We have a special guest in our classroom every Friday for the next 5 weeks. O--- is joining us from Lower El, to help read to some of the children and demonstrate advance math works. He's a great role model for our students and can offer advice or just funny stories about the next step after K.
This week in our class we are continuing our studies of Antarctica and exploring the other polar region the Arctic. We are exploring what seasons mean there (in terms of length of day and temperatures) and reviewing types of animals in those habitats. We also reviewed that humans don't live in that habitat except in special conditions and finished up our story about Shackleton's failed adventure to reach the South Pole. (In failure we learn the most!)
Monday (Civil Rights Day): I was attending a Montessori conference, so Ms. Laura was subbing for me. She wrote that the day began with a weather and calendar. They read Penguins in Love, by Salina Yoon. I could see that the children worked hard on their daily goals, and a few really got into the stamp game and fractions.
Tuesday: At morning circle we talked about Antarctica's habitat, reviewing who lives there and who visits there. Today we had Spanish class with Sra. Rosa, where we reviewed farm animals and play "Simon Says" in Spanish. Some groups of children are ready to learn parts of the body in Spanish. In the afternoon we continued our story You Wouldn't Want to be a Polar Explorer! An Expedition You'd Rather Not Go On, by Jen Green. Popular works include Stamp Game, Name Tag tracing, US Puzzle Map, Atomic Board, Sand Pouring works, Painting, Letter Writing, and Lacing Heart work (a new work).
Wednesday: Snow Day!!!!
Thursday: At circle we reviewed the date and calendar and talked a bit about the snow day. We introduced a new work, called Penguin Build, which is a tricky wooden 3d puzzle to build a penguin that requires a lot of concentration, organization, and coordination. We also took a moment to talk about respecting the classroom works and especially the books in the library. I also added a new watercolor book, The River, by Alessandro Sanna to the library which is about the different experience each season brings to this river and each chapter gives imagery clues about what will happen next in the story. Popular works include POA Frog book, letter writing, stamp game, lacing works, funnel pouring works, and painting works. In the afternoon we continued our Polar Explorer adventure book, describing Shackleton's attempt to reach the South Pole.
Friday: At circle we read Polar Bear's World by Caroline Arnold, as we move from Antarctica to the Arctic polar region. We talked about the difference between the North Pole and the South Pole and briefly about the animals that live there. Today's popular lesson was snowflake cutting. Other popular lessons include Multiplication Book, Bank Game, Push Pin Press, Tree Spelling work, and panda sharpener. We also had a special guest today as a member of the lower elementary class came to help us with some reading and model use of the bead frame math. We're very thankful that we'll have his help for the next 4 weeks, and get to hear his stories of the lower elementary. As another treat, we had a special make-up Music class in the Afternoon with Mr. Wolfe. And we also finally finished our Polar Explorer book, with the entire crew of Shackleton being rescued after more than a year stuck in the Polar region around Antarctica. We had a little time so we read a light heart adventure story Little Polar Bear, by Hans de Beer, which gave a good comparison between a fictional story and a true story (Polar Explorer).
This has been a busy week, and I can't wait to see everyone's smiling faces next week. Until then, take care,
Ms. Becky and the Preschool Staff
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