Our Focus Lesson: Hibernation, Migration, and Adaptation
Brrrr this was the perfect week for our focus lesson! We spent the week learning about what animals do during the winter months. Some animals hibernate, some migrate, and some adapt. We learned what each of these terms mean, and then read about the animals that fall into each category. Ask your children what it means if an animal hibernates, migrates, or adapts. And then see if they can give you an example of an animal for each category.
Our class science experiment helped us understand blubber a little more. Blubber is just one of the ways animals can adapt to the colder temperatures of winter. We learned that some whales and seals have blubber and that it keeps the animal warm while they are in the cold waters. So what it blubber? A layer of fat underneath the animals skin that keeps them warm. We used Crisco, baggies, and ice to determine if blubber actually keeps the animal warm. When our hands were in an empty baggie, then we could feel how cold the ice was. But the baggie that had Crisco created a barrier between our hands and the ice, keeping our hands warm!
Preschool Corner
Our older preschool students revisited the World Map Puzzle, reviewing the names of the continents. They also started creating their own world maps by tracing and labeling the continents. After this map, we’ll move onto the map of North America!
Kindergarten Corner
Our Kindergarteners were introduced to the concept of measuring this week. They learned what a ruler does, were introduced to inches and centimeters, and practiced measuring how tall some polar animals are. We’ll continue practicing our measuring skills over the next couple weeks.
Our Kindergarteners are also working so hard on their reading skills. They read books daily to either a teacher or a friend, but also still visit the language shelf to practice reading skills in a more hands on way. They’re practicing blends, digraphs, rhyming, and compound words!
Peek into Work Time
Practical Life continues to be an important learning area within our classroom. This area of the room grows with the child, from our youngest student to our oldest. From spooning beads to sewing snowflakes!
Peek into Next Week
Our Focus Lesson: Dinosaurs
Important Dates:
Thursday, January 25 – Grandparent’s Day
Monday, February 5 – 100th Day of School
Friday, February 16 – No School/Teacher Inservice Day