The World Around Us

We had a terrific week learning about the world around us!  Not only did we try to grasp the concept of a town, state, country, continent and planet but we learned a thing or two about ways of life around us as well.

 We talked about various countries that have similar types of music and instruments. Children enjoyed placing beans to create maracas and use them to make music in the classroom

 We had a donation of various leap frog books made to our classroom this year and this week we put many of them to use at circle time and as a station. The children used the various tools to help read a variety of books about places and people around the world.  They used the 'reading pens' to scan the words on the pages to help the teacher "read" the stories.

 We talked about the word migration and how some animals and other insects migrate depending on the weather of the time of year. Then we discussed butterflies in their migration patterns, complete with looking at the map to see how far they travel. Then the children used static electricity to make butterfly wings flutter.

 On our journeys this week we wanted to capture all the fun we were having so the children made pretend cameras to wear around their necks as they made various discoveries throughout the activities of the week.

 We talked about flags and the areas they represent as well as the parts of the flag and how each flag represents a different country. The children identified the flag from the United States of America as well as one from Italy then were asked to show what they learned by making the two flags at the tables.

 For math and music this week we also played with rhythm sticks at the circle by talking about various cultures where beating time is a constant.  Then the children repeated patterns teachers and their peers made by tapping the floor or the sticks in various sequences.

 We also identified many of the countries our afternoon preschoolers have family living in around the world. Thank you to all of the parents who replied with the countries and cultures their children are made from; the children were given their picture and with the help of the teachers through the information the afternoon parents gave us, were able to find some of the countries of origin for their families.

We learned about passports in our travels this week and the children in morning and the afternoon made passports to teach this process. We made necklaces from Africa and a variety of other items representing areas of the world. These passports were the initial activity that helped get us from one country to the next this week. 

In our travels this week we talked about the Eiffel Tower and used straws to fill in an empty Eiffel Tower on a page. This was a great STEM activity as the children needed to use various sized straws in order to fill their Eiffel Tower.

 Besides bringing a passport, a person needs a suitcase when they travel. The children used two pieces of paper and drew what they would pack inside. Some children decided to not wear any clothes and just bring toys while others packed and swimsuits and others brought books.

 When you travel, you may see people who may dress or talk or look different than you. So we played a matching game with wardrobes representing various countries around the world. The children had to match outfits and sort them according to what part of the world they might be from.

 We read a story using an app about transportation which included a child who wanted to travel around the world. After reading the story, we re-created our own as a class were able to choose the country we were going, the mode of transportation to get us there, as well as what items we would find once we arrived.

 After reading the book, Oh, The Places You'll Go, we decided to travel to where volcanoes are located. Some of the preschoolers even shared stories about their parents' honeymoons in Hawaii where there are volcanoes. In trays filled with baking soda the children were given two clear liquid ingredients. 

Then using pipettes, we were told to do some investigating and try to figure out which ingredient was water and which ingredient was vinegar based on the reaction that took place when it would touch the baking soda. 

 Because Mother's Day is always a special day in many of our families, on Friday we did take some time to create some special crafts for the mothers of preschoolers. We made fingerprints on paper to share a sweet poem as well as flowers made with fingerprints and tissue paper.

 The best part of Mother's Day when your child is a preschooler is finding out what your child thinks of you and knows about you. So we did some question-and-answer assignments with the preschoolers. We loved to hear how some of our preschool parents are four years old, 17 years old, and 10,000 years old! We also loved to see how many moms love pizza and how many moms enjoy cooking for their children.

 What's coming up? 

Graduation invitations went home on Friday, so please keep an eye out for them in backpacks and let us know if you have any questions. (Please remember all family members are welcome and there is a different time the day of preschool graduation which is May 27).

As preschool slows down we are going to be talking about the circus and other fun units to keep us up and moving.  Look for lots of fun stories to come home as we get a little silly!