Spring, Eric Carle and Insects

Budding flowers and trees have been of interest as we begin the new season of Spring! Leaving the season of Winter behind us the children have been observing signs of Spring outdoors. After identifying the new leaves on the trees to be lime green in color we decided to mix dark green and yellow paint to create this yummy color.

The children drew pictures, made designs and wrote their names after creating their lime green paint.

Recently we have been talking about taking left and right turns as we walk around our campus. Distinguishing between our left and right hands for saying the Pledge of Allegiance and learning dances in Music class with Mrs. McIvor helped the children when matching the correct hand to their lime green hand prints before cutting them into a leaf shape.

 

The boys and girls practiced a proper hand shake with Mrs. Gootson using their right hand. They also followed her directions by alternating their left and right hands to touch their toe, shake their leg and many other fun things!

 

In Music class with Mrs. McIvor walking under and over the"limbo stick" was tons of fun as they carefully maneuvered their bodies so they would not touch the stick!

Reading the book "On Beyond Bugs and Other Insects" by Tish Rabe was the perfect introduction to the world of insects. The children enjoyed solving large insect floor puzzles and then marveling at their many unique characteristics.

Tracing butterfly stencils and filling their wings with beautiful colors was a popular activity!

A new discovery this week....the art center table was empty!!!! The boys and girls were able to chose markers, crayons, dotters, rainbow crayons, cray-pas, torn paper, sequins, glue or whatever they liked from the art shelf to create their work of art! Several children decided that they would like to make something for a classmate and used their name cards to help write their names.

Leaves were gathered from the outdoors to make leaf paintings. Instead of a paint brush the boys and girls dipped different leaves into green and yellow paint to create interesting paintings

 

Building with unit blocks has been a popular activity in the Exploratorium this week. 

So much time and planning had gone into building that the Alpha teachers decided to leave their structures up all week so that both classes could work on it each day. The children were so excited and demonstrated respect for each others work.

 

We were so excited to welcome a new "lively ladybug " to our class this week!

 

Identifying number matches was a new activity this week. The children were not only learning their numbers but also how to take turns.

 

During "Sharing" this week the ladybug of the day showed us how she enjoys making "rainbows" with light and glass!

 

Friday's Exploring was busy with many exciting activities. The children painted bricks with rainbows, flowers, insects, sunshine, lines and shapes in bright colors. On the playground the boys and girls will be using them to play with and to add color and personality to their outdoor space!

 

"Have You seen My Cat?", "Draw Me a Star" and "The Very Busy Spider" were some of the books read this week by author Eric Carle. Not only did the children enjoy the stories but special interest was drawn to his illustrations. The children predicted what he might have used to create the different design and texture in his color. So the boys and girls used combs, sponge brushes and scrapers to create their own "Eric Carle" paper!

Then they added glitter and stars to complete their night sky.

Outside the boys and girls made BIG bubbles with large wands!

For snack the children used cookie cutters to cut two triangles from a piece of bread. Next they spread cream cheese onto their triangles. Then they used the two triangles to form a diamond or for the wings of an insect using the extra bread pieces for the head and abdomen.

 In the Exploratorium the children measured the dinosaur this week and he was now only 4 "zitis" long. He continues to become shorter as all of the water he had absorbed is evaporating.

Building with crates and designing walkways has been quite a popular activity on the playground. Learning to work together in their planning and to share play an important part.

NOTE:

The children's yellow bags may be washed and hung to dry. Please remove the outside plastic bag before washing.

Dates to Remember:
3/26-3/30  Theme - SPRING/INSECTS, Color - RAINBOW, Shape - DIAMOND

3/30  Relay For Life

4/5  Field Trip to dentist

Dinosaur Fossils, Dr. Seuss and the Spring Break Party

Wearing Safety goggles the boys and girls hammered away to break open their dinosaur fossils. It took a lot of focus and steady eye hand coordination to break open the plaster of paris fossil they had poured the week before. To discover and touch the fossil just like the archeologists do was quite empowering!

The wonderfully fun author Dr. Seuss was introduced by reading one of his most popular books, "The Cat in the Hat!" The children loved his use of rhyming words and repetition. They caught on very quickly and often filled in the repetitive words and phrases. In the Exploratorium they enjoyed playing with familiar objects to the story such as cakes and rakes inside their "Cat in the Hat" house while rereading the book with a friend.

 Then the children decided that we could make a phone to communicate between the upstairs and downstairs just like the "Cat in the Hat" did! So we connected two paper cups with a long strand of yarn.

 

Others enjoyed Dr. Seuss books under the loft with our new, big cuddly bear named "Soto!"

Playing with little dogs in trees, with ladders and driving in cars was especially fun after reading "Go, Dog, Go," by P. D. Eastman.

Which ball will move faster, the tennis ball or the golf ball? First the children predicted, and then we tested it several times. Next we experimented to see if the balls moved faster in the gutter or the tube. Connecting shorter tubes or gutters at the base of the incline was also quite interesting!

Then in the classroom the boys and girls built structures with foam blocks adding smaller tunnels, inclines and bridges transporting cars and ping pong balls! It was quite interesting to discuss the connection, differences and similarities to the large tubes and gutters.

Contemplating the number and counting goldfish crackers was a fun for snack after enjoying another Dr. Seuss book, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish!"

 Patterning, pairing by color and sorting kept the lively Ladybugs busy until they just had to gobble those little goldfish up!

 On Wednesday we were honored to have Shorecrest American Red Cross student volunteers come to teach us about Water Safety and Disease Prevention.

The boys and girls learned about the importance of thorough hand washing to prevent sickness by having pretend germs placed on their hands. Then they chose different familiar songs to sing when washing while learning how to thoroughly wash. Next each child checked their hands under a black light. If there were any little germs remaining they had to wash their hands again. What a great lesson.

The children identified pictures of children who were using appropriate water safety rules and then discussed the best flotation devices and WHY.

 

The Alpha students were entertained at a performance by the Upper Division students in Mr. Leavengood's class. "Oranges and Lemons" an old English song about the bells in London talking to each other across the city, "Soldier, Soldier Won't You Marry Me," "The Adventures of Isabel" and "The Marvelous Toy" were some of the highlights.

The Spring Break Party was quite a hit with green eggs and ham for a snack, finding our initials amidst the corn cob in the sensory table and throwing socks in the boxes using our best aim!

""My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss associated color to the ways that we might feel on different days. The boys and girls painted their own body tracing the color or colors that they chose. Next they added the same color of feathers, buttons and other objects to match their chosen color.

Decorating their Dr. Seuss hats with letters, flowers and dinosaurs was quite fun and then the children wore them at the party.

The obstacle course was really a challenge walking the incline, jumping and chosing to climb over or go through the tire.

 And of course balancing plates, cups and cakes was a treat, and some of us did almost as well as that old "Cat in The Hat" himself1

The boys and girls couldn't believe their eyes when they saw a real tiger and a McCaw that were visitors to Shorecrest.