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Similar to UM Nursery School February Newsletter
Similar to UM Nursery School February Newsletter (20)
UM Nursery School February Newsletter
- 1. United Methodist Nursery School February 2009 Hello parents, So many exciting things are happening in the 5D4's room! We'll start with upcoming important dates: Wed., March 11 & Thurs., March 12- Maple Sugaring Field Trip to NC Nature Center. Permission form and request for drivers will be posted outside classroom. Friday, March l}-Pancake and Pajama Day. AUTHOR OF TIIE MONTH Audrey and Don Wood were February's Author of the Month. Favorite titles included Rude Giants" Alphabet Mystery. Alphabet Rescue" Alphabet Adventure. Sweet Dream Pie. Rubal's Wish. Silly Sally. Ten Little Fish. The Napping House" I'm as Ouick As a Cricket. Little Penguin's Tale" and Pieeies. DINOSAURS We had many adventures relating to dinosaurs. Attached with this newsletter are children's statements regarding what they learned about dinosaurs this month. MUSIC/WIOVEMENT Songs we sang in the classroom were "Dinosaurs Lived Long Ago" and "Allosaurus" (sung to the tune of "A11ouette.") Dinosaur names in this song are Allosaurus, Pacheychephalosaurus, Apatosaurus, Tyrarurosaurus-Rex, Stegosaurus, Trachedon, Triceratops, Pteranodon. What a mouthful, but your child sang it!!! In movement, children learned the "Virginia Reel" dance. In music class, children have been singing and dancing to African music. COOKING Children made the self hardening dough to create our volcano. The same recipe was used to create the children's dinosaur fossils. Children observed and felt the dough change from soft and pliable to hard as stone. ART Children ueated their mail boxes that housed their Valentine cards. At the easel, children used heart shaped sponges and various shaped brushes to create valentine paintings. They made large heart pictures by painting heart shaped bubble wrap and rubbing paper over it. Children transformed the classroom into a dinosaur landscape by painting large leaves at the easel using green, yellow, and brown paint, and worked together to paint a dinosaur landscape. When dry, children added dinosaur pictures they traced, colored and cut. Children created and painted dinosaur fossils. Paint colors were silver, gold and copper (copper was a new word for many.) We ended our dinosarn unit by creating dinosaur skeletons using various shaped craft sticks. We will display in our dinosaur "museum." LITERACY While preparing for Valentine's Day, children were very active making cards for their friends with both words and pictures. They used the messages printed on conversation hearts, or came up with their own messages. w
- 2. In addition to j<rurnals, children continue to work in their winter alphabet books. Children described their dinosaur skeletons as teachers recorded on their museum "plaque." We explored the concept of non-fiction and fiction books. We explained to the children non- fiction means not pretend-it is a true story. Fiction stories are pretend---not real. Children enjoyed differentiating and predicting by the book cover whether it was a non-fiction or fiction story. We listened to Jane Yolen read her fiction story How Do Dinosaurs Get Well? via book on tape. MATH/SCIENCE Children sorted dinosaurs according to criteria such as meat eater, plant eater, -legged,2- legged, hadrosaurs (duck billed), sauropods (long neck/long tail), armored, boneheaded, or had horns. 'We measured 90 feet outside to visually depict how long Diplodocus was. We started at the garage door by the playground and endedjust beyond the fence into the parking lot! We also measured a T-Rex's foot print on paper (3 feet by 3 feet) to see how many children's foot prints would fit inside. We fit 20 footprints with room for a few more! Children played dinosaur games such as dominos, bingo and mazes. Children worked together to complete a 100 piece dinosaur plzle in 3 days! We practiced number recognition and 1-1 correspondence by adding the correct number of dinosaur "eggs" to the numbered nests. Children learned it takes slow, steady work and a lot of patience to be a paleontologist. We set up two sensory tables with differing textures. One sand table was filled with sand and separated into 6 grids. Children used brushes to gently wipe away the sand in a section to uncover the dinosaur bones hidden beneath. They recorded their observations on paper. The other sensory table had amber and dinosaur bones encased in stone and rock. Children used a small pick and hammer to chip away the stone. We experimented with various materials (salt, water, vinegar, flour, sugar, baking soda) to see which combination of molecules cfeated a reaction. They were surprised to see the result of mixing baking soda with vinegar. We conducted the experiment in the volcano the children made. DRAMATIC PLAY After reading a few books that describe what happens to mail, children enjoyed playing in the post office. As cards were placed in the mail box, the mail carrier was eager to deliver them to the proper recipient. The mail canier ensured a stamp was placed on the envelope and had the receiver's name. They also used the "cancellation" stamp to show the post office received the letter. To make this process relatable to the children, each child created a drawing during extended day, folded and put inside an envelope, dictated to a teacher the first and last name of the recipient, their home address, put the letter through the church's postage meter, walked to the mailbox and placed the letter inside. We hope they enjoyed seeing the letter make its way home! Since children have enjoyed playing "kiffy" and "dogs" during gtoss motor play, we changed dramatic play into a pet store. There are various animals that need to be taken care of. Ask your child their favorite. FINE/GROSS MOTOR Activities that strengthened fine motor skills included beading alphabet necklaces, manipulating clay and playdough, completing large and small pieced puzzles, using paleontologist tools in sensory tables, and tracing and cutting stencils. When it was too cold to go outside, we created an obstacle course in the downstairs playroom. Children had the opportunity to balance, crawl through tunnel, climb, jump, hop on one foot, and throw a ball into hoop. As they practiced, they became more adept at the course. Sincerely, Michelle Desimone and Maura Maitan
- 4. WINTER WONDERLAND DRAMATIC PLAY AREA: Silver material for "ice" "skates" made out of socks scarves, hats, gloves puppets (from Jan Brett characters) tea pot for cocoa cups brown paper, white paper, hole puncher paper, snowflake stencils writing utensils picture file: laminated photos children's art work-blue/white easel paintings, winter collage, snowrnen "Ice Fishing" with silver bucket, paper fish with paper clips, magnet boxes for hibernating animals, bear cave BLOCKAREA: stuffed animals that remain active in winter MANIPULATIVES o animal match-up game (concentration) o snowflake match-up game o find the missing mitten (gross motor) o winter/summer sort o winter puzzles, shape pluzzles. . Soy, sorbet, ice cream taste test BOOKS: Who Likes the Snow? by Etta Kaner Snow Sounds, by David A. Johnson The Mitten, by Jan Brett Dear Rebecca Winter is Here Snowballs, by Louis Ehlert Snowmen at Night A Stranger in the Woods POETRY: The Coming of December, Parachute Express SENSORY TABLE Styrofoam balls, packing peanuts; Water/Ice Where do Bears Sleep? When Winter Comes The Jacket I Wear in the Snow Charlie Needs a Cloak Farmer Brown Shears His Sheep Spotlieht on Cotton Grandmother Winter SONGS Hot Chocolate Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost All My Friends Live in the Woods winter Eyes, by Douglas Florian !e're Going on a Bear Hu.nt . 'r -". .r.., !', t-,; i i, r,.,..1 I r l*.t({
- 6. The FarnilY of the sun poetry and gong Illustrated by the 5 Day 4's United Methodist Nursery School Poems by Douglas Florian from the poetry book Comets. Stars. the Moon" and Mars May 2010