Monday, March 31, 2014

Things that go by Air

Today was our first day talking about things that go by air! The kids were so excited to start talking about transportation! During morning circle we made a chart with things that go on the road, on the water and in the air. It was also a special day because it was Jack D's birthday!
Our story today was "Everything Goes in the Air" by Brian Biggs. It was a story about a family going to the airport and taking a trip. It shared different kinds of planes....big planes, little planes, planes that land on the runway and planes that land on the water. We also learned the the Wright brothers built the first airplane and it flew for the first time in North Carolina! The book explained the different parts of the plane and showed us what was inside the airplane. After reading the story the kids shared their own experiences inside an airport or airplane. We labeled a picture of an airplane. Airplanes have wings, wheels, windows, a tail and engines/propellers. The kids made a list of things airplanes can do...fly, land on the runway, carry packages, people and suitcases.



For science we tested 4 different paper airplanes to see which one would go the furthest. The teachers each threw an airplane. The orange airplane flew the farthest distance. The white airplane flew in the air the longest. The pink airplane flew the shortest distance. The kids each picked their favorite airplane to fly.


For art we made something else that has a propeller and flies in the air....a helicopter! First the kids colored their paper. Then they listened and followed a series of directions on how to fold the paper to make a helicopter. After the helicopters were finished we took them over to the carpet and practiced them flying to the ground. The kids loved it!

During writing today the kids practiced lowercase h. We also wrote a fact about planes in our journals. The kids looked through airplane books while they waited to have a turn. After eating lunch we sang happy birthday to Jack D and he handed out stickers to all the kids in the class.

Tomorrow is suppose to be another beautiful day. Maybe we will be able to eat lunch in the park.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Honey Bees

Today was our last day learning about insects that fly. During our morning circle we talked about March almost being over and April being our next month. The kids continued the ABAC pattern and identified numbers 11-30. We skip counted by 10's, 5's and learned how to skip count by 2's. After reviewing the consonant and vowel sounds we blended words ending in -en. We read hen, Ben, ten, pen, men and den. Before heading outside we practiced our everyday words and added "I", "to" and "like" to our list to help us with the story sent home in the homework folders.
Our story today was "The Bumblebee Queen" by April Sayre. The story explained the life of the queen bee. The queen laid eggs inside the beehive. Once they eggs hatched they were little larvae and didn't have wings. They spun a cocoon and when the bees came out of the cocoon they had wings and looked like a bee. After reading the story we learned that bees are also important because they make honey. The kids helped sequence the steps to make honey. First the bees collect nectar from flowers. Then they carry the nectar in their socks back to the beehive. The bees put the nectar inside a honeycomb. They use their wings to help dry the nectar. Then they cover the honeycomb with wax so the nectar can turn into honey.





For art today the kids made a beehive. We painted bubble wrap yellow and pressed it onto the paper to make the beehive and honeycombs. Next the kids used a finger and yellow ink to make little bee bodies around the beehive. We use a black marker to draw black stripes, antennae and wings.
During writing today we practiced writing lowercase "d". The kids also wrote a fact about bees in their journals. Before eating lunch we had show and tell. The kids loved sharing what they brought from home. We ended the day with bee songs and watching real bees and bee keepers.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Bumble Bees

This morning there were flowers in the touch and feel pool. We smelled them, counted the petals and looked for the pollen in the middle. There were black and yellow pom poms in the pool and we pretended those were bumble bees. During morning circle we reviewed the letters were have been talking about...B, D, H, L, S and T.
Our story today was "Grumbly Bee" by Kyle Mewburn. Grumbly Glib was always late. He never managed to fill his socks with pollen...until he found a secret garden in the city filled with flowers. One night while Glib was away in his secret garden, a terrible frost wiped out the other garden and the poor bees were in trouble because they couldn't get enough to eat. Glib saved the day and showed the bees where to find his secret garden. After reading the story we made a chart of things bees have and can do. Bees have 6 legs, 2 antennae, 2 wings, and a stinger. They can fly, make honey, fill their socks with pollen and sting.
Ms. Gretchen and friends were here today for music. We sang all about insects! The kids identified different insects in a modified version of Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me while playing egg shakers. We also sang Busy Bumblebee and the kids each had a turn to shake the bumble bee shaker and walk around the circle. We sang an insect song and took turns using the boomwackers. Ms. Gretchen taught us In the Spring Time to the tune of "In the Jungle" from Lion King. We put different insects inside our bug catcher as we sang the song.





For art today we made a bumble bee. In the morning the kids made the bee body using their hand. We painted their hands black and yellow to create the body of the bee and let it dry. Once we glued the body to the paper we added a head and wings. The kids drew 6 legs onto the bee body. We added 2 antennae and 2 eyes. Then the kids wrote the word bee on their paper.
Tomorrow we are going to continue to talk about bees, pollen and honey. We will also play board games and have show and tell!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Flies

This morning in the touch and feel pool was different colored yarn. The kids lined up the yarn from shortest to longest. We also used the yarn to make upper and lower case letters. During morning circle the kids met the occupational therapist assistant interns Ms. Kelly, Ms. Kristin and Ms. Stephanie that will be working with us on Wednesdays. We reviewed the letter H and practiced identifying words that rhyme.

Ms. Abby was here today...and the kids were so excited to see her! It was too cold to go outside so we practiced running and jumping inside. After we warmed up our bodies we practiced jumping through hoops. Then the kids completed an obstacle course. They jumped over and crawled under hurdles then hopscotched to the finish line. The last activity was a relay race. The kids first had to run with a bean bag and then they had to hop.
Our story today was "Shoo, Fly Guy" by Tedd Arnold. Fly Guy and Buzz are friends. When Buzz goes on a picnic, Fly Guy tries to find some food because he is very hungry. But he can’t seem to find his favorite type of food. And whenever he finds something that might work, he is shooed away. He finally finds Buzz at the end of the story and eats Shoo Fly Pie. After reading the story we made a chart with facts we learned about flies. Flies like to eat food that is brown, lumpy, stinky and oozy. We thought of different food that would fit in each category. Our book was also a beginning chapter book...so we talked about Chapter One being the beginning of the story, Chapter Two was the middle of the story and Chapter Three was the end of the story.





For art the kids made a big fly. First they glued the fly body with 3 body parts to the paper. Next the kids glued two wings onto the fly body. We added yarn in the middle of the wings to make them colorful. Then the kids added two big eyes and antennae to the fly.

We finished the day singing songs about insects and flies. Tomorrow we will start talking about bees...our last insect of the month.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Ladybugs

This morning the kids ripped pieces of red paper and squished them into little tiny balls. This was a big help to get ready for our art project later in the day...plus our fingers got a workout. During morning circle we talked about the letter H and identified words that start with the /h/ sound. We also talked about rhyming and the kids practiced identifying words that rhyme.
Ms. Michelle came today! For our first activity the kids had to select an animal card and act it out. Then they jumped on 4 circles and across bubble wrap. Next they picked up an stuffed animal with special scissor tongs and carried it to the big green circle. Finally the rode the scooter on their belly back to the start line. Then Ms. Michelle had the kids used wiki sticks to make a person. First we made a round circle for the head. Next we added hair to our person. Then we added two arms and two legs by folding the wiki sticks in half. Finally we added hands and feet. After our person was finished the kids used the wiki  sticks to make the first letter of their name.

LITTLE BUGGY by Kevin O'Malley 
Our story today was "Little Buggy" by Kevin O'Malley.  In the story Little Buggy wanted to learn to fly. Daddy Buggy tried to teach him but he kept falling. Little Buggy didn't give up and kept trying....finally he was able to fly! After reading the story we described and labeled a ladybug. They are insects so they have 6 legs, 2 antennae, and two eyes. They also have a hard outer shell and wings. 





For art today the kids made a ladybug. We used all the information we learned during language circle to help us make the ladybug. First we glued our red scrunched up paper on the hard outer shell. Then we added black dots to the ladybugs back. Next we drew 2 antennae and 6 legs. Finally we added 2 eyes. They looked fantastic! 

We ended the day singing songs about insects after lunch. The kids loved the ladybug song!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Butterflies!

This morning we sorted different objects by color and size. There were types of fruit, animals and dinosaurs. The kids also used different color links to make patterns. For morning circle we continued our ABAC pattern and practiced identifying numbers 11-30. The kids practiced the vowel circle and blend words that end in -un. We read bun, fun, nun, sun, run, and spun. At the end of circle time we read our Everyday Words.
Our story today was "I'm a Caterpillar" by Jean Marzollo. It told the story of metamorphosis. After reading the story we talked about the four stages. First, there are small butterfly eggs. Then, the eggs hatch and they are caterpillars. Next, the caterpillar make a chrysalis. Finally, a butterfly flies out from the chrysalis. The kids also talked about the similarities and differences between a caterpillar and a butterfly using a venn diagram.






For art today we made the butterfly life cycle using different kids of noodles. First, we used small round noodles to make the eggs on the leaf. Next, we used a spiral noddle to make the caterpillar eating the green leaf. Then, we used a shell noodle to make the chrysalis hanging from a branch. Finally, we used a bow tie noodle to make the butterfly drinking the nectar from the flower. After illustrating each stage with noodles the kids helped label each part of the metamorphosis.

During writing centers today the kids practiced writing a lower case d. They also wrote a fact about butterflies in their journals. While waiting their turn they wrote sight words in all lower case letters.
After eating lunch we watched a video about the butterfly life cycle. We also sang a song about metamorphosis.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Metamorphosis

This morning we talked about the calendar and practiced skip counting. We focused on the letter H today. The kids brainstormed words that start with the /h/ sound...happy, hot, hug, heart, house and head.
Ms. Michelle was here today. The kids were very excited to see her and hear she was feeling better. We started with an obstacle course. They crawled through the long blue tunnel, climbed over the pillows, across the bump steps and over the big tire. Then the kids worked in the sensory tube. They searched for "candles" to complete their birthday cakes. We also connected different shapes to make necklaces and trains.
The Crunching Munching Caterpillar
Our story was "The Crunching Munching Caterpillar" by Sheridan Cain. Hungry Caterpillar crunches and munches his way through the leaves, while his friends Bumblebee, Sparrow and Butterfly are flying high in the sky soaring and swooping. Caterpillar wishes for nothing more than to fly! Butterfly has a secret and encourages Caterpillar to take a nap. After his long, deep sleep through the winter and his dreams of soaring in the blue sky above the trees and drifting toward the sun, Caterpillar awakens to find that his dreams have come true! After reading the story we outlined the life cycle of a butterfly. A butterfly starts as an egg, grows to be a caterpillar, then make a chrysalis and finally turns into a butterfly.
The kids practiced the metamorphosis. The acted out each stage of the butterfly life cycle. We also practiced saying metamorphosis..since it is such a big word!
For art today we made a caterpillar that could turn into a butterfly. First we used a clothes pin and glued pom pom to make the caterpillars body. Next we added two eyes to the caterpillar. Finally we decorated butterfly wings to be bright and sparkly. When the caterpillar crawls into a chrysalis it becomes a butterfly!

Next week will we learn all about bugs that fly....bees, lady bugs, and flies!