Before vacation we had the opportunity to look at a macaw and a tiger. These animals visited Shorecrest in conjunction with the JK FLora & Fauna Around the World Activity Day.
We began the week by looking at an adult eagle and a eaglet that were sitting on the cell phone tower on the Florida Power property next door. The children looked through a telescope that Mr. Chaparelli set-up outside our classroom. The eaglet has the appearance of an osprey with a speckled chest and black head.
As we walked from the playground on Monday, we looked at the new spring leaves and how they are lime green in color. Fingerpainting with green and yellow paint was a favorite center time activity. We made prints of our fingerpaintings and created handprints, which we cut out. These will become the leaves on our classroom tree in the window.
We celebrated a birthday on Tuesday!
Spring is here, spring is here
Birds appear, birds appear
Flowers are growing, flowers are growing
Spring is here, spring is here.
The children enjoyed painting at the easel using spring colors.
We talked about the colors and encouraged the children to "draw" with the paint brush. They came up with the idea of what they wanted to create.
We talked about the colors and encouraged the children to "draw" with the paint brush. They came up with the idea of what they wanted to create.
Reading books that were either authored and/or illustrated by Eric Carle was the highlight of the week. The children really enjoyed looking at the end flaps of each book and tried to guess how Eric Carle created them.
Some of the books we read were:
Today is Monday Illustrated by Eric Carle
Baby Bear, Baby Bear What Do you See? by Bill Martin Jr. & illustrated by Eric Carle
The Very Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
My First Book of Colors by Eric Carle
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric Carle
The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle
Mr. Seahorse by Eric Carle
What Makes a Rainbow? by Betty Schwartz
The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle
Mr. Seahorse by Eric Carle
What Makes a Rainbow? by Betty Schwartz
Painting with real "spring" leaves was another activity this week. We will cut the paper into leaves to decorate the bulletin board tree. The children will add a small piece of tissue paper to the leaf to represent an egg as the first step in the metamorphosis of a butterfly.
The children are transferring the learning that occurred when they rolled balls down the tubes and the gutters creating inclined planes during the week before vacation. This week they built a "race track" from the unit blocks in the exploratorium and then built a ramp so the cars could go speeding down the ramp. On another day, the children built structures that we left up and added to them in aftercare with Mrs. Mundell's class and the next day. Still other children took triangles and put them together to form rectangles in the middle of the "race track!"
At exploring on Friday, we created Eric Carle paper by painting a banner and using scrapers, comb, and brushes to form patterns on the paper. We added stars and this paper will become the night sky for our exploratorium bulletin board. Other Eric Carle paper will be used for the children to create insects.
The children spread pink and green cream cheese on a diamond of bread for snack. They enjoyed the spreading process and asked for the crusts that were cut off of the diamonds.
. Blowing bubbles outdoors using a variety of wands was another favorite exploring activity. The children exclaimed with glee as they watched the bubbles float into the trees and beyond.
Painting stepping stones was another popular center at exploring.
. Blowing bubbles outdoors using a variety of wands was another favorite exploring activity. The children exclaimed with glee as they watched the bubbles float into the trees and beyond.
Painting stepping stones was another popular center at exploring.
March 30th - 9:00 ~ We will begin the morning by attending the Relay For Life all school assembly.
Then we will be going to the Large EC building for exploring with them.
9:30 - 10:45 Exploring - Parents are welcome to come and help with exploring
10:50 - 11:45 - Playground
5:00 - Many booths will be set-up and ready to go
6:00 p.m. Relay For Life Opening - Football Field
There are food, games, and items to buy at this event dedicated to raising money for the American Cancer Society. Please stop by if you have a chance!!
