August 22nd, 2014

This week, Sacred Heart appreciated the very last week of our summer session.  In my classroom, we've been looking forward to learning about the solar system.  So, we chose now to really jump into it (one small step at a time, obviously).

We learned about the 8 planets.  Although, if you constructed a styrofoam solar system prior to 2006, there will always be 9.  A planet's a planet, no matter how small. 

We made galaxy playdough...

...and a solar system sensory bin.

This week, I asked the big kids to make me a rocket ship.  Some butcher paper, paint and a lemonade stand later - mission completed.

We personalized rocket ships blasting to the moon...

.

...we made swirly water-color planets.

We also created our own star constellations.

(To the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")

I'm a little astronaut flying to the moon

My rocket is ready, we'll blast off soon.

I climb aboard and I close the hatch

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Off we blast!!!

Today, so many of us came together for our "end of summer" BBQ.  It's always a good time when we have a chance to be one big, happy school family!

Today, I also had to accept that it was my son's last day as an official SHA student.  Sacred Heart Academy has been a part of his entire life.  But now, like all my other graduated preschoolers, he's off to kindergarten.

He'll still be here to play in the afternoons, though!

Have a wonderful week as we close to prepare for the fall!  We'll see you all bright and early September 2nd!

August 15th, 2014

We've been camping and picnicking at school this week!

My first order of business was to create Camp Sacred Heart.  Fortunately, a sheet thrown over my laundry drying rack creates an awesome tent!

We learned about camping; activities to do, what to see, equipment to bring, etc.











And then we went on a bear hunt.  We stepped through long wavy grass, a deep cold river, thick oozy mud, a swirling whirling snowstorm, a big dark forest, and a narrow gloomy cave.

You know, because we couldn't go over it, we couldn't go under it... we had through it.

Going on a bear hunt is always fun.

Something else we experience when we're camping and picnicking?  Ants!

And pine cones.  We had big ones, little ones, long ones, and round ones.  Some were spiky, some were smooth... some still smelled like cinnamon from last Christmas.

We made mud playdough.  Since the color came from a top-secret ingredient (powdered chocolate), it smelled like marvelous mud.

We also made our hand-print campfires.

School-wide, we celebrated a teddy bear picnic.  Now, I realize that we had just gone on a bear hunt, but my interpretation of the storybook is more of a bear search.  And, it looks like we found some!

So did the 2-year-olds!

They also had a great time creating their campfires by stamping with marshmallows.

Miss Gabriella's class made some campfires, too.

And, speaking of Miss Gabriella, a big happy birthday to her!

We're going to go off-roading now... onto the blacktop.

August 8th, 2014

This week, we had fun with fairy tails. 

Since there are so many, I chose to focus on the "Power of 3" this week.  We started with The Three Little Pigs"...

...then Goldilocks and the Three Bears...

...and, finally, The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Since we were already thinking about the number, we also created our "I See 3" books throughout the week.  

But, we did not just read those three books.  As an optional centers activity each day, Miss Lauren and I also read some of the classics to the children.  I can't, in good conscience, let my students leave my classroom thinking that the animated version of their favorites are the the only ones out there.  So, I made it my mission this week to find the most beautiful storybooks available.  

Funny story: Apparently I tried too hard.  I unknowingly checked out a rare copy of Rapunzel from the downtown library that was marked as a reference book.  My library card was immediately suspended and I was fined an astronomical fee until I could clear up my error with a branch supervisor.

Meanwhile, the 2-year-old's had fun with classics, too!  They focused on nursery rhymes that are simple.  Their favorite?  Humpty Dumpty.

In Miss Kim's class, they had fun with princes and princesses.  They also built the biggest-ever tower for Rapunzel

And, in Miss Gabriella's class, they also made their Three Little Pigs houses.  But, had fun with pretzels and dried spaghetti noodles.

It was a good week! 

August 2nd, 2014

Welcome to Ristorante di Sacred Heart!  This week, we had fun with cooking.

If you look closely, you'll see that everything on the whiteboard menu is reasonably priced under $1,000

We got prepared for the week by looking at all sorts of books about food.

 

And playing with some, too.

Our first order of business was mango (or berry) sorbet. We puréed our fruit and filled a small ziplock.  Then, we put the smaller baggie into a larger ziplock filled with ice and rock salt (which helps the freezing process).  After squishing vigorously, the result was a delicious treat!

Meanwhile, in Miss Gabriella's class, her students were busy making frozen pudding pops...

...as was Miss Kim's students!

On Tuesday, my classroom was responsible for the meat sauce served over our pasta hot lunch.  We took that job very, very seriously.

This day we read Strega Nona, a story in which a pot wouldn't stop producing pasta.  My students definitely had fun with this concept!  And, no, we did not eat this particular batch of pasta.

We also made noodle art.

On Wednesday, we read a simple version of the old fable, Stone Soup.  We took this opportunity to discuss sharing and working together.  Then, each of my students dreamt up what they would add to their own soup.

Of course we made soup, too. 

Next door, Miss Gabriella's class made individual pizzas...

...while Miss Kim's class made their own pizzas and, the next day, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

On Thursday, my class studied the food pyramid.  We "fished" out various foods and then sorted them into my poorly drawn pyramid.

And made rainbow fruit kebobs!

Finally, on Friday, we finished the week with the story of The Little Red Hen.  We made some hens...

...and we made some (play)dough!

Just your average week in preschool!