A Peek At Our Week- Aspen- 01/02/23- 01/06/23 – Snowflakes and the States Of Matter!

Welcome back Aspen families!! We hope you had an amazing winter vacation full of fun and relaxation! Ms. Lindsey and I were so happy to see everyone this week! We missed all of you! The Aspen children seemed happy to return to school and their daily classroom activities! The classroom was bustling with academic energy, enthusiasm, and smiles as everyone missed their friends and favorite activities! This week our topic was Snow and Snowflakes! Before we could investigate Snowflakes, we had to discuss the States of Matter; therefore, Aspen learned all about Solids, Liquids, and Gases. We learned that things/objects are made up of matter and matter is made up of small particles called Molecules. We further learned that Molecules behave differently in different States Of Matter! For example, the Molecules in a solid are arranged tightly packed close together allowing Solids to hold their shape. The Molecules in a liquid are packed close together but not tightly; therefore, liquids are free flowing and change shape depending on the container the occupy. The Molecules in a Gas are moving rapidly in all directions and are not packed close together. A Gas does not have a defined shape and we cannot typically see them! After discussing the above, we engaged in a follow up Practical Life Solid, Liquid, and Gas activity. The Aspen students got to use beads pretending they were Molecules and arranged them tightly, free flowing, or bouncing all over the place (this activity is pictured below). After learning about Molecules it was time to talk snow! What is Snow? How Does it form? The Aspen students are now snow experts! They learned that snow is frozen ice crystals made up of water, discovering ice is the solid form of water! Water is a liquid, and when it freezes it becomes ice! Aspen then asked the question can water be a gas? We further discovered that water can be a gas called water vapor, and there is something called a Water Cycle. The Water Cycle and temperature play a role in the formation of snow! Aspen then had to research the Water Cycle and made the realization that clouds are condensed Water Vapor and when the water vapor condenses and becomes too heavy the cloud releases the water in a liquid state. We call this liquid state rain; however, if the temperature is cold enough the liquid will turn to ice crystals and the ice crystals will stick to pollen or dust in our atmosphere. They will then form larger crystals by combining together to create a snowflake! It was at this point that Aspen realized that when we catch snowflakes on our tongue to eat, we are actually eating dust or pollen! Wow! It was a very busy week in Aspen!! To illustrate the Water Cycle, we read the book The Drop Goes Plop by Sam Godwin and then did a very special “Make It Rain” science experiment using water, shaving cream, and food coloring. Ask your child about their busy week in Aspen!

In Kindergarten Workshop, the kindergarteners explored the concept of Multiplication using the Multiplication Bead Bars. They practiced combining multiples of a number while visually experiencing this process through the manipulation of numbered beads. In Readers Workshop, the Cardinals focused on reviewing phonograms they learned prior to Winter Vacation and then learned two new phonograms: ou and ow. Cardinals then engaged in follow-up work with ou and ow. They played “What’s The Word” and “Name that Phonogram ” where we took turns figuring out how to read various words and then located phonograms within them. The Chickadees reviewed phonics and then focused on the ending sounds within a word. The Chickadees then played “What’s the Word ” by changing only the ending sounds of phonetic words. They also reviewed the sh and th phonograms! In Writers Workshop the Cardinals focused on handwriting skills of cursive lowercase letters and Chickadees focused on vowels, vowel sounds, and how to write them.

For the week of January 9, 2023 our thematic lesson for the week will be Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and diversity. We will also explore concepts regarding this topic by doing our Rosa Parks play during line time.

Fun with the PinkTower and Brown Stair Extensions!

Solid, Liquid, Gas Practical Life activity!

Focusing and concentrating to make sure no drops are spilled with the eyedropper activity!

Exploring the Knobless Cylinder Extensions!

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