Ellemeno
4/27/2018
Last week, the Beginners began their study on Pets. The first week, we had several discussions about pets. The children have varying experiences with pets, some having several at home, and some have none and little interaction with other people's pets.
This week we dove into our study by learning about what types of animals are pets. We played a fun game called "Pet or No Pet," where the children chose an animal at random out of a bucket and placed it in the correct category. Some animals were clearly pets, like dogs and cats, and some were clearly not pets, like Bears and Cheetahs (Why? Because they will eat us!). Some pets kind of fell in between. Like a camel. It sounds silly, but we learned that in some places, Camels help people get from place to place, like a horse. Those camels must have someone taking care of them by feeding them and giving them a place to rest. So, they are kind of a pet, but not one that can really live inside your house. The most exciting part of the week was the new addition we made to the classroom. His name is Ellemeno, and he is a goldfish. We talked about the different things that Ellemeno needs. We decided he needs a house (tank), water, food, and he needs some friends that love him. When we introduced Ellemeno to the Classroom, we set up some rules about how he should be treated. These rules included keeping fingers and objects out of the tank, keeping fingers off the bowl and trying to stay quiet while looking at him, so we do not scare him. We also agreed that we can take turns feeding him every day. The second day we had Ellemeno, he started to show signs of being sick. He had some new white spots growing on his face and tail, and seemed sluggish. A quick visit with Dr. Google told us that he had Ich - yuck. It was a great lesson for the Beginners to see that pets sometimes get sick, and they need us to take care of them. We brainstormed ways to make him feel better and the Beginners suggested that we take him to the Animal Hospital, but instead, we decided that we could give him some medicine from the pet store. Some friends even drew pictures on little sticky notes and stuck them on his bowl. He was looking and acting much better the next day, after his first dose of medication. Finally, we discussed what a "stray" pet was and designed homes out of legos, blocks and sticks for animals in need. Bubbly Business
4/13/2018
This week the Beginners learned what is inside a ball. We learned that some are hard, some are soft, some are hollow, and some are solid. Some balls have different layers, like a golf ball and baseball, and others are filled with air, like soccer balls and beach balls. One morning question asked, "Do you think a bubble is a ball?" and the Beginners were very divided. Some said yes because it was a sphere, like a ball. Others said no because a bubble can pop. We made our own bubble s.ution out of dish soap, corn syrup and water and set out to determine if a bubble is a ball. Don't bubbles just scream summertime and happiness? Bubbles also have lots of fun benefits, too. They encourage gross motor skills by forcing kids to reach way up high, stand on their tippie toes, squat, jump, run, stomp, and kick. Hand-eye coordination is strengthened because of the serious practice to link up what the eyes and hands are doing in order to dip and blow with a wand, as well as pop bubbles as they unpredictably float in the wind. Cognitive skills are also exercised as the children learn to understand and describe where the bubbles are and what they’re doing. We discussed why bubbles float, why our bubbles were extra big, and why they popped. Some of them left filmy flakes falling back to the ground after popping, which was something you don't normally see, and a wonderful way to compare bubbles to beach balls. Forces
4/8/2018
This week, the Beginners learned about what makes a ball move. We learned about Forces, like when you push or kick a ball. We also discussed forces that you cannot see, but know are there, like the wind and gravity. Using these concepts, we made small and large scale art by rolling balls through paint. First, the children used marbles and small boxes to make personal pieces. The next day, they used golf balls and kiddie pools to work together to make a collaborative piece. It was so cool to listen to the children talk about how they were going to tilt the pools to get the balls through the paint and to the empty spaces of the paper. They had so much fun! Finally, we conducted a bounce test to see which ball would bounce the highest. We discussed how the force of the ball hitting the ground pushed it back into the air, and then we marked how high each one bounced on a piece of paper. The pink racquetball was the bounciest of all the balls we tested. One thing I really enjoy about teaching children this age is watching them play during free choice time. They are so creative and imaginative, that sometimes it's hard to ring the bell and have them clean up. It's especially heartwarming to see them play without conflicts or, if they do disagree , watching them solve those conflicts on their own makes me feel so proud. Here are some snapshots of the kids learning through their play.
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Annalee JohnsonEK Teacher Archives
January 2021
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