Our plants are growing and we are journaling our observations! Thankfully the sun has finally appeared to help them along.
I hope you are able to attend the auction! Grab your tickets if you have not already done so. Our room parent Stacey (Jack's mom) has been working hard to complete an amazing animal handprint table with all of the children. It is fabulous and will be up for auction at the event! If you are unable to attend, there will be absentee bidding as an option. Please click link below for details.
www.roycemoreschool.org/
Math and Science:
The children are continuing their raindrops and clouds center, as they work through different story problems to subtract and add raindrops. We used the Ipads to play math related games and to find plant pictures.
We completed an experiment on plants and oxygen, asking the questions, "Do plants breathe?" We took a pole and charted the votes, which were about 50/50. We then gathered freshly picked leaves (a little hard to find with all of the cold and snow!). We submerged the leaves in water, and talked about how we know when someone is swimming underwater we can determine if they are breathing. The children all talked about how bubbles let us know someone is breathing and releasing air as they swim. We checked back to our plants later and discovered the vases completely filled with tiny bubbles, representing the oxygen released during photosynthesis. It was a great way to demonstrate plants and their "breathing" (transpiration).
Fine Motor:
The children used clay to create their own flower. We talked about how flowers may have many rows of petals, and how most are somewhat symmetrical, but now exactly! We discussed pollination and the importance of insects and the wind to pollinate flowers. The children used only their hands to mold the clay, and were able to use as much or as little as possible. I love leaving it up to them regarding scale. It's fun to see what they choose when the amount is not pre-decided, giving them the freedom to build as large or small as they wish. We will paint the flowers when they dry and display them for you to see!
We used water colors to paint coffee filters and then made flowers from them, adding stems, leaves, and some even included the roots in their pictures. We wrote words on the white board labeling the plant parts we were creating.
The children are working on observation drawings of a daffodil. It's so fun to see the different perspectives when they are drawing. They are also working on their April self portraits. We are using mirrors to assist with accurately drawing themselves. It's amazing the progression that has happened this school year in their abilities to not only manage utensils when creating, but in their awareness of all of the tiny details of their faces and clothing etc.
Language Arts:
The children are learning to use all different strategies when decoding words. We have been hunting for words using letter sound knowledge. Our "Parts of a Plant" pictures is a great exercise for choosing between a few different words that begin with the same letter but have different ending letters. This week we have been really concentrating on our pencil grip, and reminding ourselves to grip the pencil with all three fingers (tripod grip). Please remind them as you see them writing to "pinch the pencil".
One of our centers was the game of "Eye Spy" where they located objects and then wrote them by sounding out the words. This is but one example of our intentional teaching and children learning as they play!
Social/Emotional:
We have been working on our word choices in JK, and encouraging positive words. We don't like to hear, "I can't!" It's amazing how many, "I can't do it!"'s I heard at the beginning of the winter, regarding zippers. Every child in JK is able to zip their zipper, and dress themselves for outside with very minimal assistance. It's sweet when the older kids help us get ready, but we have to remind them that we can do it ourselves and to let us put on our own shoes, coats, and zip our zippers. The hardest thing to do as an older friend, teacher, or parent, is to let children do all they can do. It's one of the biggest gifts you can give to them. They are so proud to do it themselves! I love seeing the look of achievement and pride. We are working on our dining hall skills and manners, along with our behavior when eating with a large group of people.
We met with our 5th and 6th grade reading buddies. It was lovely to have our older friends read to us, and also show them what we know, whether that be letters and letter sounds, popcorn words, or many words and the ability to read fluid sentences. We are all at different stages and it's so nice to have individual attention from such an amazing class of kids.
We also had 3rd grade reading buddies, and completed "Response to Reading" journal sheets. They were impressed by how far along the JK has come with their writing!
We will continue our experiments and study of growing things, and talk about the water cycle next week.
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Massey
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