IED Pre-K Newsletter

for the week of January 4-8

Welcome back Pre-K families! This first week back has been an exciting one; with arctic animals as our focus. This week the children learned the location of both the north and south poles, and learned about the various animals that live at the poles. We also talked about the polar ice caps, glaciers, icebergs, and why the sun does not set during the summer in the arctic. At the sensory table the children had the opportunity to play with a variety of polar animals, and "growing" snow. The children even had the opportunity to try their hand at sewing; which was quite successful. It was quite fun to hear how excited the kids were about the polar bear paws they had worked so hard on!

Monday:

During circle time, we counted the calendar, and talked about the new year, and that it is now 2010. The kids decided that they want to say "two-thousand and ten" rather than saying "twenty-ten" because it sounds better. We also opened our letter Mm bag, sang the letter Mm song and made a list of words which start with the letter Mm.

At the art table the kids made polar bear paws by sewing pieces of white felt to create a mitt; it was surprising to see how quickly many of them were able to learn to sew! We played a game of hide the penguin, and learned a new action poem, Marco the polar bear.

Books we read:

Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear?

Madeline

Mice Trouble

The Mitten

Polar Animals: Introduction

Tuesday:

We counted the calendar and sang the Days of the Week song.

At the art table, the children were able to finish their polar bear paws by adding paw pads they had cut out of craft foam. The kids had a great time trying on their bear paws, and stretching their fingers through the stitches to use as claws.

Books:

Mouse Mommy

The Emperor's Egg

Polar Animals

Wednesday:

Today we counted the calendar, and sang the Months of the year song. We read a science book about penguins and learned that penguins are flightless birds that live in the southern hemisphere (south pole). We learned that Emperor penguins in Antarctica live in extreme cold and go for weeks without food while they are caring for their young. After finishing our book, we all stood up and acted out our own penguin huddle, and even rotated from the inner circle to the outside, and then back again, so everyone had a chance to get warm; just like real Emperor penguins do. After our penguin huddle, we tried walking with an egg on our feet (a beanbag) like a male Emperor Penguin would to keep his egg from freezing; it was quite a challenge!

At the art table the kids made construction paper penguins, with penguin chicks, they are hanging in the classroom in the block area, the kids can't wait to take them home!

We also learned a new song today: I'm A Penguin sung to the tune of Darling Clementine

Books:

Tacky the Penguin

Mary Had A Little Lamp

Penguins by Bobbi Kalman

Polar Animals:Penguin section

Thursday:

We counted the calendar and talked about the letter Mm. During our afternoon circle the full day kids were able to share what they had learned about walruses with their half-day friends; did you know that a walrus can get a sunburn?

At the art table the children made walrus masks using construction paper and popsicle sticks.

Books we read:

Tacklocks and The Three Bears

Without You

Polar Animals: Walrus section

Friday:

We counted the calendar, sang our letter Mm song, and read the book The Pigeon Wants A Puppy by Mo Willems. The pigeon spends the whole story begging for a puppy, and when he finally meets one, he decides he'd rather have a walrus! After reading the story, the children had a chance to share what they had learned about walruses earlier in the week; then each child had a chance to share what it would be like to have a pet walrus! Children who were interested in writing their stories were invited to the art table during choice time where they drew pictures and dictated a story about what it would be like to have a pet walrus.

Books we read:

Way Up in the Arctic

The Pigeon Wants a Puppy

Watch Me Grow: Penguin Chick

Children's Science: Earth and Sky sections on; glaciers, icebergs, and the midnight sun.