Exploring Nature

This week we have been exploring nature and have been learning about habitats and types of animals as well as things that live in and around our world.  To start off the week, we read the story about, Going on a Bear Hunt, in a cave made out of our parachute and then saw a special guest appear at the end of the book!  A bear!

We sorted images of animals into locations of where they live; the ocean, rainforest, homes for pets, etc.  The children in the afternoon as well as the morning have been learning about the process of elimination as they discussed with their teachers why or how a particular animal can live in one place or another.

The morning children were taught about polar bears and the reasons why they have extra fat and fur (to keep themselves warm in the arctic cold) on Monday and then were asked to review and remind the teachers of what they learned.

We also looked at snakes and the patterns and colors on them then headed over to the tables to make our own snakes using beads and pipe cleaners for some fine motor skills.  Some children made patterns and others chose to do one color for their snakes.  Everyone was very focused during this activity.

The afternoon children learned about the areas around us as the seasons change and how the atmosphere then changes too.  They were then allowed to create a wooded area or an oceanic area and chose the appropriate supplies on the table to enhance the area of which they chose.  Some chose to do the woods in the fall while others chose to create oceans with dolphins and sharks.

We talked about pollution in the afternoon as well this week.  We created an ocean environment then placed animals inside the water and watched them "swim around."  Then, we started to add "pollution" like garbage wrappers and "oil" (water colored paint) to the water and soon the children started sharing with us their disappointment in not being able to see the animals anymore.  What a great lesson! 

To jump on the tail of the idea of taking care of our Earth we sorted seeds in the morning to work on our fine motor and math skills.  If you are a family who plants or has a garden, please include your child in this process, to love the land is to know how important it is to take care of it and your children are very eager to help make things grow!

Speaking of growing, our math activity with leaves and numbers on trees was a huge success for our children moving on to kindergarten next year.  We gave them trees with numbers written on them then asked the children to match the number on a leaf to the correct number on their papers.  Number recognition is very important and as we move into number of the day in the coming weeks, activities like this show us what the children can handle moving forward.

We also talked about the colors of leaves and flowers outside and how they grow and change and the importance of watering them throughout the year, especially as we move into spring.  We took a jar with red water and a jar with blue water and placed an empty jar between them on a table.  The teacher folded a paper towel and placed it 1/2 in the red jar, and 1/2 in the empty jar and the same with the blue water and empty jar.  Then, as the paper towels ABSORBED (word for the day) the colored water, it transferred to the empty jar and created purple water!  It was amazing for everyone to watch and helped show how plants drink and move and use water.

Both the morning and afternoon preschoolers went outside on a nature hunt for various items in our school yard.  It was terrific to get some fresh air and look for all sorts of natural items we tend to not notice on a regular basis.

After our nature walk, we dissected flowers in the preschool and scientifically broke them apart and glued them down talking about words like stem, petal, etc.

We also learned about how to make imprints of leaves found on our walk on paper with crayons.  All of these things we have done on this day are things you can do on the weekends with your children.  They really help provide a hands on way to learn about items found in nature all around us.

This week we read stories, played on Disney Explorer apps and used chalk to write letters on plastic circles and then erase them with water and paint brushes.  We also played Ele-Fun as we caught butterflies. 

We made jellyfish and counted the tentacles on them as we glued them into place.

We also worked on counting numbers in sequential order as we followed connect the dots for some math activity. Sheets like these are easy to find anywhere and even your three year olds can do them if they are numbers 1 - 10.  As your child grows, so should the numbers on the connect the dots.  Did you know they even have some from 1 - 100? These are great ways to help children learn correct numerical sequence.

Just as the morning preschoolers made jellyfish, the afternoon children made sheep and talked about and acted out animals who live on farms.  They counted out four legs and one head then made the fluffy wool out of fingerprinted white dots.

What's Coming Up?

This coming week we will be talking about health and hygiene.

We have been taking 'graduation photos' of the preschoolers in the caps and gowns they will be wearing at our graduation in May.  We would like to take photos for the school year this week.  Our goal is to do this for each child by the end of the week in order to have copies run of the photos to give you on graduation day as well.  

April 29th is the Cinco de Mayo festival at Palatine High School, check the school website for details.