Friday, May 31, 2019

Space...continued!

DIY Galaxy Shirts








Last Day of French



W is for Waffles!





Mystery Reader



Author Visit 




Reminders: 

Pre-K Breakfast Tuesday 8:30-9:30

Sunset Park Wednesday - Pack a Lunch!!!


Friday, May 24, 2019

Space

3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . BLAST OFF!!

This week Pre-K blasted into Space!

Space Puzzle
During free choice some of the kiddos enjoyed working on various space themed puzzled. It was fun to see how the children strategized to complete the puzzle. Some of the kids chose to work on the edges, while some wanted to work on the sun or another section of the puzzle. Puzzles benefit a child's development in many ways. They help development hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, and they also help build visual-perceptual skills. 






Astronaut Writing
This week we studied how things are different in space! We talked about how there is very little gravity in space, which effects the astronauts daily lives. The kiddos practiced writing like an astronaut. The children thought this activity was hilarious!


Paper Mache Planets
To make our paper mache planets we needed balloons, newspaper, flour and water. The kiddos helped to make the paste by mixing flour and water. The children then helped tear the newspaper into small strips. Then we blew up several balloons. I showed the kiddos how to dip the strips into the paste, remove the access, and slowly cover the entire ballon with wet strips. The balloons will take some time to dry. Once they are fully dry we will paint the "planets."



Space Shuttle Launch Simulation
We started the week by turning our rainbow rug into a space shuttle. We brought chairs onto the rug and the kiddos pretended that they were astronauts getting ready to go into space. They were instructed to put on their spacesuits, moon boots, helmets and gloves. When they were ready they boarded the space shuttle. Once the kiddos where seated, I played a space shuttle launch simulation on the overhead and the kiddos absolutely loved it! Below is the link to the YouTube video incase your kiddo would like to watch it again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnoNITE-CLc

SPLAT! Exploring Gravity Through Art
This week we explored gravity through a playful art experience! Splat painting was a fun way to add scientific exploration into art. The kiddos dipped pompoms into paint, stood on a step stool and dropped the pompoms. I asked the kiddos to tell me what happened. "It splatted!" "It made a crazy shape!" After a few tries on the step stool, I had some kiddos stay on the floor and drop the pompom. When asked what they observed most of them pointed out that those splats weren't as big. When I asked why, they said that the pompoms had father to fall when they were on the step stool. This led into a variety of experimentation with the painted pompoms. They dropped the pompoms from various heights, and some pompoms were thrown at the paper too. I loved watching them try  out new techniques, and especially loved hearing them discuss why and how the different splats were created.






Mystery Reader



Exploring with Magnetic Wands



Reminders: 

-NO SCHOOL Monday!

-Please bring in a plain black shirt. 







Friday, May 17, 2019

Weather...continued!







This week we continue our Weather Unit!

Windy STEAM
Explore the power of wind through a simple yet engaging STEAM activity! How do you observe something you can't see like the wind? 

We divided our wind investigation into two parts. The first part of the activity allowed the kiddos to experience and engage in hands-on play with wind. The second encouraged the kids to use their observations from the first activity to create a work of art!  To explore wind we used a fan and feathers to see how the feathers moved in the wind! How did the feathers move? We experimented with various objects found in the room and discussed how they moved (or did not move) in the wind. 

We then created lovely Windy Art Printmaking using inspiration from our hands-on play. Using our fingers or q-tips the kiddos drew in the paint creating designs they thought looked like the wind. Then the kiddos took a piece of card stock and then pressed it down into the paint. We then peeled the paper and checked out the cool design! Next, we added some more whirly, twisty, twirly designs and glued on feathers to create a mixed media work of art!
















Walking Rainbow Science Experiment 
The Pre-K kiddos loved making their own walking rainbow from just three colors. 






Windy Day Hair Painting....with straws 
Crazy weather may keep us inside, but it is great inspiration for reading about the wind and then creating some windy day hair painting with straws!
















Butterflies
On Monday morning the kiddos walked in and saw that over the weekend our butterflies emerged from their chrysalides! We observed them for a couple of days and then let them go! Goodbye Lady, Chocolate, Rosey, Rainbow, Fluttery and Buttery!








"We came as strangers...we leave as FRIENDS!"
On the last day of school please feel free to take some photos from our new memory board right outside of our classroom! It was so much fun to watch the kiddos today looking at the pictures and reminiscing on good times! 


A-Z Countdown to Summer
I - inside out
J - jump
K - kindness 
L - letter
M - mismatched 





Recess



Sign In's 




REMINDERS: 
Monday is dress NICE DAY & Spring Sing 

We will begin our Space Unit next week!