Week Twenty--Ya-hoo!

Theme: Happy Chinese New Year
One day to talk about some Chinese Cultural Activities is not enough! However, we enjoyed our dragon parade, learning what animal year we were born in, and looking at pictures of Chinese writing, dress, & decor.

Letter: Y
We met Yolanda the Yak. She explained that "Y" & "y" look like "V" without their "tails." She told us how to say the sound of "Y". One cutie kiddo asked, "Does "Y" spell "why"?" (Super Clever & Insightful!) And so, we had a brief explanation about that. We made "Y" with our bodies and even had fun making "Y" upside down with my help :) We learned how to sign "Y". Some noticed how it is similar to the sign, "I Love You." I explained that the "Y" is the "You" part of that sign.

Choosing Time: "Y" Memory, Color Yoda, Yo-Yo Yarn Game,....

Making "Y" with Toys

Show & Tell:

Many Yellow Things:

Yo-Yo:

Yogurt:

Things that involve Chinese New Year:

And, Yoda:

Books:

• The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack (This book is fun to read aloud. It is about a little duck named Ping, who lives on a boat on the Yangtze River in China. Every time I read "Yangtze" we would hold up the "Y" sign. )
  
• Yak Goes Shopping
• How Many Dragon Feet (Reading this book gave us an opportunity to talk about pairs. We counted the total number of feet and then we counted how many bodies would have that number of feet)
  

Snacks:

• Apple Slices
• Yogurt Smoothies & Yellow Popcorn
• "Yo-yo" Cookies

• Chinese Orange Chicken (with chopsticks) & Fortune Cookies

• "Y" Sugar Cookies with Yellow Frosting & Clementines

• Popcorn & Cheese Sticks (We had fun making Y's with both)
• Yogurt (Star Wars Go-Gurts) & Graham Crackers

Music & Movement:

• There's A Party In My Tummy
• Bubble Gum
• Yoga--Thank you Michelle for coming on Thursday afternoon to do Yoga with us! The kiddos were completely enthralled as we did "Star Wars" Yoga.
  

Art:

• Yarn Art

• Yarn Hearts

• Dragon Puppets

Reading: Some of our words this week include: Yes, Yak, Yogurt, Yum, Yoga, Yo-yo, & Yellow

Writing: Practiced "Y/y" and we also had writing time to choose words we wanted to write and then illustrate them.

Birthday Fun:

Week Nineteen-- MOM=WOW

Theme--Transportation
We had a brief discussion on transportation. I asked the kiddos to name some things that help us get from one place to another that have wheels. Here are some of the responses: "Planes, jets, cars, trucks, trains, scooters, bikes, skate boards, wagons." And then, one cutie said, "Miss Jodi, garbage cans have wheels on them and they get garbage to the right place." :)

Letter--W
What is "W"? It is really just 2 "V's" smooched together. It is an "M" upside down. It is also a number 3 when you make its sign. And even though it seems like "W" may have an identity crisis, it is the letter that helps us get some answers with the words: who, why, where, & when.
Ask your child to show you how to sign "Water Please."

Choosing Time--Wheels & Gears, Wagon Rides, W Memory, Wheels, Hot Wheels, Whacking Light Sabers at White Balloons....
Show & Tell--

White Truck With Wheels

Water Bottle With Wheels

Woody

Whale

Cool Car With Wheels That can come Off

Wonder Pets

White Kittens

A+ Writing in Her Workbook

White Rabbit Puppet

Pet Shop Wheel World

Water & Sonic's Wheels

Pocket Watch From Paris

Snacks--We had fun pointing to the "W's" on the packages

• Whoppers (the Chocolate kind) & Nilla Wafers
• Mini Vanilla Wafers
• Wonderful Grasshopper Cookies & Apple Slices
• Wonderful Corn Pops & Cutie Clementines

Books--

• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
• The Wacky Week

Music & Movement--

• Hurry, Hurry, Drive the Fire Truck
• Days of the Week
• The Eensy Weensy Spider
• I've Got A Wiggle
• Do What I'm Doing (We moved in "W" ways such as wiggling like worms, using wings, walking on tight-rope, flapping tails like whales, whirling, and waving.

Cooking--We baked White Bread-stick W's & Worms

Art--Walnut Warriors & Walnut Wheels

Reading--Walrus, Whale, Wig, Watermelon, What, Why, Where, When, & We

We had fun with our word wall as I'd point to words to make up silly sentences.

Writing--Practiced "W/w" & Wrote "Wow"

Did you realize that WOW is MOM upside down?

AM Field Trip to Red Lobster--

Preparing for the tour

Beginning our tour...

Entering the Kitchen area...seeing the Soup Prep Area, Dishwasher, Fridges, Ovens,....

Pointing out the Fryers...

The Very Large Pantry...Did you know that Red Lobster does not make their desserts on-site? I'm thinking maybe that is how I might start rating restaurants :)

Meeting some Lobsters

It takes 5-7 years for lobsters to gain 1 pound.

Lobsters can crawl forward, but they can only swim backward

Lobsters are ticklish on their undersides. Their undersides feel like jello.

If lobsters are out of water too long their nerves begin to shut down. Lobsters have blue blood. Lobsters eat with their stomachs. Lobsters will eat other lobsters if they are really hungry. Lobsters can grow new walking feet and pincers if they "lose" their originals.

This Lobster demonstrates the "school way" of holding a crayon

Patiently awaiting our food while hoping that the light to the aquarium will turn on.

Popcorn Shrimp, French Fries, & Raspberry Lemonade

YUM!

Good Food & Great Company Makes a Wonderful Field Trip! Thank you Red Lobster!