Wind and Water Week 4 January 22-25

Happenings:
-Tuesday- Pancake Pajama Party- We received 5 pom poms in our class reward bucket and this is a reward for our class.  It is also connected to our book One Dark Night. (The main character is wearing pajama as he helps a family of cats). Your child can wear their pj's to school.
Friday- What moves in the wind homework is due. Have fun with your child with this fun activity.
If you have any questions about these activities feel free to contact me. 

Unit Concepts
-We find water in different forms (liquid as rain, solid as snow, and gas as steam.
-Water can be absorbed and repelled by different materials (ie. sponge, plastic film)
-Wind affects things. Wind cannot move heavy things. Wind can make light objects move fast.
-Water comes to us in forms of 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
Rabbits and Raindrops
A Hat For Minerva Louise

Small Groups
    Continued from last week:
Water Sound Exploration- We will investigate in the sensory table how water creates sounds. First listening to the sound of water in streams and ocean tides on the Ipad. Then we will create sounds by droping objects into the water in the sensory table. We will notice how the weight or shape of objects affect the sound it creates.
-Writing- We will be writing animal names from our unit book Rabbits and Raindrops to create a book.
-Phonemic Awareness- We will color, cut, then glue to create a rhyming book to our class song"Down by the Bay".
     New on Wednesday
-Drying and Reconstituting Clay-Part 1- We will explore clay and create an object. We will be creating a book to about this science experiment in a future small group
-Language-Sequencing The Snowy Day- We will recall the events in our class unit book The Snowy Day.  We will cut and place pictures in order to retell the story.
-Letter Boats- We will put uppercase and lowercase letter in order

Center
Science Table- Observation Sheet to observe our 3 gerbils
Blocks-Blocks
Sensory Table- Water and Tubes ( Movement of Water)
Dramatic Play- "L.L Bean Winter Clothing Store"
Library- A variety of books about weather
Art Table-Making Rain Sticks
Easel- Paints in colors from Rabbits and Raindrops
Puzzles- Puzzles
Manipulatives-  Goop (Cornstarch and Water)
Writing Center- Writing Animal words


Song, Word Play and Letters
Poems- Boom, Bang, Raindrops
Songs-Down by the Bay, Windy was the weather
Literacy Skills- Frog Jump Letters, Diving Letters, Change/ Rearrange of Words

Let's Talk About It
-Discussing Disappointment
-Discussing Thermometers
-How to "Check" our bodies (How to sit during large group activities on the rug)
-Drying Wet Mittens

Handwriting
-We will be working on Big Line Letters that need a "frog jump" such as F, E, H... (A big line down, frog jump up, then little line at the top, and little line in the middle).

Preschool Life Skills
We are continuing to review our previous skills 1-6.
1-When a teacher calls your name, stop, look and say, "Yes".
2-When a teacher tells you to do something, do it "Right Away".
3-When a teacher tells you to do 2 things, do it "Right Away".
4-When something is too hard, first try then say,"Can you help me please?"
5-When you something from a teacher or a friend and they are doing something, say, "Excuse me" to get them to look at you.
(6and 7 are join together)
7-When someone is in your way or has something that you want, say "Excuse me" to get their attention, and then say"May I_____?" to get what you want.
New skill:
"Checking our Body" - This is to remind us how to sit during large group activities. We will talk about how to "check" our bodies to get ready to listen.  This is a important skill as we transition into kindergarten.