Wind and Water Week 1 and 2

We are continuing are Wind and Water unit.  Many of our choice time activities are the same as last week, as we had a short week last week.

Reminders:  We will be going outside everyday that the weather is above 25 degrees.  Please send your child to school with appropriate clothing to play outside (in the snow - while it lasts).

WIND AND WATER THEME

This theme allows children explore wind and water using observations, experiments,

 and books to learn more about topics such as evaporation, weather, temperature, insulation, rain, and snow

Concepts for this unit include:

• Finding water in different forms - as rain (liquid), snow and ice (solid) and as steam (gas).  Temperature affects the form of water.
• Water soaks into, or is absorbed by , some things but is repelled by others.
• Wind - moving air - affects things.  Lighter things are moved a lot by wind. Heavier things are moved less by wind.  The amount of wind changes with the weather.  In storms, wind can blow very hard.
• Plants and animals need water to live.
• Water and wind provide opportunities for recreation.

Books this Week:
Gilberto and the Wind
One Dark Night
The Wind Blew

Small Groups
Art - Decorating pinwheels
Writing - What do you like to do on a windy day?
Science - What can air move?
Self Portraits for portfolios
Math - Size Sequencing snowballs to make a snowman

Center Activities

            Art: Painting with straws (moving paint on paper blowing into straws)

Easel: Painting with colors from the book Gilberto and the Wind  (black, brown and and white paint)

Writing: blank books with crayons and markers

Sand and Water: playing with sailboats in the water table

Library: Exploring books

Puzzles and Manipulatives: Matching uppercase alphabet arch letters 

Dramatic Play: playing with a clothes line and clothes pins for dramatic play

Blocks: building with blocks

Unit 1 Week 1

Happy October!  

Opening the World of Learning (OWL) is the curriculum we will be using for the remainder of our year.  Our first unit is all about families.

Reminder – Please send in 3-5 pictures we can use for our family tree project.

Families Theme

Children will be exploring and talking about families and the many different ways families relate to and help one another.  Through the Story Time books, children will hear about a boy who helps his family take care of his baby sister, a boy who realizes how much he has grown when a new baby arrives, a girl who behaves badly when she want attention, and a lonely stuffed bear who finds a new friend.  Besides listening to stories, children will begin to recognize initial sounds in words and identify rhyming words as they build vocabulary and comprehension skills.  They will also be participating in a variety of music, poetry, mathematics, science, and art activities during Center Time and in Small Groups.

Theme Concepts:

*Family members have role names: mother, father, sister, and so on.
*Some family members live together; some live in other places but are still family members.
*Grown-ups in a family take care of the children. Younger children need more care.  Older children can help take care of younger brothers and sisters.
*Children sometimes get angry at parents and may feel that their parents don't love them as much as their siblings.
*Sometimes grown-ups in a family don't like things that children do and tell them to stop or be quiet.
*Families do things together that are fun.

Books This Week:
Oonga Boonga by Frieda Wishinsky

Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats 

   

Small Groups:-
-Math- How many people live in your house?  This is a 2 day activity with coloring, cutting, gluing and counting.
-How many ducks in the pond? A math counting book

-Exploring Books – Students will ‘read to babies’ while learning how to hold a book and to turn pages gently

-Art- Making trees for our ‘Family Tree’ project

Choice Time
-Dramatic Play- Pet Shop
-Sensory Table- Water Movement using squeeze bottles and funnels
-Art Table- Making shakers and Sound Boards
-Writing- Making names with foam letters

-Blocks- Building with wooden blocks and drawing the building on a white board

-Library- Books about families

-Easel – Painting pictures Peter's Chair

Social Curriculum

We will continue to work on each of the preschool life skills each week as we introduce new skills.  This week we are continuing with out PLS 1 - Response to Name.

Songs, Word Play, and Letters
-Five Green and Speckled Frogs
-If Your Happy

-Itsy Bitsy Spider

-Down by the Bay

-If your name starts with ____ raise your hand

-Poem - Stand Up