Parker PreK : April 2021

What a difference a week makes! I think there was snow on the ground last week. Am I wrong? This week we have delved into growing things. We are still creating the story of our outside garden beds, but in the meantime we have been talking about seeds, vegetables, fruits, plants, and growing things. We know all the parts of the plant, from the roots to the flower, and we can tell you what a plant needs to grow.

A few children created books about plants by sequencing the parts of a story and stapling them together and then coloring their creation. There's celery in colored water, and we are wondering how water gets up to the top of a thirsty plant.

We even had a taste test !

We have a little experimental kitchen garden-celery is growing from the bottom of a celery bunch, and carrot tops are waiting to sprout some feathery greens.

Each time we find a seed, we try sprouting it in a bag on the window with water, and a paper towel for soil. We started with sunflower seeds, and have added beans, marigold seeds, and even a cucumber seed.

The science table is very lively.

Our reading materials have included Fruit is a Suitcase for Seeds, Plants Can't Sit Still!. and Seeds MOVE!, and The Life Cycle of a Sunflower, all books based in science but entertaining with color and story.

We drew stories of a seed; given a seed glued to a piece of paper, each child used oil pastels to create a scene of something growing, and in all of the pictures the seed was the focal point. We had a chance to share our seed stories, and some were fantastical (the seed grew into a unicorn butterfly!) while some were generous (This is a flower for my family).

The sensory table was open with a new activity, snipping flowers and herbs with scissors. Having access to scissors AND snipping up bits of flower was a favorite activity! The children noticed what was "inside" the buds. They found the stems to be hard to cut (they must be strong!) and the smells and textures were very appealing.

This activity occurred over a few days, and the last bit was the most fun, stirring and ladling "stew".

We started some seeds growing in the classroom, after filling a cup with soil each child poked a seed into the dirt and we watered the seeds. Now we'll wait, maybe 7 days!

Speaking of numbers, our room has a number line and numbers to put stickers on and use to count. This exposure to numbers in a playful way gives the children experience in the shape of numbers, practice comparing size and quantity, and other early math skills, at each child's own pace and interest.

You can tell that it's spring time in the PreK classroom. We are all growing in leaps and bounds, and so happy to be outside!

Until Next Time,

Michele

Happy Earth Day !

We celebrated in our classroom by sharing ideas about what WE can do to respect the Earth, and created a poster to hang on our door. All of us have a sense that our contributions, no matter how small (plant a flower!) can be helpful.

We are excited about our Earth Day marker recycling project, and Sarah created a poster with the children and has been counting up contributions! 431 markers have been recycled!

The recycling bin was set up in the hallway outside of our classroom. The children took the tops off of the markers and counted them up, by groups of 5!

Our study of birds has continued, and we constructed nests, created eggs from air dry clay, and painted them. We looked at all sorts of birds and eggs as we were painting, and the children identified the birds that they were creating eggs for; cassowary, cardinals, blue jays, hummingbirds, robins.....The palette that the children were offered reflected their choices, and the children found ways to create dots and spirals and quite beautiful eggs for their nests.

We looked at turkey feathers closely, and then tried painting with them. We learned how the feathers stick into the bird's skin, and felt the hollow stem. We talked about feathers being warm and light, and that we have pillows and even couches stuffed with down, or feathers.