April 24th, 2015

Z is for Zebra!

We did it!  We made it through the alphabet!

Counting sheep sensory bin

As we learned about Zzzzz, we took this as an opportunity to have fun with sleeping and pajamas.

We filled up our library with all sorts of fun sleeping books...

...especially The Napping House.  When I was in highschool, my baby brother brought this same project home from his kindergarten class.  I loved it so much and remember thinking that, if I ever got the chance, I would do the same with my students.  It has since become my absolute favorite book to read in my classroom.  That "baby" brother is now grown and married - and doesn't even remember The Napping House.

We also read Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed...

Goodnight Moon puzzle 

...and Goodnight Moon.  Actually, we read Goodnight Moon in English.  Then, we read Buenas Noches Luna in Spanish...in our pajamas.

This week, we also focused on our math sentences.  Using sheep to count, we practiced addition and subtraction.

We were extraordinary.  And, no one fell asleep!

We had fun this week!  We finger painted in shaving cream...

...painted our dreams...

"In my dream, I pet a cheetah and I rode on one, too!"

...practiced with scissors as we designed our own pajamas...

...were assigned new homework packets, now that we've finished the alphabet...

z is for zippers!

...and had fun with zippers.

We also got to wish 2 of our new butterflies well as Miss Corinna set them free!  As of today, 1 is still wrapped up in their cocoon.  It was an uplifting way to end the week.  :)

April 17th, 2015

Y is for Yak!

This week, as we celebrated all things Yy, we had fun with yaks.

After we learned what a yak is.

y is for yarn!

We also had an opportunity to play with yarn.

Beginning a new concept this week, we used manipulatives as we explored math sentences and practiced addition problems.  This requires several skills at once; number recognition, decoding mathematical symbols, and the ability to count/group objects.  By the end of our first week, the entire class caught the hang of it and became addition sentence experts.  Next week, we will try out subtraction.  For the remainder of our pre-k school year, we will work hard at developing these skills.

This week, we also wrapped up our unit on insects.  Over several days, we focused on the importance of bees.

We had a chance to see lots of bee and bee keeper pictures...

...we matched honeycomb capital and lower-case letters...

...and we painted them, too.

We're busy bees in our classroom!

April 10th, 2015

Coming back from our Easter weekend, we really got into bugs.  This is a theme in which I hold a love-hate relationship.  I love that the children love this...but I hate insects.

We started our week off by building our entomology lab.  We have 3 caterpillars (who have each successfully morphed into their chrysalis state), countless crickets, 2 African hissing cockroaches (right?!), 10 ladybugs, 5 rolly-polleys, a walking stick, and a cicada.

We also mixed a batch of bug and mud playdough.

For counting and written number practice, we made our ladybugs on a leaf.

X is for X-ray!

We didn't forget our X's, though!  In addition to insects, we learned all about x-rays this week.

We even got to visit with an x-ray technician!

Then, we were back to bugs.  Towards the middle of the week, we focused mostly on the lifecycle of a butterfly.

Our caterpillars' lifecycle conveniently aligned with our studies and, just as we began to discuss the concept, they each built themselves a cocoon.

x marks the spot!

Totally unrelated, we made our lower-case, "x marks the spot."

This week, we matched beautiful butterfly pairs...

...explored many species of insects...

...hunted for them in leftover Easter grass...

...and painted wings...

...to create a colony of butterflies.

We ended our week on a high note with our music teacher...

...and we all agree that there is nothing more fun than music- especially drum circles!

April 1st, 2015

Happy Easter!!!

These past two weeks have been very busy in our classroom!  We've been entering data...

...creating masterpieces...

....and practicing our scissor use.

W is for Walrus!

We made sure to find time for our W-Walruses, though...

w is for watermelon! 

..and our watermelons.

The highlight of our time together, however, has been dying our Easter eggs!

They were too beautiful to eat (almost).

By today, our class was ready for the big Easter egg hunt!

And we looked so very beautiful.