May 31-June 3 Farm Unit

We will be completing a unit on the farm. We will be discussing the animals we saw on the farm. 

Books this week:

The Cow that went oink

Inside a barn in the country

Farmer Duck

Small Groups this week:
-Creating a chart to show our favorite animals on the farm.  We will reinforce concepts such as the most, least, and the same.
-Counting Syllables- We will be sorting animals on the farm by the number of syllables. Example, cow=1, chicken=2.  We will create a chart to follow up with this concept.
-What does not belong? We will look at a collection of pictures and color the pictures that go together.
-Positional Farm Activity- We will need to follow directions in a sequence with a farm picture. For example, first color the barn red, then color the mud brown.  After we finish coloring our farm picture, we will cut and glue animals in the prompted position. For example, put the pig in the mud, put the rooster on the barn, and put the cow beside the barn. Postional concepts and following directions is the focus.


Centers

Block Area- Farm animals and blocks to create animal pens

Sensory- pom poms and tongs(fine motor development)
Dramatic Play- Farm animal puppet show
Manipulatives- Making animal pens using clothespins

-Art- farm animal mural

-Easel- farmer and barn watercolor painting
Manipulative Table- salt trays with cars

Songs, Word Play, and Language

-We will be discussing how every animal on the farm has a job

-Old McDonald (beginning sound version of each child's name)

-Baa Baa Black Sheep

-I Love Mud

- Down on Grandpa's Farm

Our Trip to Drumlin Farm

Today our class enjoyed the wonderful weather at Drumlin Farm.  We saw many animals including chickens, baby pigs, goat, sheep, cows, horse, a snake, and even a fox.  It was a fun filled day.  A special thanks to Kelsey and Keira's dads for meeting us at the farm. 

It was a day to remember.

After a fun filled day on the farm we all enjoys our snacks at the picnic tables.

 



Nest on our playground

We were very surprised today in our big playground to find that a bird had built a nest in the roof of our playground. Last week we were talking about nests while we read Make Way for Ducklings.  We talked about how some birds like ducks build nests on the ground and some birds like a robin build a nest up high. I took a picture of inside the nest very carefully not to disturb the nest. 

Farm Unit May 23-27

We will be beginning a unit on the farm.  On Friday, we will be having going to Drumlin Farm to experience a real farm.  We will continue this unit next week as well and further discuss this unit.

Books this week:
The Cow that went oink
The Farm Alphabet Book
Tops and Bottoms

Small Groups this week:
-Animals on the Farm- We will be discussing and graphing animals that we will see on the farm. We will discuss ways they are different and the same.(ie;What animals live in a barn?, What animals give us milk?, What animals lay eggs on the farm?)
- Old McDonald Class Book
- Farm Animal Beginning Sound Game- We will be determining the beginning sound of things we might find on the farm

Centers
Block Area- Farm animals and barns
Sensory- Water, grass and snakes
Dramatic Play- Farmer's Market
Manipulatives- Making animal pens using clothespins

-Art- using white paint and shaving cream to create lambs
-Easel- Barns and red chalk

Songs, Word Play, and Language
-We will be discussing how every animal on the farm has a job
-Old McDonald (beginning sound version of each child's name)
-Baa Baa Black Sheep
-I Love Mud
- Down on Grandpa's Farm

Things that Grow- May 16-20

Things That Grow (final week)

Please return the measuring activity by this Thursday. 

Children will explore how living things grow, using observations, experiments, and books. Through story time readings, children will hear about ducks who find a special home, a new baby on a farm, a boy who grows from baby to school age, and a girl who discovers the joys of growing vegetables. Children continue to learn about leters, sounds, and rhyming words, and participate in many other math, science, music, poetry, and art activities.

Theme Concepts:
-Living things grow and have life cycles.
-Living things reproduce, and the offspring are the same kind of plant or animal as their parents.
-Living things need food, water, and proper living conditions to survive.
-Immature living things need special care.
-Living things interact, and among animals ther are predators and prey.

Books This Week:
Bigger
Chickens Aren't the Only Ones

Small Groups:
- Measuring ourselves with classroom blocks- We will use our classroom blocks to measure our hands, our arms, and our bodies. We will compare how many blocks long each child is. We will see who is the longest, shortest, and the same.
-Sequence- We will color, cut and sequence 4 pictures of the growing process.
-Positional word activity- We will complete a postional book focusing on postional words such as above, below, in, next to.
-How long it the street? - We will use cubes to measure the length of various pictured streets. This activity will also focus on listening to 2 to 3 step directions.
-Lowercase go fish game
-Vegetable Bingo

Centers
-Dramatic Play- Garden Shop
-Sensory Table- using measuring cups to count and fill containers
-Art Table-tracing our bodies
-Science- Tadpoles
-Blocks- Little People
-Puzzles- assorted puzzles
-Library- Books about growing
-Technology-using Ipads(teacher directed app=Which two items go together)
-Easel- coffe filters and colored dobbers

Songs, Word Play, and Letters
-Green Grass Grows All Around
-Grow song
-rhythm sticks
-Letter Garden- Each child will be given a fruit or vegetable. A "seed letter" will be planted and they will be asked if they have a fruit or vegetable that has the beginning sound of that letter.

Fun with Worms

In our small groups this week we observed worms. We drew what they looked like and talked about how they move.  It was so much fun.

May 9-13 How things grow week 3

Theme 6- Things That Grow
**On Thursday, we will be sending how a measuring activity to do with your children.  We will explain to them how to use a measuring strip to compare items that are shorter and longer. Have fun measuring with your child. 
Children will explore how living things grow, using observations, experiments, and books. Through story time readings, children will hear about ducks who find a special home, a new baby on a farm, a boy who grows from baby to school age, and a girl who discovers the joys of growing vegetables. Children continue to learn about leters, sounds, and rhyming words, and participate in many other math, science, music, poetry, and art activities.

Theme Concepts:
-Living things grow and have life cycles.
-Living things reproduce, and the offspring are the same kind of plant or animal as their parents.

-Living things need food, water, and proper living conditions to survive.
-Immature living things need special care.
-Living things interact, and among animals ther are predators and prey.

Book This Week:
Make Way for Ducklings
I heard said the bird
Chickens Aren't the Only Ones

Small Groups:
-How seeds grow art project-We will use art supplies to show different parts of a flower such as stem, roots, leaves, seeds, and petals.
-Animal Babies born alive or in eggs- We will look in books to see what babies are born live like people and born in eggs like birds. We will then create a chart to take home.
-Sorting Seeds- We will give each child 4 different seeds to sort into 4 groups. Then they will use words to describe each different seed.
-Measuring classroom items with measuring strips. We will be send how a homework project to extend this activity.

Centers
-Dramatic Play- Garden Shop
-Sensory Table- sand
-Art Table-creating flowers for our garden mural
-Science- Observing Tadpoles and Seeds
-Blocks- Little People Community Helpers
-Puzzles- measuring with clothespins as a non-standard unit of measure
-Library- Books about growing
-Technology-using Ipads(teacher directed app=Which two items go together)
-Easel- bingo dobbers on flower
-Math- measuring project

Songs, Word Play, and Letters
-Green Grass Grows All Around
-Grow song
-When I was one (a growing poem)
-Letter Garden- Each child will be given a fruit or vegetable. A "seed letter" will be planted and they will be asked if they have a fruit or vegetable that has the beginning sound of that letter.