Tallmadge School

The next week’s theme was about food groups.  The students learned about the five main food groups; fruits, vegetables, dairy, proteins, and grains.  As a group, we sorted pictures of different types of food into the food groups and glued them on to a plate.  The class participated in a game where each child was given a picture of a food item, and pieces of paper with the different food groups written on them were placed around the room.  The students then had to go stand by the food group their food item belonged to.  We learned where different fruits and vegetables grew whether in the ground, on a bush, or in a tree.  Throughout the week, students started noticing the different types of food in their lunches.

The third 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 R.To go along with these books, the students created a picture of the Mayflower using their hand prints. The students also discovered what live was like for the Indians and got to make a dream catcher. During this week we discussed what Thanksgiving is and what it means to be thankful.

Closing up the month 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.  The students finished designing their costumes and making the center pieces for the Thanksgiving feast. Before going to the gym for the big meal together, our students sat on the line and read a book about how the Pilgrims and Indians became friends and decided to have the very first Thanksgiving.  Then, I went around the group and had each student share what they were thankful for.  We got responses from mom and dad, to pets, and believe it or not even the snow.  The feast was a great experience for the students to share a meal together and to have their families involved.  A big thank you goes out to all the parents who made food and came in to help with the set up and clean up.  The students and I will remember this event for years to come.

Science
During the month of November we got to experience many science experiments and lessons. Since we just finished celebrating Halloween and candy was still on everyone’s mind, the students participated in an acid test on two types of candy.  One of piece of candy was chocolate and the other was a sour. When placed in two different bowls each with water and baking soda they observed what happened to the candies.  The children discovered the chocolate candies did not react but the sour candy fizzed and bubbled.  The baking soda reacted with the acid in the sour candy releasing the bubbles.  This same week the students learned what makes up our blood, the human skeleton, and even helped label the bones.

The next week the class observed what would happen to a piece of celery when placed in water with dark green food coloring; the result was the leaves turned a dark green color.  We also found out that an orange floats in water but when the peel is taken off, it sinks.  This is due to an air pocket that separates the fruit from the peel causing it to float, when the peel is removed the air pocket is removed and the fruit sinks.

To end the month, the group learned the effects of gravity by seeing what would happen when a ping-pong ball was placed over a running hair dryer.  The students found out that the ping-pong ball floated in the air instead of being blown away.  The cause was the air blowing the ball up while gravity is forcing it back down. These two forces worked against each other keeping the ball suspended.

December was filled with many fun winter and Christmas activities.  We started the month off with focusing on practicing our songs for the Christmas program.  The students worked very hard to memorize the lyrics and to get the motions down just right.  Our class started practicing with Ms. Brandy’s students to get used to singing in front of an audience and getting used to singing with a larger group.  The students in both classes enjoyed hearing each other sing.

The first week we read the book “Snowmen at Christmas” by Caralyn Buehner and then made snowmen paintings by mixing glue and shaving cream to make a type of puffy paint. Another book we read was “The Mitten” by Jan Brett and the students made mitten sun catchers to decorate the classroom windows.  Our class also made popsicle stick Christmas trees to make the room look festive for breakfast with Santa.

During the second week of December the children made yarn ornaments by dipping yarn in glue and wrapping them around balloons.  We also created a winter scene by gluing red and green tissue paper on construction paper and cutting Christmas tree shapes out, then painting another piece of construction paper with blue water color, and lastly glued on the trees to complete the scene.  Another craft the preschoolers made was glittery snowflakes by tracing different printed out snowflakes on wax paper. We also discussed how every snowflake is unique and completely different. To end the week the students made button wreaths and then showed off their hard work at the Christmas program and wowed us all with their talent!

Our last week before break, was focused on Christmas crafts and activities.  We started the week off with making Rudolf pictures by tracing the students’ hands for the antlers and feet for the face, and then we added a red nose and eyes to complete the reindeer.  We also took a look through different books to learn about different Christmas traditions from other cultures such as how people in France and Norway celebrate.  The students made a winter scene snow globe out of paper plates and sandwich bags.  Our class also got to do the Rudolf pokey and sing “Here Comes Santa Clause”.  To end the week, the preschoolers made some reindeer food to leave out on Christmas Eve to give them energy to fly Santa around, snowmen out of socks, and Rice Krispy treats. We all enjoyed seeing everyone’s show and tell items and the students enjoyed sharing with the class. The children especially had fun wearing their pajamas to school and watching “The Polar Express”.

I hope everyone has a wonderful break and a Merry Christmas! See you next year!

Science
For the month we got to participate in a couple science experiments.  First we read a book about ice by Helen Frost.  The book taught us what ice is and the different forms, such as sleet, frozen lakes and bodies of water, and hail.  The class also read about the different states of water, liquid, solid, and gas. We then set out an ice cube and observed it melting.  The next science activity was making Christmas goo by dissolving Borax into warm water, then pouring peppermint extract and green, glitter glue.  After mixing it together, it became a sticky solid.   The students were able to feel and smell the goo.  The preschoolers learned that the chemicals in the Borax made the glue solidify.