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
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.
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