Bread and Bistro!
10/26/2019
For many people, the aroma of freshly baked bread evokes pleasant childhood memories. From a very young age, children may be offered a variety of types of bread from pancakes for breakfast to sandwiches for lunch. This week, we explored bread. A study of bread provides students with an opportunity to learn about how bread is made, the kinds of bread we eat, and who works with bread. During morning meeting, the students discussed their favorite types of bread and the breads they like to bake at home. We talked about the colors, textures and shapes of different breads as well. The students used play doh and play doh cutters to create their favorite types of bread. During this activity, the students enhanced fine motor skills, developed hand-eye coordination and used their creativity. They also worked on their social skills as they asked questions, listened and talked about their creations. Dramatic play is an extremely valuable part of the creative curriculum. It promotes communication skills. Our dramatic play area was transformed into a Bread and Bistro. The students enjoyed role playing as the baker, the waiter/waitress, and as customers. We discussed the job responsibilities of waiters and bakers. We also practiced communicating kindly with each other by using our manners. The children were encouraged to choose their words wisely so that others will understand exactly what it is they are trying to communicate. When children come together in a dramatic play experience, they have to agree on a topic, negotiate roles, and cooperate to bring it all together. We practiced writing the letter B and played several literacy games to learn its sound. The students also enjoyed playing the sandwich menu shop game in our math center. In this game, the students looked at a menu and counted out the correct number of ingredients to make the sandwich. After playing this game, students were able to recognize numbers and count with understanding. New experiences can not only be fun, but they also encourage children to get out of their comfort zone. We ended the short week by taste testing banana and pumpkin bread. The students used their senses to see, smell, touch and taste different breads. Each child documented their favorite type of bread and we created a bar graph as a class to show the tastiest bread! This activity was also a great lesson on trying new things. Many students were reluctant to try the pumpkin bread. However, they enjoyed it after tasting it. By trying new food the children broadened their comfort zones which will ultimately lead to accepting new challenges and experiences.
Orcas in Space!
10/19/2019
As children get older, they begin to think about things beyond their surroundings. They often wonder about the sky and what’s beyond it. This week, we had a blast learning about Outer Space! We talked about galaxies, planets, the moon, and stars. The children worked together to build rocket ships in our block center. They strengthened their gross motor and fine motor skills by building complex structures that required balance and hand-eye coordination. Special Guest NASA engineer Ms. Su Curley visited our EK class and showed us how spacesuits consists of several layers and pieces. This interactive experience allowed the students to feel the texture of a space suit. They also had a chance to try on a space helmet and gloves! The students were excited to see real moon rocks. Mr. Rich brought moon rocks, meteors, and moon soil to show the class. The children were thrilled to hold a piece of the moon! After talking about the Milky Way Galaxy, we made galaxy slime for our sensory table. The students worked together to measure exact ingredients to make slime. We learned about measuring units including a cup, a tablespoon and a teaspoon. The children added glitter to their slime which represented the stars in the galaxy. The final result was absolutely beautiful! Our little astronauts were curious to know why the moon looked rough and dented. To find answers, we set up a representation of the moon. I filled a tub with flour, baby oil and black glitter which represented the surface of the moon. We talked about how craters on the moon are caused by asteroids and meteors colliding with the lunar surface. The children took turns dropping various sizes of rocks from different heights. They observed the “craters” and concluded that the larger meteors left a larger mark on the surface. We also talked about how the moon is more susceptible to craters from space rocks than the Earth. This is because the Earth's atmosphere will burn most meteorites and asteroids before they come in contact with its surface. However, the moon does not have an atmosphere to protect it! We displayed our galaxy slime and moon sand tubs at the Night at the Space Museum Event on Thursday. The students also created a Rocket Ship display in Art Class which was showcased at the event. Thank you for attending our event and making Space Night a success! Community Helpers!
10/12/2019
From an early age we teach our children to be good citizens. In Early Kindergarten we are learning to cooperate with peers, share, and take part in group activities. This week we learned about different community helpers and how they work together to make the community a better place for everyone. Doctors, nurses, teachers, fire fighters, police officers and engineers all work for the well being of others. Students played in the Dramatic Play Center and dressed up as different community helpers. The students role played as doctors, engineers, firefighters, police officers, chefs and mail carriers. By playing and learning together, the children build their social skills, language skills, and self-control. For our read aloud, we read the story “Look at that Building” by Scott Richie. This story introduces children to basic construction concepts. They learned about foundations, beams, frames and other building fundamentals. We also talked about how engineers, architects, and construction workers come together to build homes, offices, schools and stores. Afterward, the children became construction workers and made buildings of their own. They used their creativity, spicy gum drops and tooth picks to make airports, schools and offices. This activity allowed students to strengthened their fine motor skills as well. It is vital to introduce the concept of community helpers to help children recognize and trust the people who serve and protect us. Many children avoid strangers, as that is generally an important lesson we teach at home and in schools. However, in an emergency situation children will need to recognize and understand that a stranger in a uniform is there to help and bring them to safety. We talked about the different uniforms some community helpers wear. We also talked about fire safety and learned how to stop, drop and roll in case of a fire emergency. The children played a variety of community helper games. We used a white sheet which represented smoke and had each child stop, drop and roll under it. The children build literacy skills and letter recognition while playing the license plate game. They took turns to be the police while the rest of the class were drivers. The students drove their cars around the classroom while the police officer pulled over the drivers and asked them to identify the letter on the ticket. When children interact with community helpers, they learn new vocabulary, ask questions, and gain knowledge about the world around them. The highlight of our week was a visit from some of our parent community helpers! Our first parent talked about her responsibilities as a Civil Engineer. The children were fascinated to see pictures of how utilities are buried under the ground and go into their homes through pipes. Our second parent shared her responsibilities as a Coastal Civil Engineer. She brought in a wonderful hands on display to show the students how engineers work on projects involving coastlines and oceans. Her display helped children understand how engineers protect homes, businesses, and bridges from the risks of coastal flooding. Lastly, the children learned about the responsibilities of a Doctor. Our third parent volunteer talked about his role as a Doctor and how he helps others by treating their illnesses and injuries. The children took turns using a stethoscope and listened to their heart beats. I would like to thank each parent for volunteering and making Career Day fun and engaging for the students! As children build literacy skills, practiced math concepts, sang songs, and participated in dramatic play activities, they learned about a variety of community helpers and how they work hard to make the world a safe place for us all!
Apple Adventures!
10/5/2019
Autumn is the season of harvests, holidays and of course Apples! We began this theme with an engaging story about an apple tree that wished for a star. One night, a little apple tree gazed at the night sky and wished to be a star. A fairy appeared and said that its wish will be granted if the tree worked hard to grow apples. Each sunny day, the tree lifted its branches to absorb sunlight and each rainy day, it soaked up the water. Soon the tree had grown big, strong and full of red ripe apples yet its wish for a star wasn’t granted. The fairy then asked the tree to peek inside one of the apples to find a star! The little tree realized it too is beautiful and special. Afterward, we cut an apple horizontally and the children were amazed to see that there was indeed a star in the center of the apple! For this activity, I set up blue and green projector lights as the children pretended to be apple trees gazing into the night sky. Learning the alphabet is the foundation for reading and writing. We practiced writing big and small A in our handwriting booklets. We also talked about the long A sound in the word 'acorn' and the short A sound in the word 'apple'. The students matched puzzles and played a variety of literacy games to practice letter A recognition. Students explored art as they used apples and acrylic paint to stamp the letter A. One of the best ways to develop number sense is through handling manipulatives and counting them. Students used red, yellow and green pebbles 'apples' to count and sort numbers. They also played a roll and cover math game to strengthen fine motor skills and number recognition. Each child rolled a dice and covered the numbers on the apple tree. The students used their sense of taste while taste testing different apples. We tried red, yellow and green apples. My goal for this activity was to help children understand that different apples have different taste and textures. They also compared the taste of the apples and decided which flavor they liked best. Many students enjoyed the green (Granny Smith) apples whiles others chose the red and yellow apples. We graphed the results of our taste test as a class! The students used their senses to explore the different parts of an apple. We sat in a circle, passed the apple around and described how it looks, smells and feels. Afterward, we divided each part of the apple and labeled them as a class. The children examined the skin, flesh, stem, seeds and core of the apple using a magnifying glass. The children had an exciting opportunity to explore gravity, motion and elevation while racing with apples. We began the lesson by dropping heavy objects and light objects in the classroom. The children noticed that despite the weight of the objects, they all fell to the ground. We set up two tubes outside against the bench and raced apples. While we played, I asked the students about the different tube sizes/angles and what their thoughts were on which one would be the fastest and the slowest. Similar to scientist in the real world, the students followed the steps to the scientific method to come up with their conclusions. Step 1. Make an Observation (The apples fell when they were dropped) Step 2. Ask a Question (Why did the apples fall and not float away?) Step 3. Form a Hypothesis (The apples fell because of their weight) Step 4. Test the prediction (Drop heavy items such as apples and light items such as feathers down the tube) Step 5. Use the results to form new predictions (Gravity pushes both heavy and light objects down) Chemist, Physicist, Engineers and Geologist all use the scientific method to find logical conclusions. Our EK Orcas are little scientist in training! The apple racing activity was an excellent hands on and play experiment! The children participated in many wonderful activities during specials. Mrs. Molly set up an awesome obstacle course in the gym. The children experimented with watercolors in art class and made music with shakers in music class. Lastly, the students learned the days of the week in Ms. Emani's spanish class!
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April 2021
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