We have been enjoying exploring with rocks. We used the balancing scale to test the weights of the different rocks we collected. We also had fun painting some of those rocks. Then we used some of the rocks to make miniature rock gardens like the ones we look at on the computer. We also got to pretend to be rock hounds as we excavated rocks and mineral from earth mounds with chisels and brushes. We used our rock chart to identify what type of rock we unearthed.
We'll continue exploring with rocks next week. We will also begin talking about our family traditions and how different families celebrate this special time of the year. On Monday, Adele's mom will come and read us a story about Hanukkah. Have a wonderful weekend.
We are enjoying learning about what advent means and why we celebrate the season. We will be making ornaments to decorate our tree. You are also welcome to help your child make ornaments at home to bring to our daily service. As we prepare for the Christmas season and our pageant celebration we will be talking about our family traditions and traditions of different faiths around the world.
Along with celebrating this special season we will be exploring a topic that all our friends are interested in - rocks. I'm sure all of you found several hidden in your child's pockets or buried in their cubbies. Preschoolers love rocks. They are all budding geologist and rock hounds. They love digging for rocks, sorting rocks, counting rocks and so on. So we will spend time over the next few weeks using rocks to build on our skills in the areas of science, math, social studies, literacy, technology. We filled our sensory table with various types of rocks and are learning the names of these rocks and learning some of the characteristics of the different rocks. We also used the rocks to count and sort by color, size, texture, etc. We read the story Everybody Needs a Rock, then went of a rock hunt to find a special rock by applying the ruling laid out in the story. I really love this story because the central theme of the story involves believing in your own choices and respecting the choices of others.
Crystals seem to be one of the favorite types of rocks. A fun cooking activity that demonstrates how crystals are formed involves making rock candy. Today we made our own batch of rock candy which is simply formed sugar crystals. Everyone helped pour in the sugar and water. Then we voted on what color to make and what flavor. The rock candy will take 5 to 7 days to form. Not only will be using our scientific observation skills to record the changes we will be forced to use self control as we patiently wait for the candy to form. If all goes well we will all get a small piece to sample next week.
We had a fun sensory rich day exploring with corn and popcorn. We not only played with popcorn in the sensory table, but we popped some in a popcorn popper which I think is so much better than microwave popcorn. It's also much more fun. We were able to use all our senses for this activity. First we touched the kernels with our hands before pouring them into the popper. We talked about how they felt and compared them to the ears of corn we have on hand. We then waited with anticipation and listened with our ears as the popper begin to heat up. We watched with our eyes as the popcorn kernels whirled around and around in the popper. Then we could smell the popcorn with our noses as it popped up and into the bowl. Lastly, we got to use our taste buds to sample this tasty treat. Tomorrow we will make our own corn chips out of cornmeal. Have a good evening<div
We've been enjoying sampling different varieties of apples. So far we've tried Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, and Red Delicious. We discovered that they each have a different taste and texture even though they are all apples. Next week we will try other varieties. We will also do a couple of simple cooking activities with the apples. So, please one apple of any variety with your child by Wednesday. We will use them to make applesauce and an apple crisp.
We have also been exploring with gravity. We put a small ramp in our room and have rolled different items at different levels to see how fast and how far they would go. We've had a little extra outside time since the weather is so pleasant. Besides, we have really enjoyed hunting for acorns and pecans on the playground. This afternoon we will start to paint the clay leaves we made. We'll leave them here over the weekend to dry.
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