Things that grow unit May 20-24

Classroom Happenings:
-Egg Homework- We have been learning about how different creatures grow.  We have discussed how mammals are born alive and drink milk. We also discussed how reptiles and birds are born from eggs.  This is to go along with our things that grow unit which also focuses on size and measuring.  As a fun homework or "fun"work assignment, they were given an egg and their job is to find something at home that is not too big or too small to fit in their egg. They will bring it back to school on Wednesday May 22 to share with their friends.
-Our End of the Year Party will be on Thursday June 6. I will send home a sheet to let you know an exact time but I wanted to give you advanced notice to help you plan.

Unit: Things That Grow

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 letters, 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 there are predators and prey.
Books This Week:

Make Way For Ducklings
Tops and Bottoms

Bigger

Small Groups:
-Comparing Length- We will cut  strips of paper then place them in size order from shortest to longest.  Then we will use cubes to measure their length and then write the number. 
-Sequencing- How a plant grows sequencing using up to six pictures.
-Nature Walk- finding things that grow and collecting items that we think a bird would use to create a nest.
-Building a nest- We will use the materials we find on our nature walk to build a nest.  We will look at a real bird nest that is in our classroom science center for ideas.

Centers
-Dramatic Play- Baby Nursery
-Sensory Table- Observing Worms
-Art Table- A Top Secret Project
-Science- Waiting for our chysallis' to open
-Writing Table- bingo dobbers/ Ipads
-Math- manipulatives
-Library- Books about growing

Songs, Word Play, and Letters
-Green Grass Grows All Around
- I am thinking of something..(using vocab words from our unit; molt, grow, seeds aroma, mammal, egg,)
-Five Little Ducks
-First comes a Butterfly who lays an egg

Handwriting
-We will be working on our number books for HWT.  We will be using our workbooks and hands on activities to practice writing our numbers (dry erase boards, chalk boards, magnet boards)

Preschool Life Skills
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.
8-When an adult tells you to wait say, "Okay", and your waiting words. (Waiting Words= "When I wait quietly, I get what I want")
9- When a friend tells you to wait say, "Okay", and your waiting words. (Waiting Words= "When I wait quietly, I get what I want")
New Skill:
10- When someone gives you something, look at them and say, "Thank you."

We also have been learning:
"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.