I Have a Dream
1/25/2020
One of the most important take-aways from this week was that Martin Luther King Jr. did kind things for others. We talked about what he did and how it changed the way we interact with each other today. We also talked about some of the characteristics of Martin Luther King Jr. and what it really means to be a "hero". We painted peace signs to show our support of Dr. King's message. Students followed directions to create a portrait of MLK Jr. One of our favorite books from this study! We are so glad we can all go to the same school no matter what we look like. Ms. Daina showed us how to be brave by participating in the Brown Bag Talent Show (one of characteristics of MLK Jr.). Thank you for your participation in our Preschool Toy Drive. As we talked about why we were giving away our toys, it was apparent that the students were very excited that someone else would have the opportunity to play with them. It was a great lesson in giving and being kind to others.
Inspiring Inquiry
1/18/2020
Children are born eager to learn. They are curious by nature, and are excited by new things. Because of this, we wanted to incorporate something in the classroom that the students would want to investigate. We signed up for Amazon's monthly STEM mystery box to keep our class wondering. The most recent box we received had a drill set. The students can sort and count the colorful bolts, map out all kids of designs, and develop critical preschool math skills. Dynamo Dominoes is designed to engage kids in their early STEM development, it encourages children’s spatial thinking abilities, and color recognition. We love to learn through play, and the Amazon STEM boxes help us do just that. We cannot wait to receive our next surprise!
Snow Happy
1/11/2020
This week we learned about ice and snow. When children learn about things that are happening in the world around them, it is easier for them to understand vocabulary words and activities surrounding the study. Just like snowflakes, we are all different yet equally beautiful! We each created a snowflake out of glue and glitter. We learned that snowflakes are shaped like hexagons. In our sensory bin, we conducted an ice rescue! The students used tongs and water to break the sea animals out of the ice. This activity taught the students about one of the ways we can melt ice. It also had a fine motor skill component. For our science experiment this week we watched as sugar and salt melted ice cubes! We recorded data and drew pictures to represent what happened to the ice. Paint the ice! A fun activity involving the mixing of coloring and the concept of melting. As the ice melted over time, the water mixed their colors (yellow and blue) together creating green. As a class we made snow dough! To create this dough we had to follow a recipe step by step. Once it was made, the students were asked to create snow scenes; some friends made snowmen and others made snow covered hills perfect for sledding. Count the snowflakes! To incorporate a math element this week we covered our papers in felt snowflakes and counted them afterwards. Peeling the backing off of the stickers gave the students fine motor practice as well.
|
Annalee JohnsonEK Teacher Archives
January 2021
Categories |