January 31- Febuary 4-Last week of wind and water unit

Weekly Reminders
We will be going outside to play and explore the snow every Wednesday and Friday (depending on temperature). Please send in snow pants, boots, gloves, and hats in a bag for your child. Please be sure all items are labeled.

Wind and Water Theme
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

-The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
- A Hat for Minerva Louise

Small Groups this week
-Uppercase Alphabet Go Fish Game
-Science- Drying and Reconstituting Clay- We will observe and discuss the physical properties of clay.
-Journal Entry- Creating a journal page by observing our classroom rabbit. We will draw a picture of the rabbit and make observations regarding the rabbit.
-Beginning Letter Sounds and I-Pads- Children will be working in a small group in a teacher directed Ipad app lesson focusing on beginning letter sounds in words
-Shape Bingo
-Thermometer Observation and Clay Observation- We will have a thermometer inside and outside. Then we will compare the temperature and record it onto a chart. We will discuss our resuts and how we can use the information to help us. We will also observe our clay from last week.  One clay was exposed to air and the other in an air tight container.  We will discuss our results.
**We present our small groups in groups of three. Some groups may be continued from prior weeks or will be continued to a future week.

Center Activities this week
Art: Wind Spin Art Creations
Easel:Snowman People
Writing: Writing and drawing animals from Rabbits and Raindrops
Sand and Water: Ice Blocks(We will pour water into molds with small items inside to freeze) Children will use warm water to melt ice blocks and try to get items out of the ice blocks.
Exploration: Goop (cornstarch and water)
Library: Exploring books
Manipulatives: Spray Bottle Patterns onto strips
Dramatic Play: Dress-Up
Blocks: building with blocks and animals to make animal pens

Songs, Word Play, Letters
-We will be singing songs using our rainsticks we created. On Friday they will come home.
Songs: Come On and Join in the Game; Clap Your Hands; SNOWY(our snowy version of BINGO)
Poems: Hands; Stand Up; My Big Balloon; Mix a Pancake; Five Little Owls in an Old Elm Tree
Literacy Skills: Clapping out syllables of unit vocabulary words

Try this at home:
-Put the same amount of water in two plates.(Not too much) Put plastic wrap over one and leave one uncovered. Have your child guess what will happen. Check the next morning and observe what happened. We did a similiar activity at school.  We discussed how one evaporated into the air.
-Wet a one mitten and put it in an area to dry next to a dry mitten. Ask your child to compare how they feel. Then in the morning check the mittens and see how they compare. (We will be discussing how water evaporates in school this week).
-Put snow in a container and bring it inside. Have your child watch what happens to the snow over time. In our story next week, the boy in the story brings a snowball inside and is disappointed when he discovers it melted in his pocket overnight.

January 24-28

Weekly Reminders
We will be going outside to play and explore the snow every Wednesday and Friday (depending on temperature). Please send in snow pants, boots, gloves, and hats in a bag for your child. Please be sure all items are labeled.

Wind and Water Theme
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

-Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky
-The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Small Groups this week
-Where are the animals? -We will be learn spatial location such as above, below, left, and right. Then we will we place a game which will require children to use their memory skills to remember where the animals are after we hid them.
-Water Sound Exploration- We will use various objects in the water table such as cans, tubes, foil, and plastic. We will pour water on these objects to hear the sound it makes. We will then use spray bottles and eyedroppers to explore how the sound it different when we change how the water is placed on the objects.
-Clapping Syllables- We will be listening to the sounds of our unit vocabulary words. We will be creating charts to show if words have one, two, or three syllables. Some vocabulary words are umbrella, raining, sailboat, and many more.
-Uppercase Alphabet Go Fish Game
-Science- Drying and Reconstituting Clay- We will observe and discuss the physical properties of clay.
-Journal Entry- Creating a journal page by observing our classroom rabbit. We will draw a picture of the rabbit and make observations regarding the rabbit.
**We present our small groups in groups of three. Some groups may be continued from prior weeks or will be continued to a future week.

Center Activities this week
Art: Rain Sticks made with paper towels, rice and foil
Easel:Spray Painting Clouds with paint onto colored paper.
Writing: Writing and drawing animals from Rabbits and Raindrops
Sand and Water: Ice Blocks(We will pour water into molds with small items inside to freeze) Children will use warm water to melt ice blocks and try to get items out of the ice blocks. 
Exploration: Goop (cornstarch and water)
Library: Exploring books
Manipulatives: Uppercase Letter Clothespin Match Game
Dramatic Play: Taking care of animals (Pet Vet)
Blocks: building with blocks and animals to make animal pens

Songs, Word Play, Letters
Songs: Come On and Join in the Game; Clap Your Hands; SNOWY(our snowy version of BINGO)
Poems: Hands; Stand Up; My Big Balloon; Mix a Pancake; Five Little Owls in an Old Elm Tree
Literacy Skills: Clapping out syllables of unit vocabulary words

Try this at home:
-Wet a one mitten and put it in an area to dry next to a dry mitten. Ask your child to compare how they feel.  Then in the morning check the mittens and see how they compare. (We will be discussing how water evaporates in school this week).
-Put snow in a container and bring it inside. Have your child watch what happens to the snow over time. In our story next week, the boy in the story brings a snowball inside and is disappointed when he discovers it melted in his pocket overnight.

Unit 3- January 18 - 21

It's A Girl
Please welcome the newest
addition to the Cub Cadet Classroom: Flower the Rabbit
She will be in our classroom over the next few weeks.

Weekly Reminders:
-No school on Monday
-HOMEWORK- How wind moves homework:  Please return it by January 18 so we can create a class book.

Week 2-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

-Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky
-The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Small Groups this week
-Math- Let's Make Tanagrams- We will be exploring tanagrams and matching these shapes onto pictures. We will use visual discrimination to fill in pictures.

-Science- Absorbancy of Materials-We will be experimenting with water to see what materials absorb water and which materials repel water (related to the rabbits absorbing fur in our Rabbits and Raindrops book)

-Journal Writing- We will discuss and create a journal entry based on our book Gilberto. We will talk about what we like to do in the wind and relate it to how Gilberto played in the wind.

-Where are the animal? -We will be learn spatial location such as above, below, left, and right. Then we will we place a game which will require children to use their memory skills to remember where the animals are after we hid them.

-Water Sound Exploration- We will use various objects in the water table such as cans, tubes, foil, and plastic. We will pour water on these objects to hear the sound it makes. We will then use spray bottles and eyedroppers to explore how the sound it different when we change how the water is placed on the objects.

-Clapping Syllables- We will be listening to the sounds of our unit vocabulary words. We will be creating charts to show if words have one, two, or three syllables. Some vocabulary words are umbrella, raining, sailboat, and many more.

**We present our small groups in groups of three. Some groups may be continued from prior weeks or will be continued to a future week.

Center Activities this week
Art: Rain Sticks made with papertowels, rice and foil
Easel: Painting with colors from Rabbits and Raindrops(green, yellow, black, and white paints)
Writing: Writing and drawing animals from Rabbits and Raindrops
Sand and Water: Snow from outside(we certainly have enough of it!!)
Library: Exploring books
Manipulatives: Uppercase Letter Clothespin Match Game
Dramatic Play: Taking care of animals (Pet Vet)
Blocks: building with blocks

Songs, Word Play, Letters
Songs: Come On and Join in the Game; Clap Your Hands; SNOWY(our snowy version of BINGO)
Poems: Hands; Stand Up; My Big Balloon; Mix a Pancake; Five Little Owls in an Old Elm Tree
Literacy Skills: Clapping out syllables of unit vocabulary words

Try this at home: Put snow in a container and bring it inside.  Have your child watch what happens to the snow over time.  In our story next week, the boy in the story brings a snowball inside and is disappointed when he discovers it melted in his pocket overnight.

January 10-14 Wind and Water Unit Week 2

January 10-14

Weekly Reminders:

-Scholatic Book Club order due Thursday January 13

-Please visit http://burlingtonintegratedpreschool.blogspot.com/ to fill out the book program survey.  It will help us know if the program is working for our families and know how to improve the program. 

-HOMEWORK- We will be sending home about how wind moves on Monday. Please return it by
January 18 so we can create a class book.

-Pajama day will be Thursday January 13. Your child can wear pj's or a bathrobe to school.  They can also bring in slippers if they choose.  Please avoid footed pj's.

Week 2-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

-The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins
-One Dark Night by Hazel Hutchins
-Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky
-Giberto and the Wind by Marie Hall


Small Groups this week
-Making Kites
-What Can Air Move? (science experiments to explore air movement)
-Phonemic Awareness- We will be creating Gilberto Letter Books. This will reinforce beginning sounds in vocabulary words for our unit.
-Math- Let's Make Tanagrams- We will be exploring tanagrams and matching these shapes onto pictures.  We will use visual discrimination to fill in pictures.
-Science- Absorbancy of Materials-We will be experimenting with water to see what materials absorb water and which materials repel water (related to the rabbits absorbing fur in our Rabbits and Raindrops book)
-Journal Writing- We will discuss and create a journal entry based on our book Gilberto. We will talk about what we like to do in the wind and relate it to how Gilberto played in the wind.
-Where are the animal? -We will be learn spatial location such as above, below, left, and right.  Then we will we place a game which will require children to use their memory skills to remember where the animals are after we hid them.
-Water Sound Exploration- We will use various objects in the water table such as cans, tubes, foil, and plastic.  We will pour water on these objects to hear the sound it makes. We will then use spray bottles and eyedroppers to explore how the sound it different when we change how the water is placed on the objects.
-Clapping Syllables- We will be listening to the sounds of our unit vocabulary words.  We will be creating charts to show if words have one, two, or three syllables.  Some vocabulary words are umbrella, raining, sailboat, and many more.
**We present our small groups in groups of three. Some groups may be continued from prior weeks or will be continued to a future week.
Center Activities this week
Art: Wind Socks
Easel: Writing with markers on lamenating film, then spraying water with spray bottles and watch what happens
Writing: Vocabulary Words
Sand and Water: water wheels and funnels
Library: Exploring books
Manipulatives: Using clothespins to make animal fences
Dramatic Play: Taking care of animals (Pet Vet)
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: Have your child help you wash and then dry the table. We are talking about absorbancy at school.  You can show them how sponges and towels absorb water.