Spring Fun

Choosing Time:  Bunny & Egg Pop-ups, Bunny Rockets, Bunny Bowling, Bunny Jumpers, Alphabet Egg Uppercase/Lowercase Matching Game, Easter Stamping/Sticker Cards, Bunny Builders, Easter Puzzles

Music & Movement:

• House in the Middle of the Woods
• Bunny Hop
• See Me Run
• Hi, My Name is O
• Primary Colors

Games:

• E/e Egg Matching Game
• Choose an egg to tell the Real Easter Story
• What hatches from eggs?  (also a good Science discussion)
• Easter Egg Hunt

Kitchen Fun:  We made "Bird Nest"  Rice Krispy Treats with Jelly Bean Eggs

Art:

• Paint Pots
• Easter Chicks

Gardening:  We enjoyed planting some Rye Grass in our pots.  We are so excited to watch the grass grow in about seven days.  We learned that if our plant gets too dry it will die and if it gets too wet it will drown.  We also learned that plants need sun, good soil, and water to grow.  Once the grass becomes unruly, feel free to give it a "hair-cut".  It will grow for awhile longer :)

Snacks:

• Strawberry appleSauce
• Popcorn with Easter Marshmallows
• Goldfish, Craisins, Fruit Snacks, & Popcorn
• Cheese Slices, Pretzels, & Raisins
• Clementines & Goldfish Crackers
• Hugs Drinks, Oreos,

T/TH PM Class Field Trip: We had a wonderful visit to Petco.  We saw dogs being groomed.  We pet a rat.  We learned about ferrets and chinchillas.  We saw scorpions, taranchalas, lizards, turtles, frogs, tortoise, fish, snakes, mice, hamsters, birds, & rats.


Books:
 

Rocks & Rainbows

Theme:  Letter "R"
 We met Ricky Raccoon. We had fun practicing writing "R/r".  Sometimes it is hard to remember the "R" sound.  We tend to want to say, "ruh," instead or "urr". 

Cutest Saying:  As we were discussing "R", one little girl piped up, "R, is for Romance!"


Choosing Time:  Radish "R" Game, Peel Crayons for Art project, Little People Village...

Books:


Art: 

• Rainbow Rocks
• Rainbow Necklaces

Music & Movement:  

• Ring Around the Roses
• Rain, Rain, Go Away
• Rain is Falling All Around
• There was a Little House in the Middle of the Woods
• Chubby Little Snowman
• I Can Make a Rainbow
• Row, Row, Row, your Boat
• See Me Run
• Do your Ears Hang Low?
• Making "R" with our bodies
• Rocking on our tummies
• Rolling/Doing Somersaults
  

Game:  Raindrops Falling (with the help of a spray bottle)

Science:

1. We made a rainbow by using water, light, and a mirror
2. We learned about the Primary colors and how when combined, they make new colors called the Secondary colors

Snacks:

• Yogurt Covered Raisins
• "Round" things:  Cookies & Grapes
• "Really" yummy Cheese with Ritz Crackers & Raisins & Raspberries
• Cheeze-its & Fruit Snacks
• Cheese Sticks, Raisins, & Clementines

Field Trip:
The M/W PM class had a fun time walking up to a field near my house to gather the rocks we used for our Rainbow Rocks.  This was a fun little outing to get outside, choose some special rocks, and look for signs of Spring.

Q: A Quail with a Tail

Theme:  Letter Q

Choosing Time:  Search for the "Queen's Jewels", Letter "Q" Memory, ....

Snacks:

• "Quackers" & "Quookies"
• Quesidillas
• Rainbow Cupcakes
• Bananas, Oranges, Cheese Sticks, & Crackers
• Popcorn & Apples
• Popcorn Shrimp & Fries

Books: Quacker's Crackers & The Queen Couldn't Sleep

Music & Movement:

• 3 Little Ducks
• "Q" Movement--Move Quickly, Quietly, Quack Like a duck, Throw like a Quarterback, Wave like a Queen...

Science:  We observed a short clip of a real quail.  We learned a little bit about these birds.

Art: 

• "Q" Quail painted with Q-tips
• Painting Shamrocks with eyedroppers.  We discovered what happens when you mix yellow & blue.

Games:

•  "Quilt, quilt, who's under the quilt?"
• Quarter toss on Q/q

Field Trips:
Thank you to Scott & Sarah Wiley for a wonderful music experience!  The T/TH PM class was so fortunate to visit Scott's recording studio.  We loved playing the pianos, hand bells, & drums.  We saw some instruments that we've never seen before.  And, all the children loved hearing their voices over the microphone.  It was so fun, educational, and exciting!  

The AM class was able to go to Red Lobster for a fabulous tour and yummy snack.  We loved touching the lobsters and watching them hold crayons.  We enjoyed watching the fish in the aquarium eat.  We learned that the puffer fish can only puff up 7 times and then it will die.

Pirates & Princesses!

Theme:  Letter "P"

Choosing Time:  Search for "P" things in a bucket of sunflower seeds, Pop-up Pirate Game, Letter "P" Matching Game, Pirate Puppets, Puzzles, Potato Heads, Pigs, Penguins....

Snacks:

• Pretzels and Cheese Sticks
• CaPri Sun & Cookies
• Pretzels, Cheese, & Pears
•  Popcorn & Panda Fruit Snacks
• Popcorn & Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels
• Pizza

Music & Movement:

• Peanut Butter
• P-O-P-C-O-R-N
• Popcorn Popping
• Move like a Penguin (Waddle, tiptoe, slide, swim...)

Science:  We learned about penguins.  We learned that there are penguins that live where it is very cold and others live where it is warm.  We talked about some of the penguin's predators and some of the food that the penguin likes to eat.  We learned that an Emperor Penguin is 45 inches tall.  I showed the kiddos how tall that is and then we took turns seeing how tall we were in comparison.

Special Activity:  Peanut Butter Play-Dough

Art:

• Penguin Finger Puppets
• Pirate & Princess Hats
• Letter "P" with Pistachio Shells & Popcorn 

Books:
 

Oh!

Theme:  Letter O
Letter "O" makes two sounds.  We practiced making the sign for "O".  We had a very fun time searching for "O" shapes in our classroom.  I couldn't sway the enthusiasm!  "O" is everywhere!  I enjoyed the "O" shaped objects that several of the children brought in to show.  Some of these included: a Bracelet,  a box of Ritz, a Juicer, Eyes on stuffed animals, wheels on a Rescue Bot,  a Hula Hoop, a book with an "O" in the title, a doll with a large "O" head.....If your child didn't bring something, never fear, I asked them to share something they saw in their homes that had circle shapes and the funnest one was, "a knob that I'm not suppose to use, but I do when my mom isn't looking."  :)

Choosing Time:  Ocean Shells & Animals:  Water Fun, "O" builders, Tinker Toys, Cars, Octopus "O" Game, "O" Memory

Math:  Ocean Animal Race Dice Game (I told the kiddos they could play it again at home, just use a different color to mark the animals as you roll the dice.)

Music & Movement: 

• Hi, My Name Is "O"
• Ring-Around-the Roses
• Octopus Swim in the Ocean
• "Sally" Goes 'Round the Sun

Books: The Five Octopuses,
 


Reading:  Our new words are "on, off, no, & not"


Science: We learned about Octopi.  They have 8 arms called tentacles.  The arms have suckers.  They can change colors (brown, grey, white, red, & orange).  They squirt ink to frighten predators.  If an Octopus looses a leg, he can grow a new one. Mother Octopus lay 1000 eggs.  After the eggs hatch the mothers die.

Art:

• Octopus
• Fish with Scales
• "O" Print Painting
• "O" Creations--What picture can you make with  circle shapes?
  

Snacks:

• Crackers & Cheese Sticks
• Healthy Oatmeal No Bake Cookie Drops
• Chocolate Pretzel O's & Fruit Snacks
• Fruit Snacks & Oranges
• Granola Bars
• Big "O" Crackers & Apple Slices