Seasons

This week we talked mainly about the four seasons. (Although it is hard for kids who live in AZ to comprehend this.)  :)

We learned about the different seasons we have, what the weather is normally like during those seasons and what happens to the trees. I showed the kids pictures of trees in New York in the fall, you know, because they actually have leaves that change color.

On Wednesday the kids colored the trees for the 4 seasons and on Thursday we used cut up paper for the leaves.

We did not have a letter this week, but have been reviewing the letters that we have learned so far: A-F.

We also sang to Paytyn who will be having a birthday next week.

We will start again on our Spotlights after the break.
Have a HAPPY FALL BREAK!!!

A Pirate's Life for me!

AHOY!!!
Yes, it's true...I LOVE Pirates, especially a certain Captain, but I won't name names. So, I was very excited about this week. I think the kids enjoyed it too! :

On Tuesday we read a book about a little girl named Maisy who goes to Pirate School. Then the kids made some Pirate puppets.

We also took turns sailing on our own Pirate ship.

The kids loved "digging" for treasure in Pirate playdough. They found some Pirate gold and some jewels.

On Wednesday we talked about Pirate ships. The kids had a good time putting together a ship with their own picture for the captain! We also had a classroom Pirate ship with all my lil' Pirates on it.

We also played a Pirate game where we collected treasure pieces.

Markers are a special treat at preschool. We don't color with them very often and the kids were excited to use them for the first time.

On Thursday we had our treasure hunt! It was fun following the maps clues and finding a bag of goodies at the end! The kids loved it and were so excited that they were running from clue to clue. :) The kids also were able to make a treasure map to take home.

The kids put together a Pirate number puzzle. They needed a little help to get going, but they ended up doing a great job of putting it together.

Fish

This week our spotlight was Davin!

On Tuesday we read a story about a frog who was so hungry but just couldn't quite find the right food to eat. The kids worked on writing the letter F and they were also able to decorate a big letter F.

On Wednesday we reviewed our shapes. The kids worked on cutting, pasting, coloring and matching different fish shapes. We also played a fun shape game. Each child was wearing a shape around his/her neck. When I would say GO, the kids had to race to the chairs and find their matching shape and then sit in that chair.

Thursday was our "Rainbow Fish" day. We listened to the story and then talked about how being kind and sharing can help us to feel good inside. The kids had a good time making their own rainbow fish. They loved ripping the tissue paper to glue on the fish.

We also played 'hide and seek' with the letter F. We had many letter F's hiding in the preschool room and the kids took turns "seeking" them.

We ended the day with a matching fishing game. The kids really enjoyed fishing and trying to catch a match.

We also sang to Jason today, he will be having a birthday next week.

More Ocean Fun

Our first preschool spotlight was Jason.

On Tuesday we talked about Blue Whales. We learned that they are the largest living creature on the earth. We unwound a string that was 100 feet long so that the kids could get an idea of just how big the whales are. The kids were so far away...I could hardly see them. :)

The kids also helped to put a bunch of whales in the right order, smallest to largest.

On Wednesday we had our beach day. The kids had a great time playing in our "magic" sand. Some of them did not want to stop. One child even said, "I want to play with this forever." :)

The kids really enjoyed making their own beach out of smashed crackers for the sand, blue pudding for the water, fish crackers and an umbrella! They also enjoyed eating their beach treat.

The kids colored a beach ball out of a paper plate and made a seashell puzzle.
We also played a beach ball game. The kids took turns throwing beach balls into our beach bucket.

On Thursday, we reviewed all of the ocean animals that we have talked about. Then the kids made an Ocean Animal book to take home. We also matched ocean animals to their shadows, played our counting octopus game again and had a crab race.
The kids had a blast playing in our "ocean" tub filled with water, ocean animals and seashells.

Next week we will focus on FISH.

Intro to the Ocean

This week we learned about ocean animals.

On Tuesday we talked about which animals we might find in the ocean and which animals we might find on land. The children each had a turn to pick an animal out of a bag and then decide where it needed to live. In the "blue ocean" or the "green grass."

Then the kids had a chance to do it on their own with pictures of animals. They picked out some animals and then glued them either on the grass side or the ocean side of their paper.

We also played a number game with pom-poms. The kids took turns rolling the dice and then counting out that many pom-poms and placing them on the corresponding number.

On Wednesday we learned all about Dolphins! We learned that they are very friendly, they love to jump and they can't breath under water. We watched a short video of dolphins playing and jumping, the kids loved watching this.


We had fun doing some more painting on Thursday. We learned about Octopus's and each child made a hand-print octopus to take home. We also reviewed the letters that we have learned so far. A B C D

We played another counting game, this time with an octopus. The kids took turns pulling an arm out of a bag. After counting the circles on the arm, they had to find that number on the octopus.

Next week we will learn about some more ocean animals.

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.