This week we continued to observe the plants in our environment more and went to the garden boxes of Grade 1. The children were very curious about the tomatoes and also found some plants that smelled “yummy”. They start to notice more details about them and explore with all of their senses: touching dried out soil, smelling flowers and herbs, or blowing away seeds the of a “wishing flower”.
The children also recognize when a plant is hurt or when a snail is out of their habitat. They rescued a snail from the running tracks and carefully put it back in its home next to a plant.
They are now engaged with building protective structures for our plants. Their ideas range from walls and boxes to houses and buckets. We are excited to visit Mr. Miller next week in the workshop since we discovered we need something stronger than paper to build with.
Our other study group, as they explored plants, developed an interest in snails and began exploring their characteristics. We brought living snails into the classroom and discussed what we noticed and our questions. The children saw:
A shell- round? spiral?
Ears- 2? 3? 4?
It moves very, very, slowly.
It eats the paper, and a leaf.
It can go inside the shell- to hide? sleep?
They are committed to creating a habitat for the snail in the classroom and will explore this topic further, demonstrating all of their learned knowledge about living things as they do so.
We learned more about numbers and patterns this week. The children were very excited to show their understanding of patterns through play. One of our new favorite board games allows the students to identify a missing piece of a pattern and then name it.
We had the chance to attend a drama performance by fourth and fifth graders this week. We were invited especially by some siblings, and by a fifth grade class. During the short time that we stayed to watch, we got to see some story-telling and singing. The PreK class has learned a lot about being an "awesome audience" and we love to see different types of performances. This week was a lot of fun and it gave us the chance to appreciate different types of performance art!
When the children learned that it was our school's birthday, they were enthusiastic about celebrating. They used materials from the new classroom workshop to create a birthday cake for CAC. The children who created the cake even had a chance to go on stage and say "Happy Birthday, CAC" at the founder's day celebration on Tuesday.
Here are some more photos from our week together:
Next Week:
We will finish up our study unit on living things by focusing on snails (how will we keep our pet snails alive? What do they need to survive in the classroom? Can the children build a habitat for the snails?) and on our growing plants. The children will continue learning about numerals and begin to experiment with simple addition stories through play.
Circle Solutions:
We will talk about character strengths. What strengths are important in the classroom? As a friend? As a learner?
Reminders:
Please be sure to sign up for a guest reading opportunity in the PreK classroom. The children would love to have you, and it is a great opportunity to model the importance of reading and literacy. Click here to sign up!
Upcoming Events:
April 1-9 will be CAC's Spring Break. Enjoy the time with your family!
Mark your calendars! The annual ES Book Parade Assembly is on April 10, the day we get back from the April break. This year, the ES Library Council has declared the theme to be GRAPHIC NOVELS! Stay tuned for more details.
Parents' Corner:
"I'm bored!" Nobody likes hearing this from their child, but is it actually healthy and helpful for children to disconnect and have some unstructured time? Yes! Click here to read more about managing "boredom" with your child and in your family effectively.
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