Thursday, September 29, 2011

Week Four

My children were home from school on Monday. My oldest, Elizabeth, came in to play and help. We all wish she could come every day to play with us! The cutest thing that happened this week: When I introduced Elizabeth as my little girl and all the children giggled and protested that she could be my child. One child insisted that all my children can "only be Rilla's size." :)

Theme:
Frogs, Fish, & Friendship
We had fun exploring many fun words that begin with the letter F. We "fished" for some of those words. We sang songs, played games, and moved with words associated with the letter F. After reading, The Rainbow Fish, we had a wonderful discussion about Friendship. We all agree that sharing and having friends is better than being alone.

Letter: F
We met "Freddy Frog" who showed us what F/f looks like. He brought some fun games for us to play and some fun books to read.
Choosing Time:
"F" Matching Game, Fishing Game, Fingerprint "F" & Fish, Foam Blocks, Trains, People/Farm, Ponies,...
Books:
  • Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth
  • Growing Frogs! by Vivian French
  • The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
  • Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert
  • Shoo Fly!
Music:
  • 5 Little Speckled Frogs
  • Once I Caught A Fish Alive
  • ABC's
Movement:
  • Count on Five
  • Criss Cross "Friendship" Sauce
  • 4 & 5 Exercises
  • Oh, What A Miracle
  • Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes
  • Fast & Slow
  • Fly Little "F"
Game:
"Fish, Fish, Hook" (Just Like Duck, Duck, Goose)

Art:
Friendship Fish: Each class worked together to make One Friendship Fish. We talked about everyone in our class is great friend. We love that we each had to help to create a fish. Then we each made a friendship fish to take home.

Math:
  • Appleseed Counting
  • Counting to Four & Five
  • Recognize the numbers 4 & 5
  • Sequencing a story
Science:
  • We learned how a frog grows from an egg to a tadpole and then to a frog. Frogs do not look like their eggs. They don't look like tadpoles. How they become frogs is amazing.
  • Frogs have long sticky tongues that flick out to catch bugs.
  • We put some apple seeds in a clear bag on the window. We will see what will happen to them.
Cooking:
Fish Shaped Sugar Cookies

Writing:

  • We practiced the letter "F."
  • We practiced tracing "wave" dots. This helps us to learn how to hold a pencil correctly and to control where the pencil goes.
Snacks:
  • "F" Snacks: Swedish Fish & Fish Crackers
  • Granola Bars & Cheese Sticks
  • Cheese Sticks
  • Fruit by the Foot & "Fruity" Cookies
  • Fish Shaped Sugar Cookies
  • Graham Crackers & Giant Chocolate Marshmallows
  • Fruit Snacks
Reading:
We had fun practicing some new words on our word wall. Two of our permanent words are: for & from.