Happy Earth Day!
This week we spent a couple of days talking about Earth Day. We discussed water pollution and recycling. We also spent some time with our Kindergarten friends and worked on an art and writing activity.
Litter Pick Up
The Pre-K kids walked around campus and we all helped to pick up litter that was hiding in bushes and along the grass! We made sure to wear gloves and even use tongs!
Experiment - Can You Undo Water Pollution?
In this experiment the kids learned just how hard it is to undo water pollution. We filled up a bin with clean water, our trash that was collected from outside, baby oil (to represent toxic oil spills), and tongs. The kids took turns adding trash to the water. After the water was yucky enough, we tried to remove all the pollution using tongs. After just a few minutes of trying to remove all of the pollutants, we were left with a pile of trash and water that was still oily and dirty. The conclusion - it is extremely hard to remove all of the pollutants from the water.
Earth Day Activities with Kindergarten
On Tuesday we spent some time in the Kindergarten room and discussed ways we can help Earth. After our discussion the K kids paired up with the Pre-K kids and worked together to draw a picture and write a response about how they can help Earth. We also painted Earth with puffy paint!
Caterpillar/Butterfly Unit
It's finally starting to feel like Spring! Our two favorite things to study in spring are caterpillars and butterflies!
Butterfly Anchor Chart
To begin our butterfly unit we took turns sharing what we already know about butterflies. The kiddos said that butterflies fly, eat nectar, and have wings! We read a lot of butterfly books this week and added new facts that we learned.
Butterfly Cups
Early this week our butterfly kit from Insect Lore arrived and we immediately started observing our caterpillars! So far they have increased in size and have become much more active moving around in their cup! For the next few weeks we will observe the butterfly life cycle up close, watching them transform from caterpillars to chrysalides, to beautiful butterflies - then let them go to pollinate our world!
Line of Symmetry Butterfly Craft
What a fun and creative process art activity! To make our beautiful butterflies we first folded a piece of white card stock in half. We then opened up the piece of paper and drew a triangle on one half so one of the triangles points was pointing to the crease of the paper. The kiddos picked which color paint they wanted to use and squirted a few drops of paint inside the triangle. When the kiddos were satisfied with their choice in color and had enough paint on their paper, they folded the paper again and gently rubbed the top of the paper, squishing and mixing the paint. Then, we opened the paper and were amazed at the results. The children's expressions were priceless! After the paint dried, the kiddos cut out their butterfly and added the butterflies body and antennae. After everything dried, we talked about the line of symmetry and then compared and contrasted their butterflies.
Butterfly Addition
Lifecycle of a Butterfly
This week we read many butterfly books that discussed the life cycle of a butterfly. Butterflies go through four life stages, but they only look like butterflies in the final stage. The four stages are: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly.
"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" Interactive Read Aloud
"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle falls into the category of predictable books, and the text is predictable in many ways: days of the week, counting words, and repeated sentence structure. We used these features during our role play, working on language development. Before we read the book, I spread out the food and day cards on the rug. As we were reading, I encouraged the children to join in, and one-by one asked the children to pick up the correct day and food cards as I read them and place them on the whiteboard. The kiddos had so much fun during this mini lesson!
Butterfly Feeders
This week we started making butterfly feeders! We are using plastic plant saucers, twine, and beads. Next week we will complete the butterfly feeders and hang them on our playground and around our school!
Below is what they will look like when complete!
The Adventures of Rainbow!
This week many of our friends had the opportunity to take home Rainbow!
Celebration of Dedication and Excellence
On Friday the entire school honored our faculty in the MPR. We watched a slideshow and listened to Tom Ellis speak. Congratulations Mr. Bailey for 5 years of service!
The Jessie White Tumblers
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