Beary Exciting!!
We are so excited to welcome a new student into our Bright-Eyed Bear bunch. Christina S. and her family just moved here from Switzerland. Our friends were so welcoming and Christina fit perfectly into our happy group.
January
This month the children will have the opportunity to learn about some very popular children's book authors. Each week in January will be dedicated to reading stories from fantastic authors; Marianne Berkes, Jan Brett, Laura Numerof, and David Shannon. Although we will not be able to focus on all of their books, we will have many of them in our reading corner for the children to enjoy. This week we are comparing and contrasting Marianne Berkes' books Over In The Arctic Where The Cold Winds Blow, and Over In The Ocean. The children will discuss the differences and similarities of these two places, the creatures that live in each ecosystem, and the climate associated with each place.
On Wednesday we read Over In The Arctic Where The Cold Winds Blow. After a delightful discussion about arctic animals and what the Arctic climate is like the children watched a short video that gave them a true to life view of the animals that were mentioned in the book.
The Science Journals were brought out for a special activity where the children learned about how blubber keeps those sweet animals safe in the frigid temperatures of the arctic. The children dipped a naked hand into a bowl of ice water and decided right away that they definitely did not want to swim in water that cold (although a few said they would :) ). Next, each child put on a glove that was made with two ziplock baggies filled with vegetable shortening. Their hand was sandwiched between each filled baggie. When they dipped their hands in the water while wearing the special "glove" or BLUBBER, they found that the water wasn't nearly as cold! Some of the expressions were priceless! It was cool science! After the experiment the children drew pictures of arctic animals in their journals and dictated their thoughts and ideas about what they learned.
It has indeed been a great time to discuss arctic animals in JK! The weather has been feeling a bit arctic these last few days....at least for Florida anyway! We have taken advantage of the cold and taken some cool pics of "freeztastic"fun.
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| ice cube painting......as the ice melts the paintings flow |
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| dramatic play with arctic animals in the water table |
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| Bundling up for fantastically frigid outdoor play! |
Inside, the Bright-Eyed Bears kept warm with teamwork activities, big hugs, and lots of laughter and learning. As we come back together we enjoy each other's company and grow each day as we learn through play.
Working together builds strong relationships and cooperative skills,
friendship and trust.
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Perfectly productive printing practice with letter Pp! I was tickled pink when this group of friends started sounding out words beginning with our letter of the week Pp, for printing! |
There's power in pairs for practice with patterns!
It's been a great week so far! Stay tuned for much more to come!
