Wednesday, January 27, 2016

I've Got Peace Like a River

It has been a busy week! The students were able to have a visit from the Alaska Zoo and do some celebrating. They were able to celebrate their 100th day of school! For the last few weeks we have been collecting change, pajamas, books, jeans, puzzles, and items for a homeless care package! The students were very excited to be able to help put these items together to be sent to those in need. What a wonderful way to celebrate our blessings! 


Morning Stories:
Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
The Hat by Jan Brett
Llama Llama Gram and Grandpa by Anna Dewdney
Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Planning/Recall Time:
The students were able to fill out a sticker chart. In the chart, the students placed a sticker where ever they wanted to play in the classroom. When recalling, the students were able to add another sticker to the areas that they followed through with in their plan.

Sensory Table:
This week the students were able to have paper towels tubes and various tubes with pom poms. The students were able to use sticks to push the pom poms through the tubes.

Bible Time:
The students have been able to hear the story of how Jesus calms the storm this week! Pastor Ewings was able to come in to share this story with the children and act out what a storm might be like! He used his almighty power to help the disciples when they were afraid. Jesus is our help in every need, our source of peace and confidence! Through him we know that everything will be ok. We have no reason to be afraid when God is on our side. They also focused on Psalm 124:8, "Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." The students have learned 'I've Got Peace like a River' which helps us remember that God is in control over our lives.

Movement Time:
The students have been focusing on a bridge once again. They are working on doing various movements and challenges along with making a bridge. They are getting better at this and are able to hold themselves up for a good amount of time. They enjoy being able to do a warm up activity before class begins. 

Music Time:
This week they have been using various instruments to help them with Timbre. They have been learning a new song about using instruments as well as reviewing old songs but adding instruments to them. The students enjoy being able to learn more about the instruments and how to use them. There are several different types of instruments for the students to choose from throughout the music lesson.

Small Group Time:
This week they are focusing on a KDI (Key Developmental Indicator) about alphabet knowledge. Children are able to identify letter names and their sounds.

Monday: The students were able to complete an activity based on one of their morning stories this week. This activity was a coconut tree with all lowercase letters. The students had to take stickers with the lowercase letters and match them up.


Tuesday: They were able to trace their name a few times and write their names on the bottom. Students were able to work on using an uppercase letter to begin their name, followed by lowercase letters for the rest.


Wednesday: The students were able to help create care packages and organize items for the 100th day of school!
Thursday: The students were able to search through various sensory bins looking for the letters to spell their names. The students were given their names written out and went on a hunt to find those letters in the tubs.
Friday: They were able to find their letters in the letter tile groups. The students attempted to spell their names using these letters.

Afternoon Story:
Franklin and the Hero by Paulette Bourgeois

Afternoon Tables:
The students are able to choose from various table activities, snack or the sensory table.

Monday(Math): geoboards, numbered cards to park in their proper parking spot.
Tuesday(Fine Motor): puzzles, tweezers with pom poms to sort.
Wednesday (Manipulatives): little legos, long rolls of paper to paint race car tracks.
Thursday(Art/Literacy): paper towel stamping to make fireworks, alphabet puzzles with pictures of an item (find the missing letters)
Friday(Sensory): tubs of water with droppers, sensory bottles
100th day of school celebration!
Helping pack up items for those in need.




Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Fisher of Men

Can you believe that the hundredth day of school is just around the corner?! I am so thankful to have your children as students in my classroom. For the hundredth day of school this year we are collecting several items to donate to those in need! I am so thankful that so many of you have brought in donations for our project this year! Thank you so much for contributing and helping out with a wonderful event! This week the students have been busy enjoying class time but also this beautiful weather! They love being able to sled now that we have a decent amount of snow.

Morning Stories:
Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae
Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
A Very Special Snowflake by Don Hoffman
Rainbow Fish to the Rescue by Marcus Pfister
The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle

Planning/Recall Time:
This week the students were given a different number card each day. When the teacher raised their number they had to identify the number and then plan/recall.

Sensory Table:
They were able to play with building blocks and shaving cream this week. The students were able to create and build while having a substance to help the blocks stick together.


Bible Time:
This week the students were able to learn how Jesus chose Peter, James, and John to be his disciples. Jesus trained these fishermen for the work of spreading the gospel! They saw Jesus teach other and listened while he taught them God's Word. The students were able to focus on Romans 10:17, "Faith comes from hearing the message." They were able to learn a song about being Fisher's of Men. They have enjoyed being able to hear about God's power and how he works in our hearts to create that life saving faith. What a wonderful blessing.

Movement Time:
The students were able to work with their homes this week. They focused on jumping inside and outside their homes. We were able to work on doing this with two feet and one. They enjoyed being able to challenge one another to a different way of jumping inside and outside of the home. We will continue to add various moves and ideas to this concept throughout the week. The students will attempt to do this with one leg as well.

Music Time:
This week in music the students have been focusing on Timbre. We have been using the jingle bells to help relay this concept to the students. They have been able to learn a song called 'Ring and Ring the Jingle Bells' and also 'He's got the whole world in his hands'. This is a fun song for the students to learn with the actions!

Small Group Time:
In small group this week the students have been focusing on one KDI (Key Developmental Indicator) Experimenting: Children experiment to test their ideas.

Tuesday: The students were able to have experiment with milk, dish soap and food coloring. The students were able to see how the food coloring reacted when the dish soap was added to the mixture.

Wednesday: The students were able to experiment with the concept of buoyancy. They were able to test various items on whether or not they would float or sink.
Thursday: They were able to experiment and play with Oobleck! This was a great sensory item for the students and will cause various questions and theories during the experiment.
Friday: They will be able to add colored water to a mixture of glue and salt to spell their names! 

Afternoon Story:
Franklin Goes to the Hospital by Paulette Bourgeois

Afternoon Table Activities:
Students will be able to choose from the various activities, snack and the sensory table.

Tuesday(Fine Motor): lacing cards, coloring and writing, or making car tracks with paint.
Wednesday(Manipulatives): nuts, bolts and screws or the marble run.
Thursday(Art/Literacy): animal magazines from National Geographic or creating a marble art picture.
Friday(Sensory): Floam or sensory bottles





Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Alleluia


The students were able to focus specifically on letters this week. Not only did the students do activities with letters, but they were also able to take one of the morning stories we have and create their own picture! The students were very excited for these hands on activities about 'Swimmy!' They enjoyed being able to work with a new toy in the classroom - a workbench! They were able to create several different items with the workbench. The students have had a busy week so far!

Morning Stories:
Who goes there? by Karma Wilson
The adventures of Gary and Harry by Lisa Matsumoto
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt
Who was here? by Mia Posada

Planning/Recall Time:
This week the students were able to 'receive' a telephone call and were able to share their plan or recall what they did during work time.

Sensory Table:
They were able to have water in the table this week. Each day has been a different color and some days bubbles are added! The students have enjoyed being able to use funnels, scoops and bottles to create 'juice'.


Bible Time:
What a wonderful occasion it is when someone becomes a member of God's family through Baptism! This week the students were able to hear the story about Jesus being baptized by John. Pastor Ewings came in to talk to the children about baptism. He explained to the children that members of God's family receive forgiveness of sins and inherit life and salvation. Even though Jesus was not sinful, his baptism marked the beginning of his teaching ministry. The students focused on Galatians 4:4, "When the time had fully come, God sent his Son." They also learned a song to go with their bible passage (sung to the tune of London Bridge) "When the time had fully come, fully come, fully come, When the time had fully come, God sent his Son."

Movement Time: 
The students have been able to focus on lines. They are able to use their bodies in various ways to move on the lines. The students have been asked to balance, hop, walk, and run on the lines. They are able to focus on using their bodies correctly while also focusing on staying on the lines.


Music Time:
They have been reviewing a previous lesson from the beginning of the year. The students are able to review "Hey Betty Martin" and focus more on rhythm once again. They have been looking to old songs to help them remember this concept and review the meaning of rhythm in music. 

Small Group Time:
The KDI (Key Developmental Indicator) for this week was Phonological Awareness: Children identify distinct sounds in spoken language. 

Monday: The students were able to go on a letter hunt in the classroom. They were asked to recognize the sound that their letter made. They were given an upper and lowercase letter to trace at the beginning of the lesson. After tracing their letters, they were able to hunt for a letter hard that resembled the letters that they traced. 
Tuesday: They were able to use letter cards once again. They had different letters than the previous day. They once again were asked to recognize the sound. This time the students were creating the letters using playdough. The students were able to place the playdough on the card or also make the letter off to the side on the table.


Wednesday: We were able to create one of the characters from our morning stories this week. Each student was able to create their own 'Swimmy' with watercolor paint. After painting, the students were able to cut out their Swimmy. 

Thursday: The students were able to review some of the letters in the name of 'Swimmy' and also decorate their fish while creating an underwater background.
Friday: We were able to read through the story and students raised a quiet thumb (this is our version of raising their hands) every time they heard the 's' sound. After completing this activity, the students were able to add their fish on the background and decorate even more.

Afternoon Stories:
Finders Keepers for Franklin by Paulette Bourgeois

Afternoon Table Activities:
During this time, students are able to choose between snack, the sensory table and the following activities:

Monday (Math): park the numbered car in its parking spot, 'Sort it Out!' books.
Tuesday (Fine Motor): giant beads and string, tweezers with pom poms.
Wednesday (Manipulatives): LCR, puzzles and Picturica.
Thursday (Art/Literacy): Stamps, books on winter, finger painting.
Friday (Sensory): corn sensory bins and sea shells with sand.

The students have a new
workbench in the classroom!







Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Angels Watching Over Me

I am so glad to have all of our students returning after such a long Christmas break! I pray you all had a wonderful time with friends and family celebrating Jesus birth! The students have had a busy week filled with new classroom items, a new room arrangement and some new students joining our classroom! We will officially have 20 students now, what a blessing!

Morning Stories:
"The Duckling gets a cookie?" by Mo Willems
"Snow Dog, Go Dog!" by Deborah Heiligman
"The Princess and the Pig" by Jonathan Emmett
"The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats
"Snowmen All Year" by Caralyn Buehner

Planning/Recall Time:
The students were able to spin a bottle. When the bottle spin pointing toward one of the students it was their turn to plan/recall. 

Sensory Table: 
In the sensory table this week, the students were able to manipulate slime. The students have enjoyed being able to play with this blue glitter filled substance. To make the slime we used liquid starch, glitter, water and food coloring.



Bible Time:
This week the students have been hearing about how God kept Jesus safe from King Herod. The students have enjoyed being able to hear how God used his power to protect Jesus while he was a baby. This week the students were able to have a visit from Pastor Chris Ewings. He was able to tell the story to the students as well as a song. They quickly picked up on the bible story and will be able to retell the story later this week. They focused on Psalm 91:11, "He will command his angels...to guard you in all your ways." They were also able to learn a catchy song this week. The words are sung to the tune of "London Bridge" - 'Angels watching over me, over me, over me, They are friends I cannot see. Jesus sends them. Jesus is my friend each day, friend each day, friend each day, Jesus comes and he will stay Close beside me."

Movement Time:
This week the students have been reviewing creative students. I have had the students push their stomachs to the sky while being on the hands and feet. We are able to do this successfully as well as lift one leg at a time or one hand at a time. We then review the 'bridge' concept from earlier this year. The students were able to make the bridge and lift a foot or hand while holding their position. The students have enjoyed being able to challenge one another to a different position. The students also enjoy warming up to movement class with the 'popcorn song'.

Music Time:
They have been focusing on rhythm this week. We are able to do this by reviewing songs but adding actions with them to help us with our rhythm while singing. The students have also enjoyed being able to learn "Teddy Bear" this week. At first the students were learning the words, now we are able to add actions to the song. "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear turn around. Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear touch the ground. Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear stand up straight. Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear you did great!"

Small Group Time:
This week the students are focusing on Tools and Technology: Children explore and use tools and technology.

Monday: The students were able to work with foam, golf tees, and hammers. They were able to work on hammering the tee into the foam. They needed to focus on being able to hit the tee and not the foam or their fingers. The students did a great job!


Tuesday: They were able to work with washers, nuts and bolts. The students were able to construct various things with the items. We had toy versions as well as the real items for the students to attempt to use. 
Wednesday: They were able to use rulers to measure various items in the classroom. They were able to recognize which items were longer or shorter than the ruler. This is something we will review again in the future.
Thursday: The students will be able to use hammers, screwdrivers and various other tools to remove items from a frozen tundra.
Friday: The students are able to have all of the items from this week available for use. They are able to choose how they would like to use their tools. 

Afternoon Story:
Franklin and the Bad Day by Paulette Bourgeois

Afternoon Table Activities:
The students are able to choose from the various table activities, snack, or the sensory table.

Monday(Math): numbered muffin tins with buttons and Sort it Out! (books)
Tuesday(Fine Motor): scissors with paper, writing letters using the mailbox.
Wednesday(Manipulatives): various board games for the students to learn how to plan. (Candyland, LCR)
Thursday(Art/Literacy): Chalk art, folk tale books and sensory bottles.
Friday(Sensory): glurch, slime and flubber.