December, 2016

Courtney Owens

Classroom

During the first week of November we talked about food groups. The students learned about the five main food groups; fruits, vegetables, dairy, proteins, and grains.  As a group the children created a food group pyramid and listed a variety of foods in each group. The students also enjoyed sampling a variety of foods.

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The second week of November was all about Pilgrims and Indians.  The class found out the Pilgrims came from England to our country for religious freedom.  We read many books about what the Pilgrims experienced during their journey on the Mayflower and once they landed at Plymouth Rock. They even created their own Mayflower out of their hand prints.

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The third week of November was a continuation of Thanksgiving and being thankful.  The children shared what their families do for Thanksgiving to learn that we all have our own traditions.  We focused more on why the Pilgrims and Indians ate a meal together. Each child shared what they were thankful for to create a classroom thankful turkey.  We received responses from mom and dad, to pets, to sandwiches and chickens. We even had someone talk about their pet rat that lived in a metal rat cage. The Harvest Party was a great experience for the students, teachers and families to help understand the true meaning of Thanksgiving and share a meal together.  A big thank you goes out to all the parents who brought supplies in and came in to lend a helping hand!

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The last week of November we turned our focus to practicing our songs for the Christmas program.  The students have been working very hard to memorize the lyrics and motions down right!  We are having an exciting time together preparing a wonderful Christmas Program for our families and we can’t wait to show you!

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Academic Enrichment Group Time | Kindergarten
The first week of November the kindergartners finished up learning how to tell time down to the minute.  I would love it if they continued to wear their watches throughout the rest of the school year! We then learned all about coins and their amounts like pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars. We even learned a little song to help remember their names and values.  The kindergartners also learned about dollar bills and their amounts.  It was fun to watch them compare the dollar bills and coins and figure out different ways to make the same amount of money.  The last week of November they learned how to label all the puzzles using the control charts in the classroom.  The kids have been working so hard on their handwriting and journaling each day.

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Reading Group | Kindergarten
with Ms. Faith 

During this last month, we read a Haitian folk tale called, Bouki Cuts Wood. In the story, the main character Bouki, meets a man who he believes is a diviner who can tell the future. Some of the activities the students worked on where drawing pictures based on the story, such as what they thought was the funniest part of the story, or what they would have done to Bouki to make him see that he was alive. The students came up with some great discussion questions for our group time, and we they discussed more in depth questions, like “What should have told Bouki that he was alive?”, and “How did the man know Bouki was going to fall out of the tree?”  The kindergartners enjoyed this story, and really got a laugh out of how silly Bouki was. On our last reading of the story, I read the story aloud and the kindergartner would act out the events while I read. They got into character and had a blast bringing the story to life.

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Science
For our first science experiment in the month of November we watched a zip-lock bag explode by putting vinegar and water in the bag, then throwing a tissue ball full of baking soda inside and sealing the bag shut. When the vinegar and baking soda mixed we created an ACID-BASE reaction and the two chemicals worked together to create carbon dioxide. The gas needed a lot of room so it started to fill the bag, and kept filling the bag until the bag could no longer hold it anymore and, POP!

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We also defied the laws of gravity by turning a full glass of water upside down with a piece of cardboard covering the rim.  The kids were excited to discover that there were more air molecules pushing up against the bottom of the cardboard, creating a higher pressure area compared to the lower pressure area inside the glass. They learned the force from the atmospheric pressure holds the cardboard up and the low pressure zone in the glass prevents the water’s weight from pushing the cardboard down.

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The last week of November we made our very own lava lamp by combining oil, water and food coloring, then dropping Alka Seltzer in it. When I put the oil in the water the students noticed how the oil stayed above the water because the oil was lighter than the water or, more specifically, less dense than water. When we added the Alka Seltzer tablet pieces they sank to the bottom and started dissolving and creating a gas. The gas bubbles then rose and took some of the colored water with them. When the blob of water reached the top, the gas escaped and down went the water.

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Art
By: Faith Weihe

This month your students had the privilege of learning many art concepts.

Ms. Michele taught the students an art concept called resist. She had the class use oil pastels to draw an under water scene. Then, the students used watercolors to paint over their drawings. Because of the oil in the pastels, the watercolor doesn’t stick so the drawings still show up. The second week the students learned about observational art, which is when you look at an object and draw it. The students all had hand held mirrors, and looked at themselves to draw a self-portrait. The budding artists used pencil to draw their faces and features, and then used crayons to color. Ms. Michele talked with them about looking at the shapes of their features and had them feel their noses to get a sense of how to draw their face. It’s always fun seeing how the self-portraits turn out. For the last project, students drew each other for figure drawing. Each student gets to stand and pose while the rest of the class draws them. They learn how to draw features and how the students are standing in their pose. This is one of my favorite art projects because the students get so creative with their poses, and love having others draws them. After the students drew their pictures, they got to color their drawings in with markers. We will be looking forward to what Ms. Michele brings for art in December! Science experiments can be harmful. That is why we employ Personal Injury Lawyer Brisbane office so secure our rights on the students. In addition, visit personal injury attorney san francisco ca for more info.

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Music
By: Faith Weihe

In November, Ms. Lisa continued singing songs with the students about being kind and having a choice for behavior. She played games where students roll a ball to each other in a circle while singing a song about sharing. Ms. Lisa also taught the students a couple of partner dances! They were paired up with a friend and then skipped or galloped in a circle to the song. The students danced to Skip to My Lou, and an old frontier song called Ride Sally Ride. We also got to play a listening game that wen to the tune of London Bridge. The students skipped in a circle while playing bells. The song would tell them to do something like jump up and down, dance, or freeze. These types of games are great for listening skills and controlling body movements. Some of the instruments the young musicians practiced playing were tambourines, and bells. Ms. Lisa always brings a puppet friend along with her to sing hello to the students at the beginning of each music class. The students get to practice singing in high and low voices, or loud and soft voices. At then end of the class, the puppet comes out again to sing good-bye to the students. Using the puppets brings a fun, whimsical touch to the class, and makes the students feel comfortable to sing in front of their friends. The students always love their time with Ms. Lisa, and look forward to seeing her each week.

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