This week we continued our journey into the human body. The kids really got into this theme bringing in books to share, and Alex even came to school dressed as a skeleton! We had a great time looking at Alex’s outfit and identifying some of the bones we had been talking about. During our group discussion times, we learned about a different vital system each day. Focusing on our skin, skeletal system, digestive system, circulatory system, respiratory system, nervous system, as well as discussing germs and how we keep our bodies healthy.

            Our talks this week also incorporated quite a few demonstrational hands-on activities; which really helped to foster interest in this week’s theme. While talking about our hearts we learned that our heart is located in your chest, and just slightly larger than a closed fist. Then, we talked about how our heart is a muscle that pumps all of the time. It keeps our blood flowing, and keeps us alive and we never even have to think about it. We pretended that our hands were pumps like our heart, and tried to pump them for a full thirty seconds. The class thought it was strange that your heart can pump all day and night; but unlike our hands it never tires! We also learned about the four chambers of the heart, and how the pumping moves blood through these chambers in one direction, then out and into our body, through veins and arteries. Then we used a measuring cup to measure out the amount of blood in the body of a four –year-old child, the children were surprised by how little blood is flowing through their bodies. After our talk, the class was eager to share their newfound knowledge: Leland said, “Even when you eat dinner your heart keeps pumping.” Cami said, “ Only when you die your heart stops.” Samuel said, “It moves blood up to your brain and ears.”  This week we also talked about our digestive system. We talked about how food begins its journey in your mouth and then travels down your esophagus, and into the stomach. In the stomach the food is broken down before it moves into your intestines. We talked about how our intestines act like a sponge, absorbing the nutrients your body needs; but that it is also shaped like a tube pushing the waste your body can’t use out of your body. After our talk, we set up an activity so that the kids could simulate the action of part of the digestive tract. Using a cardboard tube to represent the mouth and esophagus, and a bucket for the stomach. Then they were able to drop in plastic food to show how food travels to the stomach. This “food slide” was very popular during choice time. Later in the week, we talked about our brain and nervous system. After reading What’s Inside Me?: My Brain, we discussed how the brain sends messages from your body along the nerves and spinal cord. While sitting in a circle, we pretended to be nerve cells passing a message to the brain. The first person pretended to touch a hot stove, and then each child passed a squeeze from person to person until it reached the end, or “brain” and the brain yelled, “ouch!” It was a really fun way to see how message are transmitted through our nervous system. Later that day, we talked about how our skull protects our brain, and why it is important for us to wear helmets. Then we decorated eggs to use as heads. We each took turns stuffing paper towels into a yogurt container to create a helmet for one of our eggs, and then Molly and Gabriel dropped the eggs to see what would happen. Then as a class, we made a list of activities that require helmets. On Thursday, we talked about germs! We read Sneeze! By Alexandra Sly, and learned about the things in our environment that make us sneeze. We saw magnified photos of flu and cold germs, as well as pictures of dust mites and allergens like pollen. Afterward we did an experiment, to see if germs would spread more if we sneezed into a tissue, or if they would spread more without. We used two inflated balloons to represent sneezes, and filled them with feathers and confetti (germs). Then we covered one balloon with a large cloth and popped them both. The uncovered sneeze sent germs flying everywhere, and the kids scattered to grab them; it was so much fun!

            This week we also had our first gym lesson with teacher Karen. We learned the basics of scooter riding and how to drive in the gym safely. Karen showed us how to ride on our bellies, how to steer a partner safely, and how to hop on a scooter with your knees. Next week we will be participating in scooter town, which should be great fun.

            This week our letter of the week was the letter Dd. We brainstormed a list of delightful Dd words: Doughnut, Dig, Dinosaur, Duck, Dinner, Dog, Door, Doll, and Diaper. Molly brought in a picture of a Dragon her father got her while he was on holiday. Samuel brought in a picture of a dinosaur that he had colored. And, Amelia brought in a Dog from her littlest pet shop set that can move using magnets. Thanks for all of the letter Dd shares!

            And last but not least, our special person of the week was Rowan! Rowan’s favorite things are her lipstick and her kitty. Some of her favorite foods are cookies and date rolls. We also learned that Rowan and her family are taking a trip to Japan for several weeks, which is very exciting. Have a great trip, and thank you for being such a fabulous line-leader!

 Good News:

We are having a new friend, Jane Pendergast, Joining our pre-k freinds on Friday September 17th.