Fall Weather is Here!

The fall weather is here and we had a great time looking at the many colors fall is bringing to us with this new change in season.  We started out the week learning about the differences weight has on impacting items to move up and down.  We had heavy candy corns and light black sequins and after we placed them both in our jar of orange liquid we added alka-seltzer to create gas bubbles and watched as the only things that moved in the jar were the lighter weight sequins as the heavier corn stayed on the bottom of the jar.

As with any experiments we do a lot is learned and vocabulary is built through observation and discussion.

The latest Star of the Week presentation was wonderful as we always enjoy hearing more about our preschoolers and their likes and dislikes.  Once we were finished with the presentation we looked at pictures of leaves on trees in fall and headed over to the tables to create our own trees filled with colored leaves in them and falling around them.  Some of the children even added piles of leaves at the base of their tree for jumping!

 As the weather changes we tend to see the wind pick up and we have had a lot of rain as of late so we mad sounds of the wind and rain blowing in and coming out with a drizzle using our rhythm sticks to beat the sounds of rain on the floor as a large group.  It's always a magical time to hear our storm and lots of laughs as the children start calling out the forecast to guide the group on how to use the sticks.

Another fun event that comes with the fall weather is apple picking and we did a little math using this theme with bushel baskets on paper hosting numbers of apples that needed to be placed in that bushel.  The children then had to read the number to their teachers then use an ink pad to place the correct amount of fingerprint apples into that bushel.

We used a little baking sod and vinegar magic this week in a way that varied from the favored volcano experiment and made tree art with pipets filled with water colored paint to drop color onto piles of baking soda on paper plates.  The children watched the teacher add brown and then green water colored paint onto her baking soda pile then watched her add a few pipets filled with vinegar on top to see the "tree" grow!  

Once we got that done at the circle, we headed to the tables to try it out on our own!  We have some creative and fun artists in our group!

 After making our fall trees and watching them grow, we learned a little bit about rain clouds and the rainbows that come after the rain.  We talked about rainbows we have seen and then headed to the tables to make clouds and hang rainbows from them.

We worked on our cutting skills again this week too and cut out various weather related symbols and matched them to words and other items.  Please continue to work on cutting things at home.  Straws, play dough and any type of paper can all help a child with the dexterity needed for kindergarten.

 We took advantage of the nice fall weather and went outside a few times this week too.  We went on a fall item scavenger hunt and found 'pumpkins' pine cones, leaves and more!  Later we went back outside to look for animals that are getting ready for the winter!  Enjoy the buckets we sent home and feel free to bring them with you when we trick or treat in October.

Now that we are all making new friends we decided to create a fall friendship tree with the handprints of our teachers and preschoolers and hang it up in our room.  We plan to keep it up in our room until after our Halloween party so family can see it when they come to trick or treat with us.

After cleaning up our friendship handprints we did a little preschool reading activity with apple trees.  The children had to match the upper and lower case letters of an "apple" and what was written on their tree.  When they found a match they showed their teacher then glued the 'apple' to the tree.

After reading a book about fall we used orange marshmallows to represent pumpkins and did some STEAM activities building pumpkin towers.  The children get more and more creative the more often we do this type of activity and their structures become sturdier as well.

Would you believe we are almost half way through the alphabet already with our Letter of the Day!  Letter J came just in time for talking about wearing jackets with the change of seasons now.  

We watched rain fall using our shaving cream in a jar experiment for the first time this year.  The teachers model and then the children go to the tables to help do the same experiment.  All that is needed is a clear container filled 3/4 of the way with water, shaving cream to represent the clouds and water color paint (or food coloring) to drip across the top to watch it absorb into the 'clouds' then rain into the jar of water.  

Lots of vocabulary with this fun and easy science experiment.  Try it at home!

After doing a great job with scissors to match weather with seasons our preschoolers put on their smocks and got to work on an art project all about leaves. 

The children each got a paper leaf and then dragged it across bins of shaving cream with water color paint in it.  Once the leave was dragged through the shaving cream they glued it down to a background piece of paper to frame out the leaf.  

Then the children used popsicle sticks to shave off the excess shaving cream and view the color that was left behind in streaks on their leaf.  We have these beautiful creations hanging in our room and will send them home next week.

On Friday we reviewed the concept of clouds absorbing moisture in the air and then filling up to make it rain.  (Remember the shaving cream experiment?)  

The children then headed to the tables to use pipets to slowly add water to the sponge resting on top of an empty jar.  As the sponge absorbed the water it soon started dripping colored water (easier to see) into the jar!  We found another way to make it rain!

After all the raining we jumped in letter paper plate puzzles on the floor.  Teachers called out letters for the children to find on the floor and jump into the 'puddle'.  To differentiate some teachers called out random letters to the children they knew know all of their ABC's and for the children who are still learning letter recognition we only called out letters of the child's name when it was their turn.

We worked on our first fall decoration on Friday as well as we made a colorful fall wreath to hang up at home.  The children chose a variety of colors and objects to add to their wreath and we hope you are enjoying their great works at home.

Speaking of fun fall things at home, we ended the week talking about popcorn.  We showed the children popcorn kernels (many of whom had never seen un-popped popcorn not on an ear of corn.)  The children learned where those bags of microwave popcorn come from and were able to use that corn in two different experiments before heading out for the week.

One of the experiments involved using a popcorn popper that has a large dome over the top which allows you to actually watch the kernels get hot and pop!  The children giggled and cheered and even began jumping up and down like pieces of popcorn as they watched the kernels pop before their eyes!

Then we made popcorn kernels dance using baking soda, water and vinegar to create gas in a jar causing air bubbles to make the kernels bounce up and down in a large vase.  

What's Coming Up?

This coming week is always a fan favorite as we talk about a variety of all things Disney!  Be prepared for talks of famous characters and stories from the creators of Disney movies, shows and more.

Don't forget the week of October 7th there will be NO PRESCHOOL due to many changes in the high school schedule that week.  Enjoy the 'fall break' and check out a pumpkin patch or apple orchard!


Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 25th for the Palatine High School Trick or Treat Fest, a FREE Trick or Treating event for the community, filled with candy, games, and more!

We will celebrate Halloween this year with a party open to preschool families on Halloween, October 31st.  Details will be coming home within the first week of October.