I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Before our Christmas Break, the students enjoyed our Grinch themed party and a visit from Santa.

Not only did we start a new year, we started our new study about buildings. This study features five investigations that we will explore.  The investigations offer children an opportunity to learn more about the characteristics and features of buildings, the people who build them, and the role buildings play in our communities.  Each investigation will help children explore science and social studies and strengthen their skills in literacy, math, technology, and the arts. This week the boys and girls worked together in groups to build a city. They used legos, blocks, and magna-tiles.

One of our focus questions was, “Which would you use to build your house: straw, sticks, or bricks?”  Each student had a chance to vote and tell the class what material they would use and why. We tallied our answers and then read the book, The Three Little Pigs.  After reading the story, we discussed each house and the definition of the word “collapse.”  

After the boys and girls observed 2 boxes with different items in them, I asked “Which has more, the box with the beads or the box with the bears.”  Each student recorded their answer by placing a mark under beads or bears. We then counted the items to see whose prediction was correct.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving break and our Thanksgiving reenactment.

WHICH HAS MORE

I had three bags, one filled with acorns, one with sticks, and one with leaves. I asked the boys and girls “Which has more?” We made a chart with the three items and each child voted for the bag that had the most in it. Afterwards, we counted the items in each bag. The bag of acorns had the most. We discussed how the bag didn’t look very full but it had the most in it. We also talked about how small the acorns were and we could put more in the bag. At home have your child fill 2 bags with items from trees and then play our game “Which has more?” Adults play a significant role in helping children to learn mathematical vocabulary, concepts, and process skills. If children are to develop the knowledge needed for later formal learning, they need frequent practice with materials in play settings and adult-guided activities that include meaningful discussions and applications.

Story Problems

Using trees and a nest that we made, we acted out story problems. Through everyday experiences and planned learning activities, young children begin to construct understandings about the number operations of separating (subtracting). Taking away is a common separating operation that makes a collection smaller and answers the question “How many are left?” Children can often solve subtraction problems before they can solve addition problems.

3 Buzzing Bees were buzzing around the hive. 1 Buzzed away, how many are still near the hive?

4 Little birds were sitting in their nest, 3 Flew away, how many are in the nest? 1 sad little bird.

The Very Hungry Squirrel!

The boys and girls were full of excitement as they rolled the dice to see how many acorns they could feed the Squirrel. When we play games as a group, they are learning to cooperate and share with others. The foundation skills for being a productive member in a social and learning group is established during the early childhood years, and they are important for early school success.

What a great way to end our clothing unit! The children paraded down the stage showing off their Halloween attire. Afterwards, we sang Halloween songs and had a party with food, crafts, and games. This was a day I’ll always remember.

YOU’VE BEEN BOOED!

Each student had a chance to reach into our boo box full of bats.  If they pulled out a bat with a number, the kids would flap their wings to correspond with the number.  If the bat says boo, that child has to fly around the rug like a bat. Everyone loved chanting “ you’ve been booed.” as they flew by.

With our rhythm sticks, we tapped to the beat of Halloween songs.  The children had to hold their sticks in a resting position as we waited for different songs to start.  Children respond to rhythm sticks, shakers, and other instruments with instinctive enthusiasm. They literally celebrate life with a bang!  When we use rhythm instruments in the context of songs, stories, and musical games, children develop an awareness of rhythm, phrasing, tempo, and other elements of musicality.  It’s an incredible joy to see children discover the music within themselves. 

 “HIPPITY HOPPITY, HOW MANY?”

As I shook my closed fist, we chanted “Hippity Hoppity, How Many?”  Then I would quickly hold up fingers on each hand and have the children count the combined number of fingers.  They would then show me the answer by holding up the corresponding number. Young children must learn to connect quantities with written numbers.  Displaying numerals with representations of their quantities helps children associate the amount with the numeral. What a fun way to learn numbers!  Each student couldn’t wait for their chance to be the leader.

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch! Everyone enjoyed a story and pumpkin bread. They also had a chance to pick out their own pumpkin to take home.

BUTTON PATTERNS 

The ability to recognize and create patterns help us make predictions based on our observations; this is an important skill in math. Understanding patterns help prepare children for learning complex number concepts and mathematical operations. The children worked together in pairs to create their own button pattern

SEWING CIRCLE

After discussing how people make clothes we formed our own sewing circle. This activity helps with fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination. Using a needle and thread the boys and girls created their own bat for Halloween.

This week we discussed how to make friends and keep them. We also made a digital book about friendships called "A Circle of Friends". After we wrote the story, the children took photos and we incorporated them into our book. On the computer, the children watched as I typed each child's part of the story. Young children's concept of print is a good predictor of later reading, writing, and spelling ability.

YOU'VE GOT MAIL

What did the letter say to the stamp? "Stick with me and you'll go places".

 Since we are learning about friendships, I had the children make postcards for their classmates in our new Post Office. We discussed why we give cards to others and how it feels to receive a card. Using markers, colors, and stickers the boys and girls decorated their postcards. When they were done we discussed how the postal system works, from the mailbox to the sorting office to the letter which arrives at their mailbox. After sorting our mail by names, the children delivered postcards to the student's cubby. We also sent real postcards through our school mailbox so friends could receive them at home. Having a post office dramatic play area in our classroom offers a variety of opportunities for working together, writing and sending notes and learning how mail is delivered. While our students are sorting, transporting, and sending packages, they are building language skills while working and playing together.

We had a special visit from the Fire Department and they taught the children about fire safety. Preston had a race with one of the Firefighters to see who could get ready first. It was wonderful to hear the children cheer him on. What a Great visit!

September is Hunger Awareness month and we wanted to help. Each child decorated a box to collect food. We placed the 21 boxes around campus to encourage people to donate. I’m proud to say we filled all 21 boxes. This is twice the amount from last year.