Water

On Tuesday this week we talked about water, ice and bubbles! :) We talked about what happens to water when it gets really cold and what happens when it gets really hot. The kids looked at 3 different sized ice cubes and decided that they thought that the small, blue one would melt first.

They were right!

The kids had a great time hammering the block of ice and trying to rescue the toys that were trapped inside. We had a cup of salt and a cup of sprinkles to see if either one helped to melt the ice faster- we decided the ice helped!

They also loved blowing bubbles with their hands. It didn't take them very long at all before they caught on and were blowing bubbles.

We read a poem about "5 big bubbles" and the kids made a hand print to add to their paper.

On Wednesday we learned about where water comes from and who or what needs it to survive. We also did an activity to see which items would float in water and which ones would sink. The kids took turns pulling an item out of the bag and taking a guess "float or sink."

The kids had a blast playing with some cups and a tub of water.

On Thursday we talked about water safety and about waves. The kids were able to make their own wave bottle to take home. They each added a little glitter sand, water, special blue drops (food coloring) and magic water (baby oil) to make the waves. After gluing on the lid and adding a ribbon, the kids were ready to see the waves in their bottles.

The kids had a chance to play outside for free time today, something they always look forward to, and they were able to feed my chickens some bread. (they loved this)

We had a fun time playing the "penny drop" game. The kids each took a turn dropping a penny into a large container of water in which there was a small cup at the bottom. Whoever dropped their penny into the small cup, won! 

 (Sorry, no camera today!)

Next week we will begin our "Ocean" theme.

Caterpillars

This week we focused on caterpillars for our letter 'C' week. The kids learned all about them. I think the easiest way to teach children about caterpillars is by reading Eric Carle's book"The Very Hungry Caterpillar." After reading the story one time, I read it again, but this time the kids helped to "feed" a hungry caterpillar the correct food as I read the story. They loved watching the caterpillar get full, wrap himself in a cocoon and then turn into a beautiful butterfly!

We also played a bumblebee game similar to "hot potato." While the music is on, the kids pass around the bee. Whoever is holding the bee when the music stops, gets "stung." 

The kids worked on 'following directions' as they listened for what color to color the fruit for their hungry caterpillar books that they made. We also worked on counting as we colored each fruit: 1 apple, 2 pears, 3 plums, 4 strawberries and 5 oranges.

Another painting day! The kids loved painting so much that they didn't want to stop.

The kids had a great time spraying off the bugs that were on the wall. (a little hard to see the lady bug that Tatum is spraying off, and no making fun...I am not an artist.) 

For show and tell Sydnee brought a caterpillar tunnel. The kids had so much fun crawling through it!

This week we also practiced our letters that we have gone over so far- A, B and C. The kids did a great job drawing them on the chalkboards.

Next week will be our intro to water and then we will be moving on to our ocean theme.

BUGS!

What a fun week! I think one of my favorite units is bugs! I think the kids love it too! :) On Tuesday we learned some facts about different bugs. The kids looked at some pictures of bugs and tried to guess the names of them. It also was our letter 'B' week, which goes perfect with bugs. The kids made bees out of B's. :) We also worked on our colors by playing a color bug game. The kids took turns picking bugs out of a bag and then had to decide which color jar to put them then.

On Wednesday we learned about butterflies, which is one of the prettiest bugs! We also played a butterfly memory game. The kids had to try to find the butterflies matching wings.

They also were able to make a butterfly by painting just one wing and then folding their paper together. The kids loved opening their papers to see both wings appear!

We, as in I, sang a song "flutter, flutter, butterfly" while wearing a butterfly mask and pretending to fly around the room. I guess making a fool of myself worked because a few of the children decided to join in. :) 

We also had a birthday this week. Happy Birthday to Davin! :)

On Thursday we had our Bug Zoo, which is always a hit. The kids loved making their own bug jars and then hunting for bugs in the Bug Zoo!

I thought it was "cool" enough to play outside today for a few minutes. The kids were very excited about that! They were also excited that they could choose a bug to take home in their bug jar!
More fun with bugs next week!

First week of school

Yay! We are off to a great start. This week went by really fast. The days seemed kind of blurred together. I am really loving our new schedule of 3 days in a row. On Tuesday we got to know each other and we went over the rules here at Jungle Discovery Preschool. The kids made their "All about Me" books. Our letter for this week is 'A' the kids had a fun time gluing on the fruit loops onto their papers. I only saw a few fruit loops being snuck into little mouths. :) Thursday was our apple day. We talked a little bit about Johnny Appleseed and had apples for snacks. The kids did a great job at painting their apple plates. We also learned a cute apple song. Here a few pics from this week.