L.E.A.P. Class

September 21, 2007

 This week we studied the letteer A and learned about apples, animals and Allie Alligator.  We used our hands to make alligator jaws that open and sut as we practiced verbalizing the shjort A sound and learned that alligators live in the water.

This letter  gave us a great opportunity to study animals and we had a great time exploring animals that live in the jungle as well as animals that live on a farm.  One of our favorite activities was identifying animal noses in pictures, then trying on an animal nose of our own.  Everyond had a good case of the giggles by the end of this activity!

On Friday we made fresh baked cinnamon apples.  I brought in my apple peeler-corer-slicer contraption and let each child choose their own apple to use.  Everyone took their turn at the crank and was amazed by how long the apple peel can be when it comes off in one big piece.  We spread the apple slices on a cookie sheet, added a few cubes of butter and a whole lot of sinnamon sugar.  The apples were a warm, tasty treat to end our week and our study of the letter A.  Just for fun, slice an apple in half and see if you can find the star.   If you can't find it, just ask us and we'll give you a hint!

Next week, we will do a review of the four letters we have studied thus far . . .B,M,S and A.  Have a great weekend!

September 28, 2007

This week we reviewd the four letters we have studied this year.. . B, M, S and A.  We are singing songs about the letters, incorporating the zoo phonics animal movements and continuing to learn all kinds of information aout animals such as bears, mice, snakes and alligators.  This week we bagan using our Alphabet Center.  A pocket char with manipulatives to encourage picture identification, initial sound recognition and sorting.  Nan and I were impressed with how well everyone paid attention and really tried to listen to the beginning sound before placing a picture in a letter pocket.  We have also been incorporating cheers into our lessons- this is a great reinforcer  and helps to keep us alert and moving!

During our fine motor and math times we are continuing to solidfy our knowledge of shapes and are beinning to look for shapes in our surroundings.  Next week, we will use shapes to make pictures and go on a shape hunt around our school.  You can help your child by  identifying common shapes in your home or car. . .doors, plaes , napkins, cups, steering wheels, knobs on the radio. . . our minds are like sponges and we are soaking up any knowledge that is presented to us- it's a very exciting time in your child's life!  We are also working on  1:1 correspoondence and basic counting skills.  Encourage your child to count at home by asking them how many  of a particular item they have.  For example, "How many cookies do you have?  Oh, I see one, two, three.  Can you help me count the cookies, then we can eat them!"  Obviously  you may want to use other items or healthier items in order to practice counting to higher numbers (goldfish, pretzel sticks, cheerios).

Next week we will explore apples inside and out.  With such a short woeek /I thought it would be fun to bring in all the apple activities we didn't get to during our study of the letter A.  IT's truly amazing what we can learn by examining apples- science, social studies, math, language, even art- all from this simple fruit! We will also put togehter some special recipies for you to try at home! As always, thank you for sharing yoru child with us, we consider it a priviledge to teach for your family!

October 12, 2007

This week we had a ball as we learned about the letter P. Our zoo phonics friend was PeeWee Penguin and it was quite a sight as we learned to waddle like penguins while practicing our P sound!  The kids loved looking at picutres of adult and baby penguins an d could all relate to Happy Feet.  Although some penguins live in warmer climates, we focused on those who reside in coldy, snowy climates.  We identifed moms and dads and noted the differences between babies and adults.  Students practiced using black and white colors to decorate their own penguin and used dot dabbers to make colorful, polka-dot letters.

During our science time we began laerning about pumpkins and read several interesting books about pumpkins.  A class favorite is The Pumpkin Circle, if you are interested in having this book at home, let me know and I will see if a local bookstore has it in stock.  The photographs are wonderful and the story takes you through the life cycle of a pumpkin.  We iwll be scooping our our own pumpkins and will incorporate pumpkin lessons during the weeks leading up to Halloween. Soon we hope to have our own pumpkin patch growing on the playground!

Perhaps the favorite time this week was on Friday when we made Pizza for lunch.  Everyone helped spread out the dough-just like play dough, but better tasting!  We baked the dough, then took turns spooing tomato paste onto the crust followed by pepperoni and tons of cheese!  I have to say it was a very unique pizza!  Not everyone was as enthusiastic about eating the pizza as they had been about making it, but most of the learning is in the process and I'd say we learned a lot! Next week, we explore Gordo Gorilla's letter G and make some spooky ghost decorations for Halloween!

November 2, 2007

Hard to believe it but October is over and we are only a few weeks away from Thanksgiving!  Although this week was packed with lots of extras, we managed to learn a lot about thel etter H and, of course, our Zoo Phonics friend, Honey Horse.  When practicing the H sound, it is helpful to encourage your child to feel  their breath on their hand- is it hot or cold?

The kids enjoyed the horse pictures we shared during our morning circle and identified mama and daddy horses as wll as the baby.  During our observations, we discussed big and little- who is big and little in your house?  We will begin adding this concept into our nmath time and will be practicing ordering items according to size.  It might be fun to help your child identify big andlittle items while putting away laundry, setting the table or playing with blocks.

This week we began using a picture schedule.  We look at and discuss our morning during circle then refer back to the pictures during transitions.  This seems to have helped everyone prepare for workign at the table and we have seen some really great learning! We are still struggling with identifying a triangle, rectangle and square, so I will be sending some flashcards and a book home next week.  Please try to work on these skills daily, even if only for 5 minutes!

Last, but not least, we all enjoyed the Halloween festivities- it was great fun to see parnets and kids for Colby Halloween and we all enjoyed trick-or-treating at Daniel Meyer Coliseum.  We have a busy two weeks ahead of us, preparing for Thanksgiving and learning more letters!

November 9,2007

This week we studied the letter D and learned about Dee Dee Deer.  Usnig our "D" hands, we made deer ears on top of our heads and imitated the D sound.  Although we learned about dinosaurs, deer, dirt and dogs, our favorite D word was Daddy!  We read a story titled  I Love My Daddy Beacause...- this story depicted a lot of animal daddies who lvoe their babies just like our daddies love us! 

During our art time and in OT group, we completed several turkey crafts which will make wonderful holiday decorations for your homes.  The children love to experiment with paper, paint, glue, tape and tissue paper and often create beautiful work.  Art is a fun way to practice many fine motor skills. 

Our students are really beginning to accept mroe responsibility in our classroom.  Everyone is taking turns using the pointer during calendar time and holding the flag for the pledge of allegiance.  We are hearing a lot of great language and counting and have noticed the children helping each other complete activities!

Novemeber 16, 2007

I'm trying to figure out how this year has gone so fast! Already it's Thanksgiving and Christmas is fast approaching.  This week we worked very hard to learn the sound and signal for the letter W.  Our Zoo Phonices friend this week was Willie Weasel- not the most typical animal! We had fun looking at picutres of weasels standing on two legs, weasels popping out of holes and weasels that turn white to help them hide in the show.  We even looked at a photograph of a baby weasel which was about the size of an adult thumb.  EVERYONE noticed how little the baby looked.  We are really begining to use the words BIG and LITTLE in our conversations and descriptions and are now working on answering YES and NO questions. 

We had fun this week painting decorating turkeys with feathers and having circle time in a teeppe.  We have practiced using please when making requests and thank you when someone helps us or shares with us.  As we prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, here are a few things that Nan and I are especially thankful for this year....

Alex's engineering skills with the train set

Brenden's angelic smile

Dexter's outgoing personality

Evie's laughter

Paxton's quiet wonder

A school and staff dedicated to our students

. . .and five families who encourage us, laugh with us and share with us.  Often a parent will comment that you don't know how Nan and I do it with all our little friends, each with his or her own individual spirit.  Honestly, we don't know how we'd do it without them.  Enjoy your children and familise this Thanksgiving-we certainly have!

November 30, 2007

This week we reviewed the letters we've studied this semester- we were surprised about how many we've already covered!  As we reviewd each letter name and sound, we also practiced the zoo phonics action and talked about each animal.  The kids had fun choosing pictures of various animals and sharing them with friends during circle time-  I was pleasantly surprised by how much information everyone has retained about these animals.

On Tuesday we combined with the Pre-K class and  listened to the story It Looked Like Spilt Milk.  Following the story we then made our own "spilt milk" paintings.  We tried to look for shapes and images in our patingins and have combined tha paintings into a big book.  EAch page is a painting from a different child.  Be sure to look for the book next week and see what pictures you can find in our paintings!

We stayed very busy this week creating decorations for our room.  We used stickers to decorate a Christmas tree, dressed as a snowman and used  different circles to build individual snowmen.  We are talking about clothing that keeps us warm and have learned a funny song about what we like to wear when it's cold outside.  We are also hard at work practising for the Christmas program.  Everyone is enjoying singing Jingle Bells along with Bning Crosby- I think it's safe to say that our arrangement is one of a kind! 

Next week we will learn about the letter I.  The zoo phonics friend will be Inny Inchworm and we will use little inchworms to measure, create patterns and practice counting skills.  We will also be making peppermint ice-cream from scratch!  Come early and you might get a sample!

January 25, 2008

This weke we had a great time learning about all the animals on the farm as we studied the letter F.  Our zoo phonics friend was Francy Fish so we practiced swimming our hands around like fish as we imitated the F sound.  This sound is particularly difficul to produce, so it would be a great one to practice at home.  Point out favorite food that being with F, talk abotu the things that are  funny or discuss the way things feel.

Our book of the week was The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown. Er yslked about the various  animals as we read and had fun looking for the farmer.  The children are participating well in story times- asking questiosn and answering mine!  We also had fun with Barnyard Song because we got to practice lots of animal sounds.

During our langage time the children helped complete sentences using animal pictures.  We talked about certain animals that are typically found on the farm and those that belong in the jungle or ate the zoo.  Students also enjoyed building enclosures for the large barn animals in the block center

In art, we apinted yellow ducks and added featers.  We began on our stick horses, but will need to spend more time on those next week- thank you to Travis's dad for all the yardsticks! Chicken nests with eggs was a real treat during cooking on Friday.  Using chow mein noodles, some magic shell topping and a few mini marshmallows, we made some very unique and yummy nests! We've had so much fun down on the farm that we will continue some activities next week.

February 1, 2008

We had a great time this week as we finished up our farm unit and learned about the letter Q.  As we talked about all the animals on the farm we practiced quacking like ducks- this gave us a great opportunity to practice the Q sound.  We looked at a variety of duck pictures and learned that ducks can dive and fly in addition to swimming.  We also learned that ducks build nests and lay eggs- sometimes they have a lot of babies!

Our book of the week was Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins.  This sotry follows a hen along her wlak as  a sneaky fox tries to catch her.  Although the story si simple, the illustrations are wonderful and provide a great method for teaching various prepositions such as around, over and under.  To make the book even more fun we used a computer program which animates the story.  The whole class had a great time watching the fox get into lots of predicaments as he did his best to catch Rosie!

During our fine motor time we practiced using small beads and lacing cards.  The small beads take a lot of concentration and require a good pincher grasp.   We are also working in more and more cutting practice.  We use both sping-loaded scissors as well as kindergarten scissors depending on individual skill leves.  t home you can help your child practice cutting by giving them strips of paper and helping them cut pieces using a single snip.  These activities are not always the most popular, but they are so important!

We finished up our stick horses this week and took a spin through the atrium, b y the office and back.  I wiosh I'd thought to bring my video camera- what a sight!  The kids also havd fun adding gooey mud (brown paint) to some pink pigs.  One of the pigs was completely covered up- he must really like the mud!  For our cooking activity, we made pigs in a blanket. Everyone did a great job rolling their "pig" nice and tight. Unfortunatlely not everyone was as enthusiastic when it came time to eat them!

Finally I would like to welcome Courtney Steele to our class.  She is student teaching with us for six weeks and has already helped to put togehter a big book.  Courtney is a student here at TCU and has a daughter, Emma, in the Pre-K class.  We are very excited to have her with us and look forward to sharing many learning moments with her!  Next week we will begin working on Valentine's Day activities and will learn about the letter V.

February 8, 2008

This week we began learning about the letter V as we prepare for Valentine's Day.  The Zoo Phonics friend this week was Vincent the Vampire Bat- not exactly a creature we associate with Valentine's, but  an interesting animal nonetheless!  We learned that bats are covered with fun, have wings to help them fly and like to sleep upside down.  Some of us tried turning upside down and ti's pretty tricky!  Wehn practicing the V sound at home, exaggerate biting your bottom lip as you say V or make the V sound and encourage your child to imitate.  This action will help them when producing the V sound.

We used heart stickers to decorate valentines and began decorating our bags for the Valentine exchange next week.  We also talked about the people we love and learned a new song called Skinna Marinky Dinky Dink.  Our book of the week was I Love You Because You're You- in this story a mother describes all the things she loves  about her son- his shyness, his energy, his sense of humor. This story allowed us to look for qualities we love in each other and in our families.  Nan and I love all the special helpers we have in our class!

During our cooking time on Friday, we made vanilla ice cream.  The students do very well waiting their turn, raising their hand and following directions.  The hardest part of making the ice cream is the waiting!  Luckily, we didn't have to wait long- and there was enough for secohnds- it doesnt' get any better than that!  We will continue with V next wek as we celebrate Valentine's and learn some interesting  facts about vegetables.

February 22, 2008

This week we learned about the letter K.  Our Zoo Phonics friend for K is Kayo Kangaroo.  We learned that kangaroos live far away and carry their babies in a pouch.  Because Kayo loes to kick and she makes the K sound, we talked alot about kicking- learning that we can kick balls, but we never kick our friends.  Everyone enjoyed practicing this letter.  In fact, you could say we "got a kick out of K"- I couldn't resist!

To help us learn to recognize the K sound, we discussed kings and kites in addition to kangaroos.  If you have a kite at home we would love the opportunity to practice our kite-flying skills!  Our book of the week was Does A Kangaroo Have A Mother Too?  We had a great time looking at pictures of various animal mothers and their babies.  We also learned that these mothers carry their babies inmany differnt ways- some in pouches, some on the mother's back and some clinging to their mother's tummy.

During our langage time, we read Brown Bear, Brown Bear and practice our colos.  After listening to the story, students took turns matching color sheets to the color word.  Your child will bring home their own version of Brown Bear next week- they worked extra hard to create their own publication.  

We also had a great time learning about color mixing.  Students mixed shaving cream with two paint colors to make a third color.   All ingredients were sealed in a Ziploc baggie and students mixed the colors by squeezing and squishing.  This activity was a real crowd pleaser!  We also mixed colors as we created some very unique ink blots.  Thank you to  Courtney for planning such fun and engaging activities!

As part of our math this week we worked to learn the concept of more and less.  Using two sizes of counting bears students experimented with the balance.  We had a lot of fun weighing different amounts and    discovered that when more bears are on one side, the balance goes down. 

February 29, 2008

During our language time we read the story Mary Wore A Red Dress.  Colorful clothing was hung on a clothes line above the rug and each student selected a piece of clothing to go along with the story.  This book is not only a popular story, but is also a favorite song.  Everyone loves to talk about what they are wearing as we sing along during morning circle.  On Thursday we practiced identifying common shapes then went on a shape hunt around the classroom.  Each student took a large shape cut-out and searched around the room for an object that matched.   With a little help we managed to find a circle, rectangle, square, oval and triangle. 

Rice Krispie treats were on the menu for Friday’s snack—this is a really fun way to cook with kids!  We mixed melted butter with marshmallows and stirred till it was good and gooey.  Then we added 5 cups of rice krispies and kept stirring—it got very hard and sometimes took two people to stir!  Finally we patted the mixture onto a pan then cut it into bite-size pieces—what a treat!

Attached is a flier about the butterfly exhibit at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.  We will be studying butterflies and hopefully hatch a few in our classroom following the Easter holiday.  If you have a chance over spring break, try to get down to the observatory for this amazing and   beautiful experience!

Next week we will learn about Jerry Jellyfish and the letter J.  There will some fun sorting, counting and sharing activities involving jelly beans and even a Jellyfish dance. 

March 28, 2008

          It feels good to be back and in full swing with the class!  This week we learned about the letter E and our Zoo Phonics friend Ellie Elephant.  We practiced swinging our arms like trunks and had a lot of fun trying on the elephant-head mask.  Each child developed their own, unique elephant sound as well! 

During our story time we read several great stories.  Our main story was Elmer the Elephant.  This story follows a colorful, patchwork elephant as he tries to blend in with the herd then discovers how great it is to be differnt.  We made patchwork elephans like Elmer and painted gray elephants like those in Elmer's herd.  Emma Kate was another favorite story about a little girl with an elephant for a best friend. 

As part of our science this week we learned some interesting facts about elephants.  We learned that a group of elephants is called a herd and that their long nose is a trunk.  Did you know that elephants love water and are very good swimmers?  Elephants are strong and can stand on two legs to reach leaves high up in the trees.  We even learned a funny rhyme about elephants called “Elephants Go Like This & That!”

Next week we will be learning about the letter U and will be baking an Upside Down cake—it’s always fun to flip the cake!  Tonight is free night at the Museum of Science and History (now located on the first floor of the  Cowgirl Hall of Fame) - it’s a great time to go explore!