february 28
ART
Upon our return from February break we began a collaborative activity in which we explored drawing on a mural-sized paper in projected light. Accompanied by some calming Mozart compositions we worked in small groups cooperatively sharing our work surface and floor space while we investigated the interplay of light, shadow, body movement and fluorescent line. We moved our bodies freely in the light while we explored color and line and made some exciting discoveries such as the possibility of tracing our own shadows or changing the size and opacity of our shadows by moving closer or farther away from the light source or our drawing.
DRAMA
Last week in drama, we continued with Arctic and winter themes through the lives of animals and people. We reenacted the Inuit folktale, The Boy Who Became A Caribou. This is also a social story about self acceptance and bullying. The children portrayed the central character, who decides to live among animals he/she doesn't want to harm. We explored the frozen tundra and the ways of the caribou and especially enjoyed incorporating rhythm sticks to use as antlers.
DRAMATIC PLAY / SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
This week the children have continued to put on some amazing shows! They organize the chairs in neat rows and fill the seats with friends as the audience. Lately, they have been picking someone to announce the show and welcome the audience. I don’t know where they get these ideas from! The cast sings and dances as the audience watches and claps. When the show is over, they take a big bow as a group. They never forget to collect money and tickets from the audience. They use the play cash registers to sort the money. So sweet to watch!
LITERACY
In literacy, we continued working on our story sequencing with the stories, “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie” and “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” We used cut out pictures of events in the stories and ordered them to match the sequence of the story. We then became storytellers ourselves and retold the stories using the pictures. We used magnetic sorting tiles and sorted by letter, copied words we created on wipe-boards, and identified the sight words on the various tiles. The children were also very interested in drawing in their journals and making cards for the important people in their lives.
MATH / COMMUNITY CENTER
This week at CHP we had lots of birthdays. The kids were super excited about it so we decided to make a birthday chart. First, the kids found out how old each student is. Next, they cut out pictures of each student’s face and pasted them on a poster under their birthday months. It took a few days to complete and all the kids put in a lot of work! We also made some really cool structures using the big blocks in the block center like a boat and a train. Finally, the kids made up a “rainbow club” this week. We talked at lunch about what it means to be a part of the rainbow club, and I’m excited to see how it develops over the next few weeks!
MUSIC
This week in music, inspired by the sunnier, warmer weather at the start of the week, we wrote a song about the beginning of springtime. Our song “Roll That Flower Down to Town” is a springtime adaptation of one of our classroom favorites, “Roll That Pumpkin Down To Town.” In order to complete the song, the children reflected on what it takes to help a flower grow. We added verses about soil, water, and sunlight to our song. In addition to our adventures in songwriting, the children also explored a new instrument: the sandblocks. We noticed that this instrument is really loud when we clap them together, but very quiet when we scoot them together to create a “swoosh” sound.
Here are the lyrics to "Roll The Flower Down to Town"
Roll that flower down to town,
Roll that flower down to town,
Roll that flower down to town,
It’s almost time for spring
Plant the seed and cover it with soil,
Plant the seed and cover it with soil,
Plant the seed and cover it with soil,
It’s almost time for spring
Take your can and water it,
Take your can and water it,
Take your can and water it,
It’s almost time for spring,
Let a little sunshine in,
Let a little sunshine in,
Let a little sunshine in,
It’s almost time for spring
SCIENCE
This week we used the discovery box as a water table for a variety of different activities. Using a T-chart to collect and record data, we conducted a sink or float experiment using plastic animals. We balanced frogs on foam lily pads and boats, experimenting with stability and weight, and we experimented with baking soda and vinegar, using eye droppers to activate the ingredients so we could observe various reactions.
TWOs
This week in the nest we brought out the legos and spent time building different types of towers, farms and playgrounds. We had a lot of inside play this week (due in part to strong winds and in part to cold temperatures), so we visited the back of the classroom to play with the parachute and to play “Red Rover,” a new, fun game that the kiddos enjoyed. This week's favorite books were Rex Wrecks It by Ben Clanton and My Teacher is a Monster by Peter Brown. Because of the latter, we introduced a monster-making project in the nest using cut-outs of the children’s hands. Everyone likes to roar like a monster!
February 14
ART
We worked very hard all week to finish our valentines projects in time for Valentine’s Day. We have been learning that our art makes a wonderful gift and hope that you feel the love represented in our large multi-media Valentine’s Day cards.
DRAMA
Last week in drama, we continued with our penguin curriculum activities and stories. The children created some families in the rookery taking care of their young chicks. We explored tobogganing on our tummies down a hill and other penguin behavior such as carrying the chicks on our feet. Our adventurous CHP penguins also outswam an orca whale and frightened away a pesky egg-stealing skua bird.
DRAMATIC PLAY / SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
This week our stage took a turn to a land of babies. The kids have been very into talking about pregnancy and newborns (I wonder why!?) and have been pretending that the dramatic play area is a hospital. The kids (both boys and girls) put babies in their shirts and lay on the couches, asking for doctors to tend to them. It is so sweet to watch them help each other rest and touch each other’s bellies. The babies have yet to be born but I will keep you updated if that changes. Be prepared for some potential baby/pregnancy questions in your near future! If you have any questions about how to talk about these things in an age appropriate way, we are here to chat.
LITERACY
This week, we continued making Valentine’s Day cards and writing special words for people we love. We cut out and decorated hearts that went home at the end of the day. The children were very interested in adding to their journals this week - creating colorful pictures, using stencils, and writing different words. We used alphabet peg boards, which is a great way to practice letter recognition while improving hand-eye coordination. We finished the week with the listening center, using chalkboards with sight words, beading necklaces and bracelets, and playing Boggle Jr.
MATH / COMMUNITY CENTER
We started this week making some valentines for our friends, teachers, and families! We used the “Valentine-mobile” that our students made with Lizzie to deliver the valentines to our friends’ cubbies. We looked for our friends’ photos and matched up their cubby numbers. Later in the week we took out all of our red and pink manipulatives and sorted them by type, shape, and size. We built lots of different Valentine structures using the different manipulatives.
MUSIC
In music, we celebrated Valentine’s Day by singing the classic song “A Bushel and a Peck”. We also learned the ASL sign for heart and practiced it in a new fingerplay all about love. The children enjoyed telling us about the cards they’d made for the holiday and we even came to the conclusion that singing a song for someone special for Valentine’s Day would be another great way to celebrate the day!
SCIENCE
This week at the Science Center all the children who wanted to make an animal book finished them. We also made a “valentine-mobile” on wheels to deliver valentines around the classroom.
TWOs
This week we finished our Valentine’s Day cards. We also spoke about Valentine’s Day and how it’s a day for extra hugs and kisses for our mommies and daddies. In the classroom and outside, we went on adventure walks to find Frozen characters as well as lions and dinosaurs - we used our observational skills to look carefully and we also used our imaginations. This week’s favorite book was A Kiss Like This by Mary Murphy.
february 7
ART
In the Art Center this week we have begun work on a special Valentine’s Day card to bring home to our families. The two year olds are freely exploring each material within a heart shaped paper surface. The three and four year olds are visiting multiple art processes to make a valentine with a popular theme offered simultaneously in Drama. We are each varying the position and relation of the same simple visual-graphic elements to compose our narrative. Without giving too much of our surprise away, here’s a few more hints about our process: we are making our valentines with paper, paint, potatoes and a whole lot of love!
DRAMA
In our drama groups, as part of our "Exploring Our World" curriculum and the winter season, we are creating penguin stories. Last week, we built a rookery with the large, blue Imagination Playground blocks. The children were baby chicks hatching out of their eggs, meeting their parents, and taking their first walks and swims. We explored various actions and behaviors for feeding, nesting, and parenting, taking turns to be parents and chicks. We will continue with more activities in this week's group.
DRAMATIC PLAY / SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
The show must go on! We have transformed our Dramatic Play Area into our “theatre.” The kids helped me plan where everything should go: the stage, the audience, the food to serve people, the ticket station, and more. We also added cash registers with money! The kids have made some signs to decorate our new show area. They are super proud of their new area, and I look forward to many shows in the near future. If you are around for duty day, come and have a seat in the audience!
LITERACY
This week, we embraced the children’s current interest in and enthusiasm for hosting performances by helping to design and create signs, posters, and brochures for the classroom. We made signs for the food and beverages that would be sold and a big poster welcoming our guests to the show. We also started talking about Valentine’s Day and what it meant. We started making cards for people of our choice and spent time thinking about the words we wanted to write. We continued practicing our fine motor skills by cutting out paper hearts and gluing them onto our cards for decoration.
MATH / COMMUNITY CENTER
This week we switched some things around in the block center and transformed it into a construction zone. The kids had a great time deciding what to include in the center and decided on hard hats, vests, tools, notepads to draw building designs, and some rope. We also brought out the big blocks to create even bigger structures. And we set up cash registers to use in this new theater center. We worked on counting change and matching coins.
MUSIC
This week, the children enjoyed learning a new fingerplay about a red balloon. We also practiced some more exploration of pitch. Once again, we took out our xylophone for this activity. The children were encouraged to sing back the notes that they heard played on the xylophone. Little by little, we added more notes to our patterns. This activity is great for calming down our bodies at the start of music class and also a fun way to strengthen our musical ears and ability to match pitch while singing.
SCIENCE
This week at the Science Center the children continued to work on their animal books, and they also made animal necklaces - proudly displaying their favorite animals and prompting discussions among the children about each of the animal necklaces. We will continue to work on our animal books until break.
TWOs
This week in the nest we centered our work on Valentine’s Day cards for our families. We talked about what the day means and signifies, and we talked about some of the feelings associated with this special day. We introduced the idea of expressing our feelings via writing letters to our families. The letters themselves provided an excellent opportunity for fine motor skill work. We also read lots of Valentine’s Day books, which expanded our conversations about feelings. One of our favorite books this week was Snip, Snap What’s That? by Mara Bergman.