Buttons, Boats, & Bottle caps

Theme:  Letter B
As you read Books to your kiddos this week end see if they can point out some B/b's.  Hide their "buttons" and have them look for them.  Let them cut up some old magazines---trying to cut out some blue, brown, or black things.  Make some banana bread together.  Show them "B", reminding them that when you "erase" the "big head" you are left with "little b's big belly."

Choosing Time:  "Brick" Blocks, Angry Birds, Wooden Blocks, Babies, Balls, Button Sorting,....

Show & Tell:

shells from the BEACH :)

Birthday:  Thank you for the yummy birthday treats you shared with the class!

Art:

• Wooden Block Boats--My biggest failure of the week!  We painted with washable paint and then I forgot to spray some acrylic coating on them to protect them!!!  UGH!  However, we enjoyed the experience and they would love to take them out to give them a good soak in the BYU waters.
• Blueberries & Bears--We mashed up some blueberries and painted with them.

Music & Movement:  We had a fun time with choosing either Pete the Cat's Buttons or Bumblebees to tell us what activity we'd do

• Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee
• Bazooka Bubble Gum
• Teddy Bear
• Up, Up in the Sky
•  Row, Row, Row Your Boat
• My Buttons

Science:

• What color are Blueberries?  What happens when we smash them?  What color are they now?  Does the color stay the same when it dries on paper?  (Blue outside and a reddish center makes the juice a purple color that dries brownish) 
• Why didn't our boats work well?  Why did bottle caps work better? Which side of the bottle cap worked the best?

Games:

• Button, Button, Who has the Button?
• 4 Groovy Button Treasure Hunt

Backyard Fun:

Math: 

• We played a "Pete the Cat" Button Subtraction Game 

Snacks:

• Apple Slices & Lorna Doone Cookies
• Popcorn & Grapes
• Watermelon, Cucumber Slices, & Grapes
  

Books:
  I LOVE this book!  I love the song!  I Love the meaning!  There is a great video production of it on youtube:

http://youtu.be/V7YMN2ia8z4

Apes, Apples, & Art

Theme:  Letter "A"
This weekend practice the 2 A sounds with your kiddos.  Go for a walk and hunt for some acorns, ants, or apples.  Point out the letter A on signs, cereal boxes, in books.

Choosing Time:  Animals, Animal Puppets, ABC Puzzles, Apple Tree Game...

Show & Tell:  Some of our "A" show & tell includes pictures of Aunts, an ape, & an acorn :)

Snacks:

• Apple Mini Muffins & Mandarin Oranges
• Pretzels & Blueberries
• Fruit Snacks & Goldfish

Music & Movement: (We had fun choosing activities out of an APRON & picking Apples off of our Apple Tree)

• The Ants Go Marching
• 9 Little Apes
• 2 Little Apples
• Apples, Apples
• ABC's
• Animal Dancing
• Criss-Cross Applesauce 
• A Dot of Glue Will Due
• The Lord is Good To Me

Science & Pre-Reading:

• Life Cycle of an Apple Tree
• Colors & Variations of Apples:  Also studied the insides of an apple (including worms)

Writing:  Practiced writing A/a

Math Game:  "Apple Picking"--We rolled a dice.  We determined what number it was and then each child took a turn to "pick" that number of apples off of a "tree".

Art:

1. Glue DOT Apples
2. Apples Up on Top
3. Apple Stamping

Game: How Many "Apples" Can you Keep on your Head?

Books:

New Friends

Theme:  Welcome to school!
We participated in a variety of games, songs, & books to introduce school rules and one another.
Our rules are simple:  stay in the classroom, use quiet voices, use looking eyes, have listening ears, be helping hands, and sit on pockets.  Being a "helping hand" involves keeping our hands to ourselves and being willing to help clean up and cheer up sad friends.

Choosing Time:  Duplo Blocks, Puzzles, Play Kitchen, Cars, Dinosaurs, Doll-House, & Ponies
 Every year it is interesting to see what manipulatives the children like the most.  So far this year it is the cars :)  I truly believe that play time is essential in building a good foundation for creativity and becoming socially savvy. Already new friendships are budding.  It is exciting to see!

Show & Tell:  I completely forgot!  I'm so sorry.  Please send the same show & tell on Monday.  We will try again.  Sometimes we get so busy...I'm sorry.

Games:

1. Who's Hiding Under the Blanket?
2. Search for Busy Bee Names

Birthday:  Happy Birthday to Carmyn.  We loved dancing to our birthday song & eating oreos!

Art:

1. Free Color--This was an assessment without anyone feeling judged.  I simply wanted to see who could write their names & what the children are capable of drawing.  We will continue to work on skills to develop writing and drawing.
2. Squash Painting Monsters--These were created after reading about monsters who went to school. I had a squash expiring on my counter that served as a great stamp :)  We will explore many ways to paint throughout the year.

Snacks:  Snack time is a great opportunity to practice manners and hygiene.  We wash our hands, sing a snack song, say a little blessing, and express gratitude for the child who brings the snack.  We also use polite words such as please, thank you, no thank you, and yes please.  I encourage all the children try new foods and then simply discard anything they don't care for without commenting on it.  Our snacks this week consisted of graham crackers, Oreos, bananas, and goldfish crackers.

Music & Movement:

1. Snack Song
2. Please & Thank You
3. The Hokey-Pokey
4. ABC Song

Recess:  We were able to spend a few minutes outside to play. We will take advantage of the good weather when we can.