Polar Animals

This week we learned about animals that live where it is very cold. We talked about how penguins, polar bears, seals, and walruses stay warm in their cold environments (penguins have feathers, polar bears have fur, seals and walruses have blubber). We learned that penguins are birds but they cannot fly, and they have flippers that help them swim. We did an experiment to see how blubber keeps seals and walruses warm- we put Crisco (fat) in a bag, then put one of our hands in another bag inside the bag with the Crisco (we were trying to avoid having Crisco everywhere). We then held an ice cube in our bare hand then in the "blubber hand" to see which hand stayed warmer. The hand in the bag of Crisco (blubber) stayed warmer.

For letter M this week we made polar bear masks, used modeling clay (which is drying over the weekend), and played with magnets at the science center. We learned that magnets stick to other magnets, and metal.

Next week we will be learning about ocean animals, shadows (for Groundhogs day) and letter O. We will also be having Show-and-Tell on Friday.

Blubber Experiment

Playing with magnets

M is for making models

Have a great weekend!

Hibernation

This week we learned about hibernation. We learned that animals who hibernate will go to sleep at the end of fall, sleep all through the winter, and then wake up in the spring. We talked about how not all animals hibernate; bears, frogs, snakes, woodchucks, lady bugs, turtles, and squirrels hibernate. Cats, dogs, monkeys, whales, and pigs do not hibernate. Today the kids were able to wear pajamas to school for our hibernation celebration. We had cupcakes to celebrate Armani's birthday, then we went into the small gym with Mrs. Madison's class to watch Happy Feet. We rolled out big mats and kept it dark in case anyone wanted to hibernate instead of watching the movie.

Today we also had Show-and-Tell for the first time. We did very well listening to our friends present and speak about their special items. There were some really interesting items for Show-and-Tell. Please encourage your child to bring something each Friday for Show-and-Tell- part of the NY State Standards for Pre-K involves presentation and having the children becoming comfortable with speaking and presenting in front of their peers.

Reminder: No School this coming Monday, January 21st!

Hibernation- Friends in Pajamas

Show-and-Tell

R's toy that when you look through it on one end you see a lot of something, on the other end you see just one.

E's magic wand- the kids had fun thinking of words for magic spells.

Godzilla! He's made of plastic and his head turns all the way around.

  

Star Wars figures and a car- we thought the car was a ship, but K proved us wrong and showed that it had wheels.
C brought a teddy bear from when she was a baby, but everyone thought it was a rabbit because it had a rabbit ears hat.

D's picture of she and her sister.

The Incredible Hulk! He's very tall and big, and could be used as a chair to sit on.

J's dancing Mickey Mouse- the kids loved his crazy moves.

C demonstrated how her cheetah puppet could growl and make noises.

Have a great weekend!

Winter Wonderland

We have been talking about winter since returning from Christmas break. We have talked about winter weather, clothing, activities people do in the winter, and how to make snowmen. We brought a snowball inside to see what would happen (melting), and we also put colored water in ice cube trays outside to see what would happen (freezing)- I had to cheat and put the ice cube tray in the freezer since it wasn't that cold this week. We then melted red and yellow ice cubes together to make orange water, blue and yellow ice cubes together to make green water, and red and blue ice cubes together to make purple water.

Next week (January 14-18) we will be talking about hibernation, which will lead us into our animals theme (this will go through most of February). On Friday we will be having a hibernation celebration. The kids can wear/bring pajamas to school. In the afternoon we will watch a movie, eat popcorn, and "hibernate."

On Fridays we will now be doing Show-and-Tell. Students can bring an item from home that they would like to present to the class.

Reminder: We have Monday, January 21st off from school for Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.

         Drawing in shaving cream 

Examining the snowball as it melted

Math Center- matching numbered penguins to dots on igloos

Insta-Snow fun

Dramatic Play- dressing up in winter clothes

Playing Don't Break the Ice 

"Sewing" Mittens

Have a great weekend!