Painting Fire Trucks, Grandparents and Special Friends

After watching a slideshow of our recent trip to the fire station, the children drew pictures of their favorite things that they learned from our friends, the firefighters! Some popular favorites were watching the firefighter sliding down the fire pole and sitting in the seat of the big fire engine.

Before painting at the easel, we talked about the different shapes we might use to paint fire trucks, fire fighters or possibly a fire station. The children added ladders, hoses and even sirens on top!

At Circle time, we wrote a thank you note to our friends at the fire station for our wonderful tour. The boys and girls raised their hands to add their own thoughts about what they wanted to say. Then each one of the children signed their name to the note.

Friends worked together to put together a HUGE fire engine floor puzzle. It was a group effort and the children demonstrated patience and respect with their classmates as they shared strategies.

All finished and so PROUD!

Loading dump trucks and front loaders with a mound of modeling clay was a fun activity. First they practiced using their whole hand to unscrew the smiley face container where the modeling clay was stored. Next they pinched off portions of clay and then rolled it to make a mound to load on their trucks.

 Following a recent rain the children dodged large puddles on their way to the library one morning. That afternoon when walking on the sidewalk we observed that the puddles were gone! A child asked, "What happened to the puddles?" So, we began to learn about the magic process of the water cycle! During Exploring last week the ice cubes that were being transferred from bowl to bowl started to melt. We placed the melted ice, which turned into water in the freezer to see what would happen. It froze into a circle of ice. We then took it outside and observed it as it melted once again. Following these observations we read the book, "Earth's Water Cycle" by Robin Nelson.

This week we added new, rich soil to our garden and got it ready for planting!

Then we dug little holes and everyone planted their Marigold seeds and then carefully covered them with soil.

Of course our new little seeds need water to grow, so made sure they had plenty!

In the Exploratorium we each planted Zinnia seeds in little cups, using spoons to transfer the soil into the cup. Then we planted the seeds, gave them a little drink of water and placed them in a sunny window.

Next the children pondered the question of which seeds would sprout first, the ones in the garden or in the cup. We made a bar graph of their choices. The garden is in the lead!

This week the children were each given a large foam letter before coming to Circle. They then found their matching letter on the rug for a spot to sit. They shared the name of their letters with the class and we shared the sound of the letter. The boys and girls have enjoyed singing the "ABC song" and are always noting beginning sounds of words. "Zinnia begins with the letter Z!"

On Friday we were honored to have our Grandparents and special friends visit us. We sang, "It's a Wonderful World" in the theater and then our grandparents and special friends came to see us in the classroom. The boys and girls enjoyed showing them some different activities that they enjoy. The children were so excited and many of them took our guests to the library, the playground, the Exploratorium and even the new Athletic Center! Beautiful beaded hearts made by the children were given to their guests. We are all so happy that they could be with us on such a special day!

Upcoming Dates:

2/3  Shorecrest GALA - New Athletic Center  6:30 PM
2/14 Valentine's Day Party - Exploring Schedule - 9:00 Playground, 10:00 Party - parents needed to assist and read Valentines to children
2/15  Relay for Life Lunch
2/29  Class Pictures
3/9  Spring Break Party - Exploring Schedule - 9:00 Playground, 10:00 Party

Self-Portraits, Transportation and the Fire Station

On black paper, using "construction crayons" the children drew portraits of themselves. After a discussion of of the shapes that we might use to draw ourselves, Mrs. Mundell, drew her self portrait with the help of the ladybugs, adding a stylish dress and of course some jewelry. Then the boys and girls looked at themselves in the mirror as they worked on their own self-portraits.

In the Art Center this week the children enjoyed painting with
tempera cakes of many bright colors. Some of the representational
drawings included houses and a multi-colored elephant trunk.

Finding the matching part to make animals such as zebras, lions and tigers was an exciting new activity this week. The children used this activity with the pairs face up the first time, then turned them over and used their memories to play a matching game! Some of us enjoyed making homes for other zoo and circus animals out of play dough.

This month we have been comparing and contrasting the square and the rectangle. We have been observing them and discussing the ways they are alike and the ways that they are different. Mrs. McIvor introduced us to her special "shape maker." The children recalled different shapes and then used the "shape maker" to make it. As a team they named the characteristics of the shape as they formed it!

 

The Lively Ladybugs enjoyed a very special mystery reader this week. They have become so quick at using the clues to guess who it might be. Our mystery reader read "Where Teddy Bears Come From" by Mark Burgess which we all decided was a FAVORITE!

Numbers, numbers everywhere! The boys and girls have been working on number puzzles, counting to the correct day of the month on the calendar and counting themselves in line in English and Spanish. This week we counted together with Mrs. Samuel's class all the way to 22!

On Wednesday we were off to the St. Petersburg Fire Department! On board the bus the children identified many types of transportation vehicles on the way. Once there we were greeted by several friendly firefighters and watched a fire safety movie learning how to keep ourselves safe in case of fire. We then took a tour of the fire house, opened the station's "magic doors," watched a fireman slide down the pole, learned about engine and ladder trucks and THEN we all got to sit behind the wheel of a big, red FIRE ENGINE!

We also learned about how the firefighters keep themselves safe when fighting a fire with their protective suits. Seeing and touching the big bell that was located in the very first St. Petersburg Fire Station was a treat. We learned that the firefighters didn't live at the station then but lived close by. When the bell rang they knew they were needed to fight a fire.

During Exploring on Friday the children joined  Mrs. Samuel driving their transportation vehicles around the Shorecrest campus. Then they went to the McShorecrest drive-thru where they received popcorn and juice. The boys and girls enjoyed watching a slideshow while eating their yummy snack. They were delighted seeing themselves and their friends on the screen!

Oh, before departing on their excursion they needed to have a Shorecrest Driver's license! Each child identified the license with their name on it and then drew a picture of themselves on it!

Other activities included making transportation vehicles by dipping different shapes in paint and printing them on their paper. They could choose between a rectangle or square shaped paper!

Using paper plates and crayons the boys and girls made steering wheels! Then they chose a hat, sat down with their steering wheel in their vehicles and drove AWAY!

The children had fun building a huge track for the Brio trains that filled the rug in Ms. Wiltshire's room!

Books Read this Week:
"The Firehouse" by Susan Hood
"School Bus" by Donald Crews
"In the Ocean, In the Coral Reef" by Marianne Berkes
"Over in the Arctic" by Marianne Berkes
"Sailing Off to Sleep" by Linda Ashman

Special Note: The Relay For Life Lunch will be held on January 15th. There will be a hot dog lunch or the children may bring their own bag lunch. There will be no SAGE lunch on that day.

Away We Go!

In the book "Away We Go" by Rebecca Dotlich the children learned about all of the many different types of transportation that we use and how they are all so unique. Then they used colorful squares, rectangles, ovals, circles, diamond and triangle shapes to make fire trucks, space ships, trucks and helicopters. Some children created vehicles with very special characteristics that they couldn't wait to share. It was fascinating as we observed our creative minds at work!

Designing detailed tunnels and bridges with curved wooden blocks was really fun especially when they were complete and we could travel through and over them with our many transportation vehicles.

Small cylinder blocks represented the many people waiting for the train that would be arriving shortly.

Creating roadways and finding just the right location for gas stations, road signs, bridges and construction sites has been a favorite activity. Boats traveled by water and the airplanes were arriving at the local airport. It was quite a busy place!

Many cars entered the parking garage which even had an elevator that was often crowded and spent a lot of time going from floor to floor. We discovered it was a form of transportation, TOO!

Some of us, weary from traveling enjoyed a cup of tea in Housekeeping. Mom even had enough change to buy us a little snack, too. It was such a long trip!

Alpha and JK enjoyed a special visit from author, Mariannne Berkes. She shared her book, "In the Ocean, In the Coral Reef." We learned that the illustrations in her book were photographs of sea creatures that the illustrator had made out of clay. The colors and details were beautiful and we loved the story!

In the beginning of our new month and new year, January 2012, at lunchtime the boys and girls have been finding their name card on the lunch table before going to get their own lunch or lunch box!! How exciting! There has been much discussion of letters and beginning sounds of their classmates names. Now letters seem to be popping up everywhere, even in the Legos.

In Music Mrs. McIvor and the children were lost in the ocean and had to determine what type of vehicle they would need to get back to Shorecrest.  They decided a boat would be best, and so they all rowed their boats back to school while singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat!"

At the easel the children painted brightly colored snowmen. They painted three circles or ovals for it's head and body and then added hats, scarves, buttons and faces. Some had arms and legs and a beautiful snow scene all around them.

 

Our themes this week for Exploring were Circus, Firefighters and Winter. In the circus room the children dressed up in costumes and walked the high wire.

The children learned to juggle scarves or toss them back and forth to a friend. It was challenging, but they caught on quickly.

Face painting was a definite highlight during the Circus festivities. Tigers and butterflies were everywhere and delightfully admired themselves in the mirror!

Tossing animals into the "Rectangle of Doom" to land in the bucket was a favorite for many!

In the winter wonderland the boys and girls used handled ice tongs to transfer ice cubes from bowl to bowl.

Snowflake stamps were dipped in pastel paints to make snowflakes on black banner paper. Then the children sprinkled glitter on top making a beautiful snowy scene!

Firefighters rescued people from fire with their big ladders and fully equipped trucks!

Important dates to remember:
1/18  Field trip to Fire Station
1/20  Exploring
1/27  Grandparents Day
2/3  The Big Event - New Athletic Center
2/9  Parent Teacher Conference
2/14  Valentine's Day Party - We will need parents to assist at party and read children's valentines to them.
2/17  No School - Teacher Inservice Day
2/20  President's Day - Holiday

Please email me about your desired conference time for Thursday Feb. 9th. You may also call me after school. My email is nmundell@shorecrest.org. THANK YOU!