Weekly Update from Enrichment!
Hi all!
Though it's been dreary and wet this week, we managed to get outside to play all three days! This is a reminder to please put your child's snow things in a separate, reusable bag with his or her name on the outside. It's difficult to know whose is whose when they're piled on the rug with backpacks and coats, or hanging on the gate ready to be brought home. Also, we had a number of pairs of school mittens go home on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you could please check your child's things, and bring them back if you don't recognize them as yours. Thanks!
On Tuesday we had our first karate class with Senei Michael from Lotus Studio. Sensei focuses a lot on respect for self and others, and self control. These things, in addition to karate positions and moves, and fun games make for a really fun time!
This week, we also learned about the letter "Aa". We talked about what lines make up an A, the different sounds it makes, and made a list of some words we know that start with it. We'll be working our way through the alphabet for the rest of the year.
Our book this week was Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright and Steven Gilpin. It's a silly book about a snowman who is too cold, and in his many attempts to get warm... melts! We practiced a lot of rhyming words, and learned some science about why he melted.
What was NEW in centers this week?
Art- We made our own melted snowmen with Puffy Paint (shaving cream and glue), and each named their own reason that their snowman melted.
Easel- Snowy trees- Using Qtips and white paint the children decorated blank trees.
Math- Snowglobe number find- The children used dot markers to hunt for and cover the numbers that they spun.
Discovery- Because we learned about different ways snow can melt in our book, we did an experiment at our discovery table. The children voted for which block of ice would melt first- the one we put hot water on (red), the one we put cold water on (blue), the one we put salt on (yellow) or the one we didn't add anything to (clear). Before exposing the ice to their variables, the children voted on which they thought would melt first. The last picture is the results. The children were right! The ice exposed to hot water was completely melted by the end of the day, while the others still had some ice left in the container.
Literacy- The children practiced writing A's on the chalkboard.
Writing- We have a light table for the next couple of weeks! We used transparent connectors, letters, and ice cubes on this to put together words, and make fun buildings.
Wishing you all a healthy and happy rest of your week and weekend!
Warmly,
Christina Renoni, Ashlee Taylor, and Erica Derbyshire
