We had quite a rainy week last week, which means there was a lot of extra time spent in our classroom. We had to figure out ways to make the most of our energy that would otherwise be expended running around on the playground. So, during the start of our week, we conducted our own music class. We had Tyler on the harmonica and the rest of the gang shaking along with their egg-shakers (similar to maracas with out the handle). After rocking out, they got to show off their dance moves to the sounds of the Beatles and each had a turn in the center of our circle. I think many of them have been strongly influenced by the NYC break-dancing we often see on our sidewalks. Just check out the pictures when you get a chance.
The kids had a chance to check out some very colorful squash this week from the Union Square Farmer's Market. They noticed that some are orange, yellow or green, long or round, or striped or spotted. Squash come in many different variations... just like us!
As I mentioned last week in the blog, we have added a new and very important aspect to our day-JOBS!! The kids have been doing so well at making sure they're doing their specified job for the day, and they even check up on their friends to make sure they're doing their job, too. I'd have to say that the current job of choice is the "1-2-3, eyes on me!" helper. Sarah suggested we have a cockroach checker, but I had to do my best to assure the children that there are (hopefully) no cockroaches hiding under our rug.
Joshua brought in a mystery-bag from his recent trip to the beach, and all of the kids had a fun time guessing what was inside. Emma thought there was a princess inside, Leo thought there may be a sandcastle, and Dylan thought there may be cupcakes inside. Wishful thinking, I suppose. It was actually full of pinecones he collected on the beach, and decided to share them with his classmates. Some of them wanted to work together to make a pinecone mural, which is hanging over the easle. They also made individual paintings during a visit from Joshua's dad. Paul and Josh showed them cool new ways to use a pinecone, and they learned that painting doesn't necessarily have to be done with a paintbrush. They all got to experiement with this new art material by dipping, rolling, dabbing and scratching their paper, and came up with really beautiful pieces.
We also had some other special visitors this week to celebrate Tyler's birthday. His mom, Diana, and sister, Olivia, came in to read "Where the Wild Things Are", and to enjoy homemade oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies. Tyler got a lot of Birthday hugs from his friends, and everyone got to have fun pretending they were "Wild Things" with Diana as she read the story.
On Wednesday, on their way back to the classroom from the playground, the kids were pleasantly surprised with a classroom full of silky spiderwebs. They loved exploring the texture and the elasticity, especially. Many enjoyed crawling under and through it, getting tangled in it, and then figuring a way out of it. They also knew that, if they want to keep the webs up in our classroom, they can't tug on it too hard!! We've still got the webs up. Needless to say, they did an awesome job.
During mathgames this week, we learned about weight using our scale, which is along the same lines as our previous more than/less than conversations from previous weeks. If one side of the scale contains more weight, it will move closer to the ground. If both sides have equal/the same/balanced weight, each side of the scale will be the same distance from the ground. The kids got to use the scales on their own to test their knowledge on how to balance objects, and to discover what happens when you add or take away objects from either side.
Towards the end of our week, the kids voted on whether we should cook the acorn, butternut or spaghetti squash. We had 7 votes for butternut, 10 for spaghetti, and 5 for acorn. We have 17 kids in our class, so you'll notice we're still getting the hang of the '1 vote per person' deal. After selecting the spaghetti squash, we talked about what the inside might look like. Spaghetti was the unanimous response. One person took it a bit further and mentioned meatballs, too. We let the squash cook to soften it up before cutting it. After it was cut, they were able to observe the inside and proved their hypothesis was right, but rather than meatballs, there were actually seeds. Other words and phrases used to describe it were "trees" and "a bathtub with lots of toys". Each of the kids had a chance to smell the squash, add a pinch of cinnamon or sugar, and then eat it. They ALL tried at least a bite, and most of them liked it. YAYE! Here are some of the reactions they had:
It smells like...
Emma- "A pancake"
Julia C.- "A cupcake"
Dylan- "Syrup"
Sarah- "Chicken and corn"
Greta- "Spaghetti"
Darby- "Shells"
It tastes like...
Tyler- "I don't like it"
Eva C.- "A banana"
Eva Y.- "Leaves"
Sarah- "Cinnamon"
Some of the stories we read this week were "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and "The Very Busy Spider". While reading "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", some of the kids were angered to hear that a huge pancake fell on the shcool, and the school had to close! They thought, if that ever happened to us, we would have to eat our way out, or a helicopter would have to lift the pancake off. Some kids decided they would run away really fast instead.
Reading "The Very Busy Spider" posed a different kind of dilema. The last page had been ripped out of the book. ARG! But, have no fear, the kids used this as an opportunity to make up their own endings. Many of them were familiar with the story, but they still had fun with originality. Darby decided the owl was going to eat the spider web. Dylan thought the spider left his web for all of the birds to see, and Julia C. thought the spider fell asleep in her web.
The last thing we did on our wet Friday afternoon was have a little scavenger hunt. The teachers turned out the lights while hiding the pretend cakes from dramatic play, and each child had a chance to find one. They had a lot of fun with this mystery game and did an awesome job with no peeking!!! For the last round, some of the kids had a turn hiding the cakes for the teachers. They must've played this game before because, I'll admit, we had to ask for a hint. Although, I'm sure you know that asking a 3 or 4 year old for a hint always results in them telling you exactly where it is, but we all had a lot of fun anyway.
Next week, we will be cooking some more squash- either acorn or butternut. I'd like to take a trip to Central Park because we weren't able to go last week due to the rain. We shall see how the weather holds up. Also, Janet is going to be doing a science experiment with the kids that will involve paper towel or toilet paper tubes. If you have any, don't throw them away-- I have a box in the classroom by the sink for you to drop them off in. Lastly, I want to thank those of you who have been signing up for snack. So wonderful!!! Please, please, please be sure to sign up. We've had snacks such as fresh date-bread, yogurt, melon, strawberries and pirate's booty, which are all much better than pretzles and graham crackers. Thanks!!
I'll see you during the week,
Amanda
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Spooks and Space
While we've still been pretending to be trick-or-treaters and spooky ghosts, outer-space chatter has been creeping into our classroom. It all started with a Venus sighting earlier this week by one of our classmates. We learned our 9 (or 8 if you don't count poor Pluto) planets, and discovered that, since Earth is a planet and all planets are in space, that means we are in space, too! On Friday, the children learned that, at 7:31 AM that morning, scientists set out for a "moon crash" in search for H20. When asked, what could happen if there is water on the moon, some replied "maybe it rained" or "maybe there's an alligator!" We took those thoughts further and concluded that, if water is needed for all living things here on Earth, then maybe there are life forms on the Moon... There's some food for thought. Some of the kids also brought back space books from the library and have been turning various objects into rocket-ships. I'd be on the look-out for a space curriculum.
We have been going letter crazy this week. The kids love using white-boards, chalk boards, markers and magnadoodles to practice the letters we've been learning during our morning meetings. We have been digging through the sand to find and recognize hidden letters, and some used the letters they found to make some yummy alphabet soup. The kids have been starting to learn how to determine the spelling of words by listening to the different sounds. I was amazed when we did the letter Q together on Wednesday. They came up with words like squeal, squirt, quilt, queen and quit. Q is a tough letter!!
The open-ended materials have finally been getting some action this week. Our collection of Central Park's natural materials have been used in conjunction with the styrofoam box, egg cartons and paper towel tubes to make what many of the kids are calling a castle, but we can make it/call it anything we'd like. Now we are in the process of trying to figure out where to put it or what we should do with it... any ideas??
The children have really peen expressing a particular interest in music and songs. Some have been improvising lyrics, and some have been changing words to songs we already know, such as "Twinkle twinkle, little diamond" and "5 little pumpkins" vs. "5 little ghosts". I asked them if they wanted to sing 5 little ghosts on Friday, and they all pleaded "NOO" in unison... I think we've tired it out. Even so, they love being given the opportunity to perform in front of their friends and teachers, whether it's using their vocals, dancing or shaking their maracas! We encourage musical influences (or any influences) from home to carry over to the classroom. It gives the kids a great opportunity to teach their friends new things about themselves, to learn about diversity, and to feel proud of themselves. And, while I'm on the subject, I hope your kids have been coming home to teach you how to say "STOP!" when someone is doing something we don't like. We did some role-playing this week to help develop a sense of empowerment in the children, and it's also just as important to listen to someone who is telling us to stop as it is making sure we're standing up for ourselves. We've also practiced how to give a good hug through role-play... so precious.
We have posted the class rules in the classroom, which the kids will actually refer to throughout the day. Make sure you ask them to show you. They also came up with some classroom jobs, which is a great way to teach them responsibility. Next week, we'll start to assign jobs to everyone. Don't be too surprised when they come home excited about being the "pillow fluffer".
By next week, we will have pumpkins, gourds and other various squash to observe and maybe use to cook or carve (under close teacher supervision). We will be taking another trip to Central Park to witness first hand how nature is continuing to change. It is so important for our city kids to get as close to nature as possible. On October 22nd we will be taking a trip to Dr. Davies Farm in Congers, NY to go apple picking. It is about 45 minutes outside the city by school bus, which always seems to be the best part of the field-trip for the kids. I will be e-mailing 4 families shortly about joining us as chaperones. Remember, we are going on four field trips so everyone will have the opportunity to chaperone.
Have a great 3 day weekend, and keep your ears open for space talk, classroom jobs and squash. There have also been Halloween Party ideas brewing, and you'd probably be invited...
Amanda
p.s. thanks to all who responded to my e mails. All and any input is always appreciated. I love hearing from you guys, whether in the classroom or via e-mail.
We have been going letter crazy this week. The kids love using white-boards, chalk boards, markers and magnadoodles to practice the letters we've been learning during our morning meetings. We have been digging through the sand to find and recognize hidden letters, and some used the letters they found to make some yummy alphabet soup. The kids have been starting to learn how to determine the spelling of words by listening to the different sounds. I was amazed when we did the letter Q together on Wednesday. They came up with words like squeal, squirt, quilt, queen and quit. Q is a tough letter!!
The open-ended materials have finally been getting some action this week. Our collection of Central Park's natural materials have been used in conjunction with the styrofoam box, egg cartons and paper towel tubes to make what many of the kids are calling a castle, but we can make it/call it anything we'd like. Now we are in the process of trying to figure out where to put it or what we should do with it... any ideas??
The children have really peen expressing a particular interest in music and songs. Some have been improvising lyrics, and some have been changing words to songs we already know, such as "Twinkle twinkle, little diamond" and "5 little pumpkins" vs. "5 little ghosts". I asked them if they wanted to sing 5 little ghosts on Friday, and they all pleaded "NOO" in unison... I think we've tired it out. Even so, they love being given the opportunity to perform in front of their friends and teachers, whether it's using their vocals, dancing or shaking their maracas! We encourage musical influences (or any influences) from home to carry over to the classroom. It gives the kids a great opportunity to teach their friends new things about themselves, to learn about diversity, and to feel proud of themselves. And, while I'm on the subject, I hope your kids have been coming home to teach you how to say "STOP!" when someone is doing something we don't like. We did some role-playing this week to help develop a sense of empowerment in the children, and it's also just as important to listen to someone who is telling us to stop as it is making sure we're standing up for ourselves. We've also practiced how to give a good hug through role-play... so precious.
We have posted the class rules in the classroom, which the kids will actually refer to throughout the day. Make sure you ask them to show you. They also came up with some classroom jobs, which is a great way to teach them responsibility. Next week, we'll start to assign jobs to everyone. Don't be too surprised when they come home excited about being the "pillow fluffer".
By next week, we will have pumpkins, gourds and other various squash to observe and maybe use to cook or carve (under close teacher supervision). We will be taking another trip to Central Park to witness first hand how nature is continuing to change. It is so important for our city kids to get as close to nature as possible. On October 22nd we will be taking a trip to Dr. Davies Farm in Congers, NY to go apple picking. It is about 45 minutes outside the city by school bus, which always seems to be the best part of the field-trip for the kids. I will be e-mailing 4 families shortly about joining us as chaperones. Remember, we are going on four field trips so everyone will have the opportunity to chaperone.
Have a great 3 day weekend, and keep your ears open for space talk, classroom jobs and squash. There have also been Halloween Party ideas brewing, and you'd probably be invited...
Amanda
p.s. thanks to all who responded to my e mails. All and any input is always appreciated. I love hearing from you guys, whether in the classroom or via e-mail.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
October 3
Hello Everyone!
Despite the fact that we had a four day week, so many things have been happening in our young 4's classroom. Has anyone been hearing anything about five little ghosts going out to play? With Halloween approaching, ghosts, pumpkins and costumes have been on the minds of many of your children. But, rest assured, we all made sure that everyone knows ghosts are just pretend. And even though we don't actually celebrate Halloween in school, we're still having fun talking to our friends about dressing up in costume to pretend we're something or someone different-- there have been a lot of spooky ghosts wandering around lately...
Some of the kids have also noted not only the change of season, but also the change of month. More and more, we have been learning the days of the week and the order of the months and seasons. The kids learned, to their surprise, the teachers don't actually live in school and are not there on the weekends, either. Crazy thought!!
Anyway, with the change of season and the start of a new month comes many other changes around us. We took a trip to central park to notice some of the things that started falling to the ground, hence the name of our current seasn, FALL! The children collected various types of seeds, sticks and leaves to further investigate in our classroom. Some of the kids have been thinking about other ways to use these natural materials including making a leaf pile, a treehouse, and a leaf monster. We even had a volunteer to be the aparatus for which to glue the leaves on.
We have been continuing to observe with our magnifying glasses, but this week we cut open an apple and a small cactus plant. Those who observed found that the apple contains seeds on the inside-- for others, they were not seeds, but coffee beans. That's my kind of apple :D They also explored the different textures, smells and colors of each, and how they are different on the inside compared to the outside.
With plant disection and Fall on our minds, the kids came up with the idea to cut open a pumpkin to see what is inside. Some think cheese, some think peas, and some think we should use what is inside to make a pumpkin pie. We can eat pumpkin!! It is my intent to explore with your children the many ways in which to eat and use a pumpkin. Ohh, the possibilities.
This week, we introduced a few new specials to our schedule. The kids met our new, fantastic music teacher, Lorna-Beth, and had the opportunity to learn a few new songs, dance, and play with musical instruments. We also began writing in our journals. The kids learned that we can use our journals however we'd like in order to express ourselves. We can write about our feelings, our day, or maybe write about something we like or don't like. We can also draw pictures to show how we feel. The children will be able to reflect in their journals once a week, or more upon their request.
On Friday, we had the chance to use our aprons for the first time. After reading "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" earlier in the week, we got to make our own cinnamon apple muffins. The kids had such a great time adding the ingredients and, of course, mixing them together. Very good fraction exposure, by the way. They will all get a chance to eat and enjoy them for snack on monday. Thank you to Alissa and Gonzalo for your great help.
You can get a sense that mathematical concepts have been creeping into our day in many different ways. During story time, the kids have been voting on which book they would like to read. So, if 12 people want to read book A, and 5 people want to read book B, and all 17 kids in our class voted, how many votes should we have all together? Which book has more votes? Which book has less votes? Or, if there are only 16 votes in total, how many are missing? It is really exciting to see your children begin to grasp the fundamentals of math.
Lastly, our bookshelves are overflowing with your kid's hand made books AND new library books. That means they've done such a great job taking care of their books and they're ready to use our library books again. I'm also pleased to say that the children are very well adjusted to the routine of our day. They are raising their hands with out many reminders, are respectful of others and our classroom, and are really enjoying our jam-packed days. You should all be so proud!!
Have a great rest of the weekend, and I will be uploading more pictures ASAP. An e mail will be sent once they're posted.
Amanda
Despite the fact that we had a four day week, so many things have been happening in our young 4's classroom. Has anyone been hearing anything about five little ghosts going out to play? With Halloween approaching, ghosts, pumpkins and costumes have been on the minds of many of your children. But, rest assured, we all made sure that everyone knows ghosts are just pretend. And even though we don't actually celebrate Halloween in school, we're still having fun talking to our friends about dressing up in costume to pretend we're something or someone different-- there have been a lot of spooky ghosts wandering around lately...
Some of the kids have also noted not only the change of season, but also the change of month. More and more, we have been learning the days of the week and the order of the months and seasons. The kids learned, to their surprise, the teachers don't actually live in school and are not there on the weekends, either. Crazy thought!!
Anyway, with the change of season and the start of a new month comes many other changes around us. We took a trip to central park to notice some of the things that started falling to the ground, hence the name of our current seasn, FALL! The children collected various types of seeds, sticks and leaves to further investigate in our classroom. Some of the kids have been thinking about other ways to use these natural materials including making a leaf pile, a treehouse, and a leaf monster. We even had a volunteer to be the aparatus for which to glue the leaves on.
We have been continuing to observe with our magnifying glasses, but this week we cut open an apple and a small cactus plant. Those who observed found that the apple contains seeds on the inside-- for others, they were not seeds, but coffee beans. That's my kind of apple :D They also explored the different textures, smells and colors of each, and how they are different on the inside compared to the outside.
With plant disection and Fall on our minds, the kids came up with the idea to cut open a pumpkin to see what is inside. Some think cheese, some think peas, and some think we should use what is inside to make a pumpkin pie. We can eat pumpkin!! It is my intent to explore with your children the many ways in which to eat and use a pumpkin. Ohh, the possibilities.
This week, we introduced a few new specials to our schedule. The kids met our new, fantastic music teacher, Lorna-Beth, and had the opportunity to learn a few new songs, dance, and play with musical instruments. We also began writing in our journals. The kids learned that we can use our journals however we'd like in order to express ourselves. We can write about our feelings, our day, or maybe write about something we like or don't like. We can also draw pictures to show how we feel. The children will be able to reflect in their journals once a week, or more upon their request.
On Friday, we had the chance to use our aprons for the first time. After reading "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" earlier in the week, we got to make our own cinnamon apple muffins. The kids had such a great time adding the ingredients and, of course, mixing them together. Very good fraction exposure, by the way. They will all get a chance to eat and enjoy them for snack on monday. Thank you to Alissa and Gonzalo for your great help.
You can get a sense that mathematical concepts have been creeping into our day in many different ways. During story time, the kids have been voting on which book they would like to read. So, if 12 people want to read book A, and 5 people want to read book B, and all 17 kids in our class voted, how many votes should we have all together? Which book has more votes? Which book has less votes? Or, if there are only 16 votes in total, how many are missing? It is really exciting to see your children begin to grasp the fundamentals of math.
Lastly, our bookshelves are overflowing with your kid's hand made books AND new library books. That means they've done such a great job taking care of their books and they're ready to use our library books again. I'm also pleased to say that the children are very well adjusted to the routine of our day. They are raising their hands with out many reminders, are respectful of others and our classroom, and are really enjoying our jam-packed days. You should all be so proud!!
Have a great rest of the weekend, and I will be uploading more pictures ASAP. An e mail will be sent once they're posted.
Amanda
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