Rainbows, Rocks, & Reptiles, Oh My!

Theme: Letter "R"

This has been a fun week! I will do my best to accurately summarize this week's events. Both classes went on a field trip to the BYU Bean Museum & both classes had some fun with letter "R" depending on the day...My biggest regret is that I forgot my camera when the AM class went to the museum. So sorry to have not taken pictures!

Choosing Time: Among others, we played a game called, "OH, Rats!" We also made "rainbow" necklaces by stringing fruit loops in a rainbow pattern.

AM Snacks: On Tuesday we had donuts & cookies. Today we had fruit loops & popcorn.

PM Snacks: On Tuesday we had red grapes & cheese sticks. Today we had fruit snacks & fish crackers.

Music: Rain Is Falling, Little House, Peter Rabbit, Rubber Reindeer, If All The Raindrops.., & I Can Sing A Rainbow (my version)

Movement: Penguin Shuffle, Ring Around The Roses, Run for 5, Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes, Hokey-Pokey, Beetle Dance

Science: Love Potion (What happens when red ice cubes and blue ice cubes melt?)

Lesson: We noticed that capital "R" looks different than lower case "r". We practiced making the "R" sound. We read a itsy bitsy book about "R." We thought of some things that begin with "R" such as rabbit, rock, rainbow, rose, ring, robot, red...

Books: White Rabbit's Color Book & Grey Rabbit's Odd One Out by Alan Baker, The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane Derolf, & What Makes a Rainbow? by Betty Ann Schwartz

Art: Hot Rainbow Rocks
Field Trip: The morning class was able to touch a Python, Bearded Dragon, & a Tortoise from Africa. The afternoon class was able to touch a Python, Gecko, & a Box Turtle. We all enjoyed seeing the various animals. We had a good talk about what kinds of things people and animals do when they are scared. For example, a squid will squirt ink, a skunk sprays, a snake may hiss & bite, a child may cry, run, or hit. We all have different reactions that show we are scared and so do animals. Most animals don't want to be mean. The morning class was able to see Humphrey the Elephant received his name tag. Thank you to all the mothers who came, drove, and helped supervise! I really appreciate you!

Blubber & Feathers

Theme: Penguins

Choosing Time: Light-Bright Penguin, Cars, Zoob

Lesson: Penguins are birds that can't fly. Their feathers are waxy to repel water. They live in Antartica. Their fat/blubber keeps them warm. They eat fish and krill. Penguins have to keep their eggs warm and safe until they hatch.

Books: Itsy Bisty Book about Penguins & Penguin Pete by Marcus Pfister

AM Snack: S'Mores Goldfish Crackers, Penguin Fruit Snacks, and Swedish Fish

PM Snack: Dora Fruit Snacks & Carrots

Art: Potato Stamped Penguins

Music & Movement: Penguin Hokey Pokey, The Penguin Shuffle (this was adorable to teach and watch the kiddos perform!), 5 Exercises that Penguins like to do, 5 Little Penguins

Science: "What Will Slide on Ice?" & "What will water do to a piece of paper that has been colored with crayons?"

Game: Pass the Penguin Egg (We passed a "penguin egg" around in a circle while music played. When the music stopped the child with the egg stood up and waddled like a penguin around the circle.

Quack, Quack, Quack

Theme: Letter "Q"

Choosing Time: Search for the Queen's Jewels, Safari Gears, Duplos, Tea Set, Quarter Rubbings

Writing: Practiced making "Q's"

AM Snack: Strawberries, Granola Bars, Juice Boxes

PM Snack: Grapes, Animal Crackers, Go-Gurts

Music: Letter Sounds, 3 Little Ducks, Itsy Bitsy Monkey, ABC's, Popcorn Popping, I'm A Nut, The 5 Queen's On a Quest

Movement: 5 Quick & Quiet Exercises & "Q" Actions (Wave like a Queen, Tiptoe Quietly, Run Quickly, Throw like a Quarterback...)

Art: Color-By-Number/Letter

Books: The Quiltmaker's Journey by Jeff Brumbeau & Dilly Duckling by Claire Freedman

Lesson: "Q" is afraid to be alone and so letter "U" is always with him. We practiced saying the sound "Q" makes. We had fun quacking..

Game: Quarter, Quarter, Who Has My Quarter?

Will You Be My Valentine?

Theme: Valentine's Party

Choosing Time: Trio Blocks, Duplos, Cinderella Castle

Writing: Cutting Valentines and then finding stickers to spell out l-o-v-e to give to you!

Snack: Heart Shaped Waffles & Heart Shaped Jello Jigglers
We had fun frosting our heart waffles.

Music: Skidamarinkydinky-dink, Twinkle-Twinkle, ABC's, A Chubby Little Snowman

Movement: Dancing Hearts & Do You Know My Valentine?

Art: Decorated our Valentine "Mail Boxes"

Valentines: We had a fun time taking turns pretending to be the "mailman" and deliver "mail" to each child. Our small classroom had a hard time containing the excitement and enthusiasm :) Thank you for sending such lovely Valentines! We had a wonderful day!

Love Somebody Tell Me Who

Theme: Hearts & Love

Choosing Time: Play-doh, cars, mini figurines, Tea Set, Puzzles, Dinosaurs, & Cut-A-Heart (This was a huge success today! I had made a stencil out of cardboard. We placed it on the fold of a paper, traced it, cut it out, and then opened it to find a heart! It was so fun to see how excited that each child was to see a heart.)

Music: Skidamarinky-Dinky-Dink & Love Isn't Love Till You Give It Away

AM Snack: Mini Heart Cakes, Milk, & Apples

PM Snack: Heart Shaped Cheese, Crackers, PB & Chocolate Cookie Wafers

Book: Be My Friend by Joan Walsh Anglund

Lesson: I asked the children, "How do you show someone you love them?" Some of their responses included, play with them, don't punch them, give them presents, take them cookies, come over to my house, hug them, & smile at them. Valentine's Day is a holiday to celebrate good and loving feelings for one another. One way we do this is to give people nice notes.

Movement:

• Dancing Hearts (I scattered hearts around the floor. We danced to some fun music and froze when the music stopped. I called out a color and each child found ONE heart in that color and then brought it to me.)
• 5 Hearts (I had five different colored hearts on the magnet board. I asked, "Pink heart Pink heart what do you say? I then said a child's name. He came up and took the pink heart and then had to act out whatever I said next. For example, "I say I'll twirl all day!" And then the child would twirl....
  

Art: "What Can You Make Out of Heart Shapes?" Some kiddos made heart patterns using different sizes and colors. Others made animals or people. While others had a good time gluing as many hearts onto the paper as possible :)

Book: Puppy Love: Valentine's Riddles for the Young at Arf! by Lisa Eisenberg
Our favorite riddle: What kind of lips should you never kiss? "Tu-Lips"

Games:

• Who's My Valentine? (All the kids laid down on the floor and covered their eyes. I quietly touched one of them and then he/she said, "Who's My Valentine?" The other children had to guess who said it.)
  
• Love Somebody (We sat in a circle and sang, "Love Somebody, Yes I do, Love Somebody, Tell Me Who!" I threw a beanbag to a child as I said his name. We sang the song again and the child chose a different person to throw the beanbag to.)

A Little Culture & Lots of Confusion

Theme: Chinese New Year

Choosing Time: Dominoes, Chopstick & Wok Pretend Play, Trains, Pokemon, Animals
Music & Movement: Chinese Ribbon Dance, Dragon Dance, Hokey-Pokey, If You're Happy...
Books: The Story About Ping by Majorie Flack & The 5 Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop

Lesson: We talked about the 12 special Chinese Calendar Animals. One child continually repeated that he was born in a hospital :) I believe he did not want to be associated with an animal in any way :) We made the animal sounds and shared what animal we would identify with. No one liked the animal year he/she was born into...We talked a little about how the Chinese write with characters, while we use the ABC's. We looked at some authentic Chinese Books with amazing illustrations. Hopefully, the the things that stuck are: Chinese colors are red & gold and the Chinese people like dragons :)

Language: We learned a couple of Chinese words: Hello, Dad, Mom, & Thank you

AM Art: We made a Dragon together!
PM Art: We made Chinese pictures
AM Snack: Chow Mein & Lo Mein (Top Ramen) Noodles & "Almond" Cookies (Vanilla Wafers)
PM Snack: Goldfish (lucky symbol in China), Graham Crackers, & Fortune Cookies

Six More Weeks of Winter?

Theme: Groundhog Day

Choosing Time: Little People Village, Playful Patterns

Music: I'm A Little Groundhog, Where is Groundhog?, Chubby Little Snowman, I'm A Nut

Movement: Once There Was..., Hokey-Pokey, Dancing Snowmen, Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes, Snow Is Falling

Art: "Groundhog With Shadow"-- This was a fun project. I was able to help each child individually. We had a great time talking about shadows: what color they are, what shapes they come in, we need light to make them...The children had to color very carefully which requires good small motor skills. They had to listen and follow instructions and practice taking turns. Some didn't quite understand the concept of the heart being on its side and that is why some have grass and sky up and down the page :) Super cute!
Lesson: February 2nd is the official Groundhog Day. A groundhog named Phil will be released in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to see if he will see his shadow. If he does, 6 more weeks of winter. If he doesn't Spring will come early. Of course, this is all just for fun...

Game: Groundhog Tunnel
Science: What is a groundhog? What does it eat? What color is it? How big is it? Does it have claws? What is another name for groundhog?

AM Snack: Yogurt Cups & Fruit Snacks
PM Snack: Groundhog "Dirt" Cups