BEACH PARTY 2011

The ocean is so vast and that's why we discussed it for two weeks. The ocean creatures, the water, and the beaches allowed us many opportunities to create, discover, and learn much information through experiments, crafts, songs, and stories. Join in the fun as you view our journey into the ocean.

Where's the sun screen??

The mysterious gummy shark at the bottom of the blue jello ocean didn't stop us from devouring the beach party snack.



Ms Crystal gave all our friends party bags with these cool shades in them for our beach party. Thanks so much Ms Crystal. We love them and you too!!!!!!!!

Digging for shells provided the opportunity to find letters in the water.

This science experiment made us predict about which objects would sink and which would float.

A crayon resist made with deep blue water captures some of the ocean creatures we learned about during the ocean theme.

The sand is surely part of the beach. Add a starfish and you have a perfect beach scene. Our starfish turned into a very tactile experience when we covered them with oatmeal.

Magnetic fishing was a popular activity with the children. The only "CATCH" for them was they had to tell me what number was on their fish. A lesson in magnetism occurred when magnets attached to each other and several fish were caught at one time. What a learning exercise.

WE'RE GOING TO THE ZOO, ZOO, ZOO

We began our zoo unit by making lions. Since it corresponded with the beginning of March, we related the saying that March comes in like a lion, and it certainly did with lot of heavy rains. I think all children love animals of any kind whether they are pets, zoo animals, ocean creatures, or insects. In the following weeks we will be covering many types of animals so the interest level is very high. Check out the following activities we did when when we visited the zoo, zoo, zoo.

Skills papers are so much more fun in masks!!!!!

Our unifix cubes became cages. We were able to review our shapes also.

These giraffes didn't need any cages because we surrounded them with our bodies.

Graham crackers and chocolate icing formed a base for our cages. Our wild animal crackers with pretzel bars turned into a most yummy snack.

We took an imaginary bus trip to the and you guessed it, we went to the zoo. Each student got to describe their favorite animal they saw. Such vivid imaginations!!!!

MAKING SENSE OF OUR SENSES

These past weeks we have focused on our healthy teeth and heart, and what we can do to keep them healthy. The unit on the senses provided many hands on activities and experiences which led to a sensory awareness.



We welcome our new friend, and introduce him to snack time.



Shake, shake, shake. Match the two that make the exact same sound. Harder than it sounds.

Sometimes we use more than one sense to enjoy our surroundings. Here we have a rock band singing,"I Like Myself," a song we learned in class.

Some of the contents in our bottles were bananas, pickles, onions, and chocolate.

Maybe if the bottle is closer to my nose, I can smell it better?????

In these pictures we could only feel or touch to guess what was in the gloves and the socks.

No one minded taste testing this treat. Students guessed the flavors of jelly beans, and learned what part of the tongue sends messages to the brain to tell it this is sweet and yummy.

The students learned which foods were good for your teeth and which ones weren't. We discovered the good foods for your teeth were also good for your heart.

We learned more about teeth with Dr. Jenkins and his puppets. Thank-you for your information and our bags of goodies.

With a real stethoscope, we could hear our hearts beating. Lub-dub, lub-dub.

Whether it was Lincoln logs or real timber logs, our creations look fantastic!!!!!!

WE LOVE LAP!!!!!!!!!

We have accomplished alot in our math and reading even though we have not had a full week of school since Christmas. We are more confident in our reading and math by using our sight word books and by playing number games. The past two weeks we have delved into love, kindness, and how Valentine's Day got started. Below are some of the highlights we would like to share.

Conversation hearts were used for two activities, graphing, bingo, and oh yes, eating.

Valentine party treats

Students painted a piece of pottery when Earth and Fire came to give us a new experience. Ms Angela's room had 100% attendance with parent and grandparent support and I was most grateful for that.

We discussed love and the definition. It was very hard to describe love and not use the word love. We came up with caring, sharing, hugs, and lots of kisses. I think they got the message.

Here is our mini post office. These boys are hard at work making valentines for their parents.

Our valentine holders took a postal theme this year as we traced the route of a letter from its making to its delivery.

A divided empty candy box can be so much more. How many marbles can he get in with his steady hand? Marbles are great toys and children use them in many imaginary ways.

One indoor activity that got us through those snowy days was our bowling game. Number recognition, matching, and cooperative learning were gained.

Groundhog's Day and shadow play went hand in hand in our room. Each of us got the opportunity to share an object in front of the light.