Pioneer Fun!

This week was full of good ol' pioneer fun!  We learned a lot about pioneers- how they left their homes and traveled to new places without cars and planes as well as no TV, I-pads, computers, etc. Among all that can be taught, history and heritage are so important to remember.  It's never too young to instill in children an interest in history and those who've come before.

We learned pioneer songs and danced to fiddlin' music like the pioneers would have!  We also had fun doing a little science experiment: making butter out of cream!  Some of the children didn't think it would work, but all were excited to see how, as we shook and shook the jar, it changed into butter!  It was a delicious snack on wheat bread that day!

 

 We enjoyed playing games that the pioneers would've enjoyed  too like "Button, button, who's got the button" and "Hop, Skip, Jump." 

 

As part of learning the letter "W" this week, we got to grind wheat and see that it became flour!  We practiced our counting as we took turns and got to use our fresh flour and buttermilk from our butter to make the yummiest "Pioneer Pancakes" ever!

 

 We practiced writing our letter "Q" with Q-tips in salt!

 And then made our own quilts like the pioneers made! 

 

And even played "I Spy" with our "I Spy Quilt"!  These kids were really great at this game!  "I Spy" is a great game to practice colors, letters, shapes, and taking turns! 

 

Last, but definitely not least...we had another special visitor this week!  Suzy Safari was a terrific addition to our class!  We loved hearing her stories and poems!   She is so dynamic and expressive!

 

 In conjunction with "W" and "Q," we also learned the number "1" this week.  Be sure to continue reviewing all the things your children have learned so far!  They are so bright and sweet! 

We're looking forward to Transportation Week complete with a tour of the Fire Department!  Hurray!  The kids are so excited!

Space Week!

This week was reeeally OUT THERE!  We had a BLAST learning about the planets, stars,

the moon, and the Earth!

We got some special star-filled space playdoh and put together a 3-D diagram of our solar system!  We learned that all the other planets are either too hot or too cold for us to live on and that Earth is in just the right spot for life to exist!  When we studied the earth and the moon, we made our very own planet earths and name rocket ships!

 

The kids had a GREAT time taking their positions as planets and orbiting around the sun!

     They discovered and experimented with the forces of gravity and centripetal force as they revolved around the galaxy in their orbits!  We learned that the sun never moves, but that the Earth moves and spins making it day and night!  When we studied the moon, we went on our own moon expedition via personal rocket ships and "bounced" on the moon like real astronauts!

We learned the letters "M," "N,"  and "J" and practiced the number 5!  These kids were as sharp as rocket scientists!  I was so proud of them!

 

We also took time to realize and appreciate that it is the sun's power that makes everything here on earth grow!  All we have to do is add a little water!  Miraculous!

We also learned, that if we eat the healthy food that the earth and sun and water make, we will grow too!

 Strong and healthy and happy!  Just look at these WONDERFUL growing kids!

 

 

 

 

All made possible by the perfect placement and orbit of the Earth around the sun and God's special ingredient: LOVE!

I love teaching these cute kids each week!  And I love that my life orbits around theirs!

All About Eric Carle Week!

 

Eric Carle is such a talented artist and author!  We had a wonderful week learning about how he creates his illustrations as well as enjoying some of his delightful books!

The children really enjoyed painting a page like Eric Carle might use to cut out an image in a story!

"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"  is such a fun book illustrated by Eric Carle.  We each got to be a different animal from the story as we acted out the book.  

  

 Some of Eric Carle's books were brought to life during snack time this week!  We had "hungry caterpillars" that ate through strawberries and plums just like in "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."

 

We learned the letters "E" and "Z" this week as well as the number 7.  We noticed that all of the people in one of our classes had an "e" in their name just like Eric Carle has in his name!

 

Practicing our letters in salt was pretty exciting!

 After we read Eric Carle's book "Little Cloud," the kids made their own cloud shape!  It was fun to see how these puffy creations turned out!

After we read Eric Carle's book "Walter the Baker," we got to eat some of Walter's baked goods!  We had sweet rolls and pretzels just like the Duke and Duchess had in the story! 

 When it was time to be bakers like Walter the Baker, the kids enjoyed making their own pretzels, pies, cakes, and breads!  Playdoh was a great medium for strengthening their motor skills as well as their social skills as they shared the baking tools and showed each other what they had made!

 

As an added bonus to our week, Mother Goose came to visit!  The children were very excited to have a special visitor and to get to choose an egg that Goosey had laid!  It is always a special treat when Mother Goose comes!  The children enjoyed singing nursery rhymes together and listening to fun songs and stories!

  

The kids were so cute as they used our new watering cans to help take care of the plants growing in our garden!  They were excellent little gardeners and had a lot of fun too!

 

We have had a great first session of summer preschool!  We'll start our next session with "Space" as our theme!  We'll be learning the letters "J," "N," and "M" and the number 5.

 

We love the U.S.A.!!

 What a great week to learn about the U.S.A.!

 After learning about the Statue of Liberty, we put our U.S.A. puzzle together to see how big America is and where we live compared to where the Statue of Liberty is.  The kids did great matching up the states on this fun magnetic puzzle!

Centers are always a great way for preschoolers to develop independence by choosing which center they would like to do as well as developing social and academic skills.

 

 The boys in the background were really enjoying themselves as they prepared and served food and took care of the babies!

 We learned the letters "U," "S," and "A" this week! 

  

Yummy red, white, and blue snacks!

 

Documenting our experiment with pennies and vinegar.  If you'd like to try this at home, place a penny on a paper towel on a plate (before 1981 works best).  Then, pour some vinegar on the pennies.  Let them sit for a day or two and see what happens!  This went along great with learning about the Statue of Liberty and how she started out copper colored and is now turquoise.

Along with the letters, we learned red, white, and blue!  The kids really liked making this patriotic collage!

 

Music and Movement time was very fun this week! We danced to patriotic music with scarves!

And we had a patriotic parade as we learned the song "My Flag, My Flag"!

 

 

Happy birthday, America!  

Next week we'll be switching gears as we learn about Eric Carle, the children's author and illustrator!

Next week's letters are "E" and "Z"!  Keep reviewing the letters with your preschooler to help solidify all they've learned!

  Enjoy this 4th of July weekend!