Snow Unit January 21-24

Information:
-No school Monday.
-Our school will be having an open house for new students interested in our program on January 24 from 1pm to 2 pm.  

Books This Week:
Tracks in the Snow
Stella: Queen of the Snow
The Mitten

Small Groups For This Week:
1. Science- Salt on Ice Experiment- We will predict what will happen to an ice cube if we put salt on top of it.  After we predict what will happen, we will put salt on top and watch.  Then we will draw a picture of what happened and talk about why.
2. Math-Subiziting how many(this the concept of looking at a set of objects and knowing how many there are without counting)  We will have a race to see if 2 or 3 will win.  A teacher will show 2 or 3 objects quickly then the children will have to say 2 or 3 then record their results.
3. Language- Animals in The Mitten and not in The Mitten- We will read the story then talk about the animals in the story.  We will then sort 2 ways to create a chart.
1.Science- Animal Tracks in the Snow matching activity
2. Phonemic Awareness- Rhyming words for Tracks in the snow book.
3. Math-Non-standard units of measure.  We will use blocks to measure how many blocks tall different snowmen are.  We will create a book to compare which snowman is taller and shorter.
Let's Talk About It 
-Absorb and Repel Concepts
-Snow Insulation
-Animal Tracks

Centers
Art Table: painting symmetrical painted mittens
Block Area: building a town to use a snow plow in
Sensory Table: Artic animals on icebergs
Book Area: books about weather
Easel: Snow pictures (white paint on blue paper)
Writing Table: weather pictures
Dramatic Play: Weather Station
Puzzles and Manipulatives: matching different mittens

Handwriting
We will continuing a program called Handwriting Without Tears. It's focus is on letter formation and letter awareness. This program reinforces proper grasp and trying to strenghten fine motor muscles.
-We are working on letters with big and little lines that include curves (ie: D,P, etc)

Songs, Word Play, and Language
-SNOWY (A version of Bingo) "There was a day when we were cold and snowy was the weather."
-Book- When it starts to snow
-Stella Ipad App
-Syllable Tapping for vocabulary words for Tracks In The Snow
-PETER (A version of Bingo) on the touch It Board

Preschool Manners
We are moving onto our new skill.
-When you want soemething form a teacher or friend and they are doing something say, "Excuse me" to get them to look at you, then you say"May I____________?" to get what you want.