Transportation Week - Fire Department Field Trip!

We had a fantastic week learning about transportation.  We learned that transportation is how we get from one place to another.  We sorted these various forms of transportation into three groups based on how they travel: air, land, or water.  

  The children enjoyed getting a partner and making a little rowboat together as we sang "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" when we talked about boats as a form of transportation on water.

 The highlight of the week was definitely our field trip to the Fire Department!  All along the way we spotted fire hydrants that the fire fighters use to put out fires.

We also saw a statue of the pioneers that we just learned about last week!

 The firemen were so wonderful to give each class a tour of the fire station, their many different vehicles, and teach us about fire safety.  

These lucky kids got to get inside one of the fire engines!

Some of the classes got to see inside an ambulance too!

 This class was very fortunate to be able to watch a new fire fighter pass off one of his tests as he hauled a large hose to the fire hydrant and successfully got it all hooked up!

 The children got to see what the firemen looked like with all their gear on and hear what they sound like when they breathe through their oxygen mask.  

We also got to see some of the many tools that the fire fighters use when there are emergencies.

One of the special tools they showed us was this thermal imaging camera that they can use during fires.  These children thought that was pretty interesting!

 We are so grateful for the fire fighters and all they do to help keep us safe!  We also enjoyed seeing this amazing statue in front of the fire department made by the same artist who painted our Treasure Tree on the wall of our classroom--Cathy Erdmann!  She creates amazing works or art!

 

 The firemen also talked to us about fire safety.  We practiced STOP, DROP, and ROLL, if our clothes ever catch on fire.  Also, the children learned that each family should have a safe meeting place outside their home if there ever was a fire in their house.   This field trip gives a perfect lead-in to talk about your emergency plan with your family--even your little preschoolers.  I hope you will take the time to talk about this with your own family this week.

Our 3-day/week class worked on a color-by-number picture of a little fireman!  We worked on colors and number recognition and they all enjoyed seeing what their finished picture looked like.

This class had fun making roads and ramps for the cars this week!

Our group coloring project of many forms of transportation!

I love how these kids independently worked so well to create this colorful pattern tower!  Summer camps and preschool help to build strong, healthy social skills that are so very important.

Pioneers!

We had a great week learning about pioneers!  We learned how they traveled on foot, in covered wagons, on boats, and on horses.  I feel it is important to teach children history and help them appreciate all the things they enjoy today and feel a sense of gratitude for those who have come before us.  They were amazed that the pioneers didn't have TVs or ipads or anything like that!   

In one of the books we read, there was a picture of some of the items the pioneers would have had in their covered wagons.  We saw dishes, pots, a butter churn, a quilt, a tea pot, a gun, flour, a spare wheel, etc.  We talked about how the pioneers loaded up their belongings and bought what they would need for their journey.  Because there weren't stores along the way, they made their own food, including butter.  The kids had a blast making their own butter too!  It took lots of teamwork and lots of shaking!

We took turns shaking the jar full of whipping cream and got to see what it looked like part way when it had turned to cream. 

Then, we got to taste it!  It was delicious!  And the children were so excited that they had made it themselves!

 As part of pioneer week, we learned about how the pioneers made quilts and used them to stay warm on their journey.  This "I Spy" quilt was such a bright, colorful, fun way to show the children how people today still use small pieces of fabric to make large quilts.  

We enjoyed playing pioneer games together.  One of those games was "I Spy" which was a great way to practice color recognition, taking turns, teamwork, and having fun together!

 Another pioneer game we played was "Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?"  These kids thought this was such a fun and tricky game!  This would be a great game to play with your family sometime! 

Our 3-day/week class got to make their own quilt.  Instead of sewing our fabric scraps together, we glued them on a colored paper.  Their quilts turned out so colorful and bright!

I love our kitchen and cleaning center.  Many days, the boys are just as interested in it as the girls!  They love to pretend to clean and cook and have picnics too!

Drawing with stencils during centers helps encourage fine motor skills, creativity, and self-confidence.

This week we learned the letters "M", "N", and "Q" as well.  We had a terrific week and hope you had a great Pioneer Day weekend!

Space and Our Solar System

Learning about space and our solar system was an awesome theme for this week's summer camp!  We all enjoyed our new hanging solar system which we got to see glow in the dark!  I love how glow in the dark is so magical for the kids!

The kids really liked studying space books.  There are so many fascinating things in our solar system! 

We learned the number 5 this week so for one of our projects, we worked on those fine motor skills as they punched little holes in their number 5 and cause and effect.  They were all so careful as they followed the line of the 5 all the way around.  

They were so excited to hold their own project up to the window to see the little "stars" shining through!

We used our globe when we learned about the USA and then again this week to expand the children's understanding of the Earth as a planet in the solar system. 

I love hands-on learning (kinesthetic learning)!  Each child got to have a turn to be something in the solar system as they learned that the planets all go around the sun.  

We even added the moon as it orbits around the Earth.  

As all the children are familiar with airplanes flying through the sky, we talked about how airplanes can take us anywhere on Earth.  Then we talked about how space shuttles blast straight up and out of the atmosphere to enter space.  They were all fascinated as we watched a recording of a real space shuttle launch!

Then they all made their very own space ship/rocket!  This was a great activity to work on name recognition and writing their name and discovering how many letters were in their name.

Many of them enjoyed blasting their rockets up into "space" and around our classroom!

In the 3-day/week class, we learned more about Earth and the children painted and made their own Earth to take home.

We had a terrific week learning all about space!  Summer camps are so much fun!  To reinforce what we've learned in the classroom, be sure to take some time with your child to point out the stars, moon, and planets in the night sky.  Summer is the best time for star parties to spur their imagination and love for learning!
As part of our daily routine, we have a few minutes to move and stretch to break up our time learning at the teaching rug.  We often sing movement songs during this time like "If You're Happy and You Know It!".  I'm so grateful to be able to teach such precious, happy kids each day!