Continuing With Our Rainforest
Although the children only came to school this week for three days, they were busy expanding their ocean and rainforest habitats with various materials. In the rainforest, the children thought they needed to add more leaves to their branches so they cut more pieces of green paper and securely taped the greenery to the branches they had previously made. Other friends decided that they did not have enough materials to make a big enough rainforest so they referred to the pictures they had been looking at for some inspiration. Some decided we needed logs to let the giant snake rest on.
When the children were finished with their branches, trees, giant flying cockroach, water, and logs, they put their creations in the loft as they had decided that we would make our rainforest up there. They chose where in the loft they would like to place their trees, branches and water. Then, they put the log and snake in the loft so the snake could sleep soundly.
During Circle time, the children talked about what else they might like in their rainforest. Michael reminded us about his great idea about adding vines to it. We looked at a few pictures of vines on the monitor to see what they look like, and even saw pictures of our class holding the vines from the sweet potato dig from the trip we went on earlier in the school year. Claire remembered pulling out the vines and showed us how we had to use our muscles to pull them out!
In the playground, some boys were very excited to spot and show the teachers vines that are growing on the fence.
As there was so much talk about vines and how much we needed them in our rainforest, we needed to add those to our loft right away. So the children rummaged through the materials to find the perfect look and it seemed as though different colored yarn was the perfect choice for vines.
More Sea-life
The children who wanted to add more to the ocean were also able to create what they thought would make it look more real. Friends wanted to make fish for the ocean so they looked at photos and thought about what kind of fish they wanted to make. The used ribbons to create lined patterns and found spots in the ocean they thought their fish would like to swim.
This week, Mina shared her turtle with the class as it goes along with our ocean/beach theme. She explained that she made it using paper, scissors and tape and that her mommy helped her a little. Mina chose to put her turtle in the class ocean and found the perfect place to put her turtle so it could have a home. Thank you for sharing your turtle with us!
In addition, Mya brought in a clear container and a seashell for the ocean. The children and been talking a lot about putting real water in the ocean and, when the teachers asked how that would be possible, the children came up with the idea of bringing a clear container and filling it with water then covering it so it won't spill. Before the children decided on how to do that with the materials Mya brought, they said they wanted to think about what animal that they could fit in the container that could also be in water. Our class turtle was too big so they would like to think some more about how they will do this. In the meantime, Mya was able to put her seashell in the ocean!
Claire was excited and proud to bring in a small sea turtle from home. She kindly let her friends take turns holding it and answered some questions that they had for her. They decided it must be a sea turtle as, Karen pointed out, it had flippers. James asked if it could go in the water but Claire said no. Thank you for bringing in your themed belongings in from home, friends!
Observational Drawings of Snakes and Turtles
This week, the children continued to observe and play with the snake and turtle pieces in the classroom. They were given the opportunity to create observational drawings of snakes and turtles, noting their size, shape, color patterns and markings. This was a fantastic activity for their vocabulary as the children practiced using some of the new words they learned such as skinny, spotted, oval0shaped head, flippers, and turtle shell. Some friends chose snakes, others chose turtles and some even chose to draw both. Please be sure to have a look on the wall when you come for in for your conferences!
Rope Light
Some friends were very curious with the long "snake-like" light that was on the carpet when they came to school. The children touched it, tried to bend it and squashed it to see what would happen to the rope light. We heard some interesting questions and comments about it that we will begin to explore more of very soon. Stay tuned!
Yoga with a Special Visitor
This week, we were so fortunate to have a special visitor stop by and work with the children: Lori, Mya's mommy! She treated the children to some yoga, something that several of them were familiar with, and the children were very excited to participate. They pretended to be in a boat and spotted many different animals and had fun acting them out, all while doing lovely stretching poses. Then, they did a breathing exercise where they placed stuff animals on their bellies and practiced their deep breathing by watching their belly pet go up and down while they inhaled and exhaled. The children all participated so well and the teachers were extremely impressed with how flexible and strong they are! Thank you again so much for your time and thoughtfulness, Lori. What a special treat to end our short week with!
We look forward to meeting with our Nursery parents this week and hope you all have a restful weekend.
Thank you!
-Julie and Natalie
Thank you!
-Julie and Natalie