Wind and Water Theme- Week 1

January 3-7

Week 1
Theme- Wind and Water
In unit 3, children explore wind and water observations, experiments, and books to learn about such topics as evaporation, weather, temperature, insulation, rain, and snow.  Through the story time books, children hear about a boy playing on a windy day, baby rabbits and kitten finding shelter in storms, a child playing in the snow, and a silly hen trying to keep warm in winter.  In addition, to listening to stories, children increase their listening and speaking vocabulary and continue to learn about rhymes and identify letters and sounds.

Theme Concepts
-We find 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. 
-Water comes to us through rain or snow.
-Water evaporates from puddles and from things that are wet.
-Plants and animals need water to live.
-Water and wind provide opportunities for recreation.

Books this week

-Giberto and the Wind by Marie Hall
-One Dark Night by Hazel Hutchins

Small Groups this week
-Shape Bingo Game (Math)
-Inflating balloons and observing their movement in wind(Science)
-Picture Card memory game using words from unit 3 storybooks (Games)
-Making Kites
-What Can Air Move? (science experiments to explore air movement)
-Book Browsing- We will read The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins then compare and contrast this story with Gilberto and Wind.
**Please note that some small groups will continue next week.

Center Activities this week

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: water and student and teacher created sailboats
Library: Exploring books
Puzzles and Manipulatives: Matching uppercase alphabet arch letters
Dramatic Play: playing house, clothes line and clothes pins for dramatic play
Blocks: building with blocks

Songs, Word Play, Letters

Songs: Come On and Join in the Game; Clap Your Hands; Wheels on the Bus
Poems: Hands; Stand Up; My Big Balloon; Mix a Pancake; Five Little Owls in an Old Elm Tree
Literacy Skills: Naming sound game and rhyming word game

Try this at home: Observe signs of weather with your child. When you are outside ask them to look at the sky and talk about clouds, rain, wind, and storms.