We have been exploring and learning all about light in the K Prep classroom. We made our own rainbows with water, light and a mirror. We experimented with the meaning of translucent and non translucent. We tested out some of our theories by pointing a flashlight at the different objects to see if the light shined through! We also explored shadows and how they move as the light moves. We concluded our exploration by going outside to trace our friends’ shadow on a beautiful sunny day.
The KPrep Class learned all about animals in the African Savanna last month! We acted out being lions and zebras after learning that zebras protect themselves from the lions by huddling in groups. The mix of white and black stripes make it hard for the lion to hunt one zebra!
We turned our eyes to the night sky on Friday and learned about constellations. Many of the students were already familiar with the big and little dipper…we were impressed! We used our newly learned knowledge of constellations to create our own in the shape of our focus letter: Oo. Using our small motor muscles in our hands, we punched holes in black paper with a toothpick, then held it up to the light to reveal our constellations! Be sure to check out the night sky this week to see if you can spot the big dipper! Send us some pics of your little one star gazing…we’d love to add it to our blog post!
Our writer’s workshops this month focuses on reading to learn using a variety of resources. We read the book, Polar Bears, by Gail Gibbons as well as information we found on the Nat Geo Kids website about polar bears. We learned that polar bears have black skin under their fur, they are very good swimmers, their favorite meal is ringed seal, their outer fur (guard hair) is clear and hollow and much more!
This month in science, the K-Prep class has been learning about the 5 senses. They have been able to explore their senses with interactive experiments as well as fun, educational books and videos.
We first explored our sense of smell. The class was able to smell different jars and make predictions of what they thought each jar smelled like. The items were revealed at the end of the lesson! (Cinnamon sticks, Chocolate, lemons, oranges, mint leaves, garlic)
We learned about our taste buds and how different parts of the tongue are able to taste different things (bitter, salty, sweet, sour)! After completing the below chart, we were able to taste and compare some of these different foods.
We explored our sense of sight by closing our eyes and trying to draw a picture of a flower. We then opened our eyes to draw the same flower. We compared our drawings and saw how important it was to have our sense of sight! After this activity we used magnifying glasses and observed celery sticks. We discussed how an object’s looks can change, and we conducted an experiment! The students put celery sticks into glasses of water and added food coloring. They made some predictions of what would happen to the celery. Over the course of a few days, we saw how an object can change right in front of our eyes!
Before
After
For our sense of hearing, we played a matching game using plastic Easter eggs. Different objects were placed inside the Easter eggs. Each egg had one other matching pair in the basket. The students had to use great listening skills to match each egg with its identical sounding partner.
Our sense of touch was explored through a mystery box sensory lesson! Each child had a turn to blindly reach into a mystery box and describe what they felt inside. We came up with some great descriptive words! They could ultimately guess what they thought was in the mystery box.
What fun we had this week preparing for our Thanksgiving Feast! We watched in amazement as our cream turned to butter by our own hands. Then we took turns mixing the ingredients for homemade bread, kneading the dough, watching it rise and baking it up to golden perfection. Our classroom smelled like fresh baked bread, it was hard not to gobble it up right when it came out of the oven! We also had a great time preparing the green beans by washing, snapping off the ends and breaking them into two. I think the kids could have done that all day. But, for the most important part of our Thanksgiving meal…the pumpkin pie. We each made our own mini pie to enjoy on Feast Day. We were delighted to see all of the children working together towards the common goal of creating a feast they could all enjoy.
This past week we talked about cows and how they make milk for us to drink and use to make other foods.
Ms. Susan planned a special small group where the children got to help make whipped cream and butter.
We had to shake, shake, SHAKE the containers of cream to turn it into butter:
Then the children got to help make whipped cream!
In another small group, we practice “milking a cow” by squeezing the water out of a glove and into a pail.
We had a very special snack: Our very own homemade butter on bagels and our whipped cream on crackers!
We had a special visitor in the Preschool Classroom: Whiskers the Bunny!
We really liked petting his soft fur.
He is a Mini-Lop. Check out his long ears and HUGE back feet!
He likes to eats carrots for a snack.
Such a fun time with our furry friend!
The K-Prep class participated in investigating and exploring a pumpkin during science this week! Lots of learning and fun!
Creative Tots has specialized in the private education of both toddlers and preschool age children for over 15 years. We began in the heart of Madeira and now also have a new Mason location. We are specifically designed to focus on early childhood development for children ages 18 months to 5 years.
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