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
- 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.
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