Newsletter
Newsletter April 14th-18th
This week we began our explorations into the world of insects! This is one of my favorite subjects and the kids are really excited as well. We have started our unit by focusing on common insects the children are already familiar with; many of the children already have an astounding body of knowledge. Our talks have included ladybugs, mantids, bees, wasps, ants, and dragonflies. At the beginning of the week we also made a list of facts we already know about insects, as well as a list of things we wonder about insects. At the end of our insect unit we will make a third list, where we will talk about the things that we have learned about insects.
During our circle time discussions, we have learned why ladybugs spray you, as well as some of the general anatomy of an insect. We discussed the diffences between a wasp and bee, and the kids came up with some great observations. We talked about the three major insect body parts, the head, thorax, and abdomen, as well as the fact that insects have six legs, three on each side of the abdomen. We also discussed antennas and their functions, and how a compound eye works. We read a variety of books in support of our activities and discussions this week. We talked about being kind to others and being kind to insects in relation to the story Hey Little Ant, which shows a little boy how to empathize with the ants that he has been mistreating for so long. We read The Very Grouchy Ladybug, The Very Quiet Cricket, Interesting Insects, The Icky Bug Alphabet, and BUGS!
At the art table, we made paper ants, assembling the head, thorax, and abdomen and attaching them with brads. The kids had a fun time decorating them with gel pens and adding the six legs and pipe cleaner antennae! After reading about the very grouchy ladybug we decided to make our own ladybugs complete with inner flight wings and a set of hard outer wings. We used these paper ladybugs to illustrate how beetles like ladybugs, have two sets of wings that serve different functions. We also used this as an opportunity to learn about how ladybugs are not always red, and that different types of ladybugs have different spot patterns.
Our letter of the week this week was the letter Zz! We brainstormed a list of Zz words: Zoo, Zoom, Zap, Zookeeper, Zip, Zipper, and Zebra! We learned how to sign the letter Z, and in the coming weeks we will continue to review our ASL alphabet.
Next Wednesday we are fortunate to have Cami’s dad Mace coming in to teach us about insects and to answer any questions we may have. If you could try to catch some insects at home and send them in for us to observe, that would be great, thanks!
Friendly Reminders:
The after school class uses our room after 3 o’clock, so we have to clear the room right at 3 o’clock, thank you for your understanding and cooperation!