talked about how sometimes you need to try things 7 or 8 times before your tongue realizes it's yummy. After our conversation, all of the class was willing to taste cinnamon with apples and there was an overwhelmingly positive response. They've now been asking to add it to their applesauce and fruit on a regular basis.
Baking also gave us the chance to further talk about fractions. The kids were exposed to what fractions look like, and that a fraction means a part of something. We discussed the most basic fraction, 1/2. They learned that two halves are equal parts, and when put together, they equal one whole item. We used common objects from our classroom to demonstrate this concept, and some of the children recognized 'halves' on their own as they encountered them during the day, usually as they're opening their sandwich at lunchtime.
Another one of our math lessons was learning to count by 10's. This came about when one student from our class wanted to collect 100 blue unifix cubes and connect them to make one long, straight line. He and I counted them many times together to see if he had enough cubes to amount to 100, but counting by 1's took a really long time! After finally reaching 100 cubes, as a class, we counted them together by 10's. We divided them into groups, and they understood that 1 group is 10 cubes, 2 groups is 20 cubes, etc.
The kids were visited this week by Dr. Levy and his family dog, Shauna. They learned about what a Veterinarian does, and the basic needs of animals, which we discovered are quite similar to the needs of humans. He showed us how he gives check-ups to animals, making sure they are healthy, and used x-rays to demonstrate how he determines why an animal may not be feeling very well. There are some cases when animals need to have surgery, and after surgery, the doctor needs to make stitches. Dr. Levy showed us how this is done using his stuffed animal friend. The kids were in complete awe as they watched this procedure. After Dr. Levy's visit, it was no surprise that the kids were interested in doctors. This came out through their imaginative play as they pretended they were doctors or sick patients; some human, some puppies or kittens. We borrowed a doctor kit from Didi's classroom, equipped with a stethoscope, thermometer, blood pressure gauge and various other tools.
As Passover and Easter were approaching, we talked about which holidays we celebrate and how we celebrate them. When asked why we celebrate them, many of the kids were at a loss for words. Marcia shared the story of passover and I shared the story of Easter. We talked about what it means to be free and how it is important to be compassionate and kind to others, even when others may not be very friendly to us. The children were exposed to the traditions of these holidays as we learned about the significance of unleavened bread and made chocolate covered matzoh. They also colored eggs, which symbolizes new beginnings and the coming of Spring! We had a few egg hunts outside, and the kids chose to hide the eggs for the teachers, too. I must say, I don't know how fair it is to hide the eggs in your pockets.
Another emerging curriculum in our classroom has been sculpture. The kids shared their knowledge on sculpture and we discussed how they can be made using all different kinds of materials and techniques. They learned about different sculptors as they viewed photographs of sculptures from all over New York City. Many of the kids were excited to recognize the works of art they were shown, and were enthusiastic about making sculptures of their own from a variety of available materials, such as firing clay, salt clay (a.k.a play-doh), plasticine, and Styrofoam.
At the end of our week, we had to do a little spring cleaning before our break, of course. The kids rolled up their sleeves and got ready for a shaving cream party. The tables were coated with shaving cream and they dove right in. After they were all done with this amazing sensory activity, they used a Styrofoam cup to lift away the soapy, foamy mess. The kids were so proud of how squeaky clean and fresh they made their tables-- they actually called the teachers over from the class next door to show them.
I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of their spring break, and I will see you when we return on TUESDAY. Also, if you have not returned your photo orders, please make sure you do so ASAP.
See you soon!
Amanda
We had a special goodbye party for Macy, and the class decided to make her cupcakes for a treat... with cinnamon! This deliciously sweet and healthy spice has been the biggest craze among the kids. As a class, we talked about how sometimes you need to try things 7 or 8 times before your tongue realizes it's yummy. After our conversation, all of the class was willing to taste cinnamon with apples and there was an overwhelmingly positive response. They've now been asking to add it to their applesauce and fruit on a regular basis.
Baking also gave us the chance to further talk about fractions. The kids were exposed to what fractions look like, and that a fraction means a part of something. We discussed the most basic fraction, 1/2. They learned that two halves are equal parts, and when put together, they equal one whole item. We used common objects from our classroom to demonstrate this concept, and some of the children recognized 'halves' on their own as they encountered them during the day, usually as they're opening their sandwich at lunchtime.
Another one of our math lessons was learning to count by 10's. This came about when one student from our class wanted to collect 100 blue unifix cubes and connect them to make one long, straight line. He and I counted them many times together to see if he had enough cubes to amount to 100, but counting by 1's took a really long time! After finally reaching 100 cubes, as a class, we counted them together by 10's. We divided them into groups, and they understood that 1 group is 10 cubes, 2 groups is 20 cubes, etc.
The kids were visited this week by Dr. Levy and his family dog, Shauna. They learned about what a Veterinarian does, and the basic needs of animals, which we discovered are quite similar to the needs of humans. He showed us how he gives check-ups to animals, making sure they are healthy, and used x-rays to demonstrate how he determines why an animal may not be feeling very well. There are some cases when animals need to have surgery, and after surgery, the doctor needs to make stitches. Dr. Levy showed us how this is done using his stuffed animal friend. The kids were in complete awe as they watched this procedure. After Dr. Levy's visit, it was no surprise that the kids were interested in doctors. This came out through their imaginative play as they pretended they were doctors or sick patients; some human, some puppies or kittens. We borrowed a doctor kit from Didi's classroom, equipped with a stethoscope, thermometer, blood pressure gauge and various other tools.
As Passover and Easter were approaching, we talked about which holidays we celebrate and how we celebrate them. When asked why we celebrate them, many of the kids were at a loss for words. Marcia shared the story of passover and I shared the story of Easter. We talked about what it means to be free and how it is important to be compassionate and kind to others, even when others may not be very friendly to us. The children were exposed to the traditions of these holidays as we learned about the significance of unleavened bread and made chocolate covered matzoh. They also colored eggs, which symbolizes new beginnings and the coming of Spring! We had a few egg hunts outside, and the kids chose to hide the eggs for the teachers, too. I must say, I don't know how fair it is to hide the eggs in your pockets.
Another emerging curriculum in our classroom has been sculpture. The kids shared their knowledge on sculpture and we discussed how they can be made using all different kinds of materials and techniques. They learned about different sculptors as they viewed photographs of sculptures from all over New York City. Many of the kids were excited to recognize the works of art they were shown, and were enthusiastic about making sculptures of their own from a variety of available materials, such as firing clay, salt clay (a.k.a play-doh), plasticine, and Styrofoam.
At the end of our week, we had to do a little spring cleaning before our break, of course. The kids rolled up their sleeves and got ready for a shaving cream party. The tables were coated with shaving cream and they dove right in. After they were all done with this amazing sensory activity, they used a Styrofoam cup to lift away the soapy, foamy mess. The kids were so proud of how squeaky clean and fresh they made their tables-- they actually called the teachers over from the class next door to show them.
I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of their spring break, and I will see you when we return on TUESDAY. Also, if you have not returned your photo orders, please make sure you do so ASAP.
See you soon!
Amanda
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Spring is in the Air!
With the arrival of Spring (finally!), there have been some major changes in our classroom. The most significant change has been our new schedule. The reason for the change was primarily to extend freeplay for a much longer period of time. The children have proved that they have grown and matured immensely since September as they are focused and engaged in their play and problem solving all throughout this long stretch of time in the classroom. With a longer freeplay, the children also have the opportunity to use materials they would not normally explore and engage with friends in a more in depth and meaningful way.
Curriculum wise, the outer-space talk has fizzled out as the children are expressing more interest in planting seeds and exploring the nature of our home planet. So, to bring an end to our space curriculum, we first talked about what it means to make an estimate, and then each child made an estimate about how long they think it will take the Sun hanging in our classroom to finally collapse. They had observed over a period of time that the Sun they made was slowly creeping closer and closer to the floor. Based on these observations, some children estimated 100 days while some estimated 16 days. One of our students thought that Amanda would become so impatient with the falling sun that she would rip it off herself! Only time will tell... All of the estimations are posted on our classroom door.
Using the Sun to transition to our current curriculum, our class talked about the new changes in season and why they take place. We discussed the changes that will occur as it becomes warmer, and the class expressed a strong interest in planting a vegetable and flower garden. While they've been out on the playground, they've been working hard to prepare the soil in the garden to plant new seeds and they have even been observing some plants that have already begun to grow. In addition to blooming flowers, we also discussed hibernation and why animals will soon come out of their long slumber. During our afternoon rest, some of the children pretended to be hibernating bears as they 'slept' all of the way through rest time.
The children have been learning about how to find the root word, or the basic element of a word with out the suffix or prefix. Learning about root words has helped the children think about how to create words using letter buddies. For example, when we talked about the letter buddy, -ing, the kids recognized that -ing comes at the end of words like walk, run, and swim. Along with letter buddies, I've been working with the children to sound out letters in order to read words or write them in their journals. They children are excitedly diving into reading and are very eager to learn. I'm so pleased with the level of enthusiasm-- as you know, they bring in books from home on a regular basis and enjoy reading them with their friends. Whether the words are memorized or they are making up the words on their own, these are the significant, early stages of reading and they will be independently reading in no time! Some of them already are, as they are reading 'early readers' books in front of the class.
Macy's mom, Krista, came in last week to do a project with the kids that followed along with what we have been talking about in our classroom. She talked to the class in depth about how to find symmetry, and used the letters of our alphabet to demonstrate this concept. She also talked to the class about how butterfly wings are symmetrical and worked with all of the children to make their own symmetrical butterfly wings. First, they drew wings on a folded piece of paper. After cutting out the wings, they painted one wing, which was then pressed onto the other wing in order to create an exact, symmetrical design on the other side.
We had Carolyn come in on Friday to read "Click, Clack, Moo" to the class. The kids loved the personified animals and onomatopoeia throughout the story. When asked what their favorite part was, most of them replied "I liked the whole thing!" A big thanks to Carolyn and Krista for coming in to share these fun activities with the class.
I also want to give a HUGE thank you to Stephanie Lee for organizing our latest field trip to the show, ImaginOcean, and to all of the parents who were involved. It was a great show, from the black lights, to the neon puppets and music. Everyone had a fabulous time and everything worked out very well considering the last minute planning. Thanks to everyone for being so flexible.
Some of the other activities going on in our class have been finger-printing caterpillars, cooking strawberry soup, building high car ramps using blocks (the kids noticed the sharper the incline, the faster the car goes!), picnics in the classroom and on the playground, and experimenting with cornstarch and water.
Lastly, I'm sure you all got to see the pictures from Picture Day! They came out great-- Just a reminder to bring in your order ASAP. Also, drum day has been rescheduled to a later date due to the damage from the rain storm.
Enjoy your weekend, Everyone!
Curriculum wise, the outer-space talk has fizzled out as the children are expressing more interest in planting seeds and exploring the nature of our home planet. So, to bring an end to our space curriculum, we first talked about what it means to make an estimate, and then each child made an estimate about how long they think it will take the Sun hanging in our classroom to finally collapse. They had observed over a period of time that the Sun they made was slowly creeping closer and closer to the floor. Based on these observations, some children estimated 100 days while some estimated 16 days. One of our students thought that Amanda would become so impatient with the falling sun that she would rip it off herself! Only time will tell... All of the estimations are posted on our classroom door.
Using the Sun to transition to our current curriculum, our class talked about the new changes in season and why they take place. We discussed the changes that will occur as it becomes warmer, and the class expressed a strong interest in planting a vegetable and flower garden. While they've been out on the playground, they've been working hard to prepare the soil in the garden to plant new seeds and they have even been observing some plants that have already begun to grow. In addition to blooming flowers, we also discussed hibernation and why animals will soon come out of their long slumber. During our afternoon rest, some of the children pretended to be hibernating bears as they 'slept' all of the way through rest time.
The children have been learning about how to find the root word, or the basic element of a word with out the suffix or prefix. Learning about root words has helped the children think about how to create words using letter buddies. For example, when we talked about the letter buddy, -ing, the kids recognized that -ing comes at the end of words like walk, run, and swim. Along with letter buddies, I've been working with the children to sound out letters in order to read words or write them in their journals. They children are excitedly diving into reading and are very eager to learn. I'm so pleased with the level of enthusiasm-- as you know, they bring in books from home on a regular basis and enjoy reading them with their friends. Whether the words are memorized or they are making up the words on their own, these are the significant, early stages of reading and they will be independently reading in no time! Some of them already are, as they are reading 'early readers' books in front of the class.
Macy's mom, Krista, came in last week to do a project with the kids that followed along with what we have been talking about in our classroom. She talked to the class in depth about how to find symmetry, and used the letters of our alphabet to demonstrate this concept. She also talked to the class about how butterfly wings are symmetrical and worked with all of the children to make their own symmetrical butterfly wings. First, they drew wings on a folded piece of paper. After cutting out the wings, they painted one wing, which was then pressed onto the other wing in order to create an exact, symmetrical design on the other side.
We had Carolyn come in on Friday to read "Click, Clack, Moo" to the class. The kids loved the personified animals and onomatopoeia throughout the story. When asked what their favorite part was, most of them replied "I liked the whole thing!" A big thanks to Carolyn and Krista for coming in to share these fun activities with the class.
I also want to give a HUGE thank you to Stephanie Lee for organizing our latest field trip to the show, ImaginOcean, and to all of the parents who were involved. It was a great show, from the black lights, to the neon puppets and music. Everyone had a fabulous time and everything worked out very well considering the last minute planning. Thanks to everyone for being so flexible.
Some of the other activities going on in our class have been finger-printing caterpillars, cooking strawberry soup, building high car ramps using blocks (the kids noticed the sharper the incline, the faster the car goes!), picnics in the classroom and on the playground, and experimenting with cornstarch and water.
Lastly, I'm sure you all got to see the pictures from Picture Day! They came out great-- Just a reminder to bring in your order ASAP. Also, drum day has been rescheduled to a later date due to the damage from the rain storm.
Enjoy your weekend, Everyone!
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