Monkeys in the Emergent Layer

We spent this week talking about the emergent layer of the rain forest.  This is the very tippy top of the tallest trees in the rain forest.  There aren't many animals up that high.  There are lots of tiny birds and a few spider monkeys.  Since we talked a lot about birds last week, this week we focused on monkeys. 

We read monkey stories and sang monkey songs.  Then, we used these cute monkeys to make monkey patterns.  

We called them "cheerleader" monkeys and "sniffer" monkeys.  Everyone seemed to think those titles were funny and there was a lot of giggling that happened at the monkey pattern table.  There's nothing cuter than preschool giggles while working.  

Writing practice on the White Board

We needed to practice writing our numbers, but we needed to do it in a fun way that preschoolers would enjoy.  So, after much debate, I realized how fun it would be to practice on the white board.  It has been a long time since your little ones had a chance to do that, so, needless to say, they loved it!  They completed a counting page first, then had some time to practice!  

The trick with teaching preschoolers is focusing on the fun!  If it isn't fun, they won't get anything out of it.  So, when you practice at home, make it fun!!  You probably don't have a classroom size white board in your living room, so think of other ways to practice.  Writing with chalk, using your finger to write in shaving cream on a cookie sheet, even writing on your belly when you are all lathered up in the bath tub.  There are lots of fun ways to make your preschoolers learning fun!!

Our Angry Birds

We spent the week talking about the canopy level of the rain forest.  This is where most of the animals are found.  It was a fun week as we enjoyed so many fun animals!  We made parrots to go along with the canopy.  Everybody LOVED them because they decided that they looked like angry birds.  They were right, too, because they are so many different colors, they really do look like angry birds!!  

The Umbrella

Last week, we hung up this umbrella, and of course, were immediately told that we put it upside down.  "I know.  It's supposed to go that way," was all I said.  "Umm...No, Miss Alishia, that way won't work," the preschoolers explained.  I assured them it would and they remained confused but excited to find out why I would hang the umbrella upside down.   

 This book, The Umbrella, is the reason!

It is about a boy, Carlos, who goes into the rain forest to see all of the animals.  When he gets into the rain forest, he cannot find any of the animals that he was excited to see.  So, he sets down his umbrella, upside down, and climbs a tree to get a better look.  While he does, the very animals he wants to see one by one, jump into his umbrella.  They have a little adventure of their own, before falling into the nearby river and floating in a circle back to where they started from.  By the time Carlos comes down from the tree, the animals are gone again, so he goes home determined that he'll try again tomorrow.

So, we made our own upside down umbrellas to take home.  We also added the animals from the story into our umbrella in the classroom!

Your children love to hear stories!  Books are very precious in our classroom, especially when they tie into our curriculum so perfectly!

A Visit to the Under Story Level of the Rain Forest

We will spend this week learning about the under story level of the rain forest.  That is where most of the insects and bugs live!  It is also one of the many places frogs are found.  Frogs are something that fascinate any preschool child, so they will be our focus.  

We read this fun book, The Frog with the Big Mouth.  It is great!

 It is very similar to the Wide Mouth Frog, which is a favorite of both of our classes.  It is about a very conceited frog who likes to brag to animals about how big his mouth is to other animals, in this case, rain forest animals.  In the end, he comes to a jaguar, who likes to eat big mouth frogs, and tries to eat the little frog, who barely escapes.  It is a fun story that gives facts about all of the animals, as the frog talks to each one.

We also made these adorable frogs!  

Your children are definitely ready for kindergarten!  Most of them could complete this craft without any help from us.  They know how to cut, glue, and follow directions.  Crafts seems like they are simply fun for preschoolers, but the small motor skills and attention required to successfully complete a craft will be very important next year when students are learning how to correctly write each letter.

Caps For Sale

We had so much fun this week reading books about the rain forest!  We looked at fun fictional books showing realistic pictures of the many different animals.  

We also read this great story called, Caps for Sale!  

While this isn't a story about rain forests.  It is a story about monkeys!!  We read the story and act it out as we go.  This week, I was the peddler wearing and trying to sell LOTS of caps.  The children were the monkeys that took my caps while I slept.  We don't use caps, instead we use circular pieces of felt, but the idea is the same.  Next week, we will take turns having one preschooler be the peddler.  They LOVE this activity and story.  Ask them about it and see what they remember.  Hopefully, they'll tell you all about it.  

Fun Facts

There are so many animals found in the rain forest, we will never be able to focus on each one.  So, we have a fun way to get as many facts as possible!  This little box is full of facts.  There are probably 30 animals inside of here for us to learn about.  Each child gets to come up front and pick one out.  

They guess what the animal is, based on a tiny picture, then I read the information provided on the paper.  

We take turns, one by one, and everyone gets a turn.  They are already getting so smart after just a couple of days!!  Ask your child about the boa constrictor??  That is one of their favorites!

Rain Forest

We started our new unit this week on Rain Forests!!  As an introduction, we watched a short movie clip from the older series called "The Magic School Bus".  This time the class field trip was to the rain forest to help save a cocoa bean plant.  It was enough to catch everyone's attention and give them some information to pull from as we discussed this region of the world that is so very different from our own.   

Since there are many layers within the rain forest, we are starting with the things that live and grow on the ground floor.  We talked about spiders, insects, flowers, trees, ants, and jaguars.  We colored animals and painted animals that live on the ground floor.  

Our focus for our art projects and "pattern" practice was SNAKES!  Snakes slither an crawl on the ground floor.  They also venture up trees, but mostly stick to the ground.  

We made these fun spiral snakes.  First, we decorated them.  The preschoolers used many different types of decorations.  Some did dots or circles, others triangles or squares, and others just drew more spiral lines.  They all looked great when they were done and no two snakes were the same.  

After they were decorated, the cut out the original circular shape around the snake.

Then they cut out the spiral lines to make this cool snake!

We also practiced these fun patterned snakes using yarn and straws.  (Such an easier project than making and using colored noodles that can get messy and are hard to thread through.)  For the most part, preschoolers stuck to a basic pattern like this snake.

Others got fancier and even venture on to use three colored patterns.  

 When they were all threaded, faces were drawn onto one end finishing off the snakes.

 We had LOTS of fun and changing themes always excites your children!

Writing Numbers

Now that we have learned how to write the numbers 1-9, it is time to practice. We ALL learn best through play in preschool, so we played this week as we wrote our numbers.

We wrote them in shaving cream and practiced...
We wrote them on the Magnadoodles...
Then, of course, we wrote them with paper and pencil, too. That paper was sent home to you! At home, practice your numbers. It is a fun challenge!!

A Day all about Butterflies

In honor of our new butterflies, we are having a day devoted to these beautiful insects.We drew what our caterpillars looked like today, which included creative drawings of butterflies.
We practiced putting these pieces showing the stages of the caterpillars in order together.
We made this fun project showing the stages.
And lastly, we painted colorful butterflies, too.
Everyone was excited to watch the butterflies during centers with a magnifying glass! The preschoolers will be sad to see them go. (Their teachers will, too!)

We have BUTTERFLIES!

Since all of our caterpillars were in their chrysalis, we moved them to the Butterfly Garden. We put grass, sticks, and flowers in the netting with the sugar water for the new butterflies. All of the chrysalis transferred without any problem and were safely placed in the top of their new home.
It's a good thing that we moved them when we did because the next morning, one butterfly emerged, then another!! It took them a long time before their wings were dry enough to fly, but they both seem to have become perfect butterflies! They are beautiful, too!!
I can't wait to show the preschoolers tomorrow. There are still three caterpillars in the chrysalis stage, so hopefully they will turn when the preschoolers can watch them.

Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny, Where's your Egg

We played a little game during "circle time" today and the children love it! One child leaves the room and we hide this egg under a different student, sitting among the rest on the rug.
When the egg is hidden, we call the student back into the room. Then we sing:

"Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny, where's your egg?

Somebody took it from your home."

That person, then has to guess who is sitting on the egg. They loved it!

We made an egg like this one at our Easter party. Now you can play at home.

Happy Easter!!

Easter Bunny Day

We had a fun Easter day!! We started out by making these fun bunny hats! (Thanks for all of the help making these.) They were super cute and the faces were all done by the preschoolers. They looked great!Then, after reading bunny stories and playing bunny games during "circle time", we had some bunny centers. We made bunny patterns! Everyone can make the "AB" patterns, but these others are harder to remember.
Then, we put all of that pattern practice to work. We completed these paper patterns to take home.We also colored Easter bunnies and made sparkly eggs! Finally, the centers were done and it was time for yummy cookies and the LONG AWAITED egg hunt! (Again, many thanks to the parents that helped hide all of the eggs!)

We hope this fun day was the start of a wonderful Easter weekend!!

The Caterpillars are not Caterpillars Anymore!

Finally, after about 9 days, our caterpillars crawled to the top of their container and hung upside down, just like the books we've been reading said they would. The preschoolers got to see them as they were changing and were as amazed as I was!

By Tuesday night, all five caterpillars had moved into the chrysalis stage.

When the children drew the pictures of their caterpillars and Wednesday, many of them drew caterpillars, like they had been doing last week. Unfortunately, there were no caterpillars, just chrysalises, so they had to draw their picture over again. It was fun to see them understand what was really happening.

We talked a lot about the four stages butterflies go through. Then, we cut out pictures of the stages and had to put them in order. This was a lot harder than it looked.

It won't be long now... We'll have butterflies before we know it!!

Hide the Butterfly Counting Game

We played this cute butterfly counting game today.

You send one child out of the room, then hide this little butterfly......under these numbered cards.
The cards go from 1 to 20. Ten the child who left the room, comes back in and guesses where the butterfly is hiding by guessing which numbered card it is under. When they find it, they win! Then it's another child's turn to leave the room.

It is a really fun and simple way to practice recognizing numbers.

Wow!! Look at them now!

It has been fun to watch these caterpillars grow. Here is the picture that I took on the day I got them. Here is the picture that I took today!
WOW!! In just one week they have grown about four times their original size. It won't be long now before they make a chrysalis.

Park Day with Ladybugs

This week we spent learning all about lady bugs. We read lots of lady bug books, including Grouchy Ladybug and Lara Ladybug. We talked about how lady bugs are important to gardens, since they eat bugs, but not plants. They don't harm the garden and clean the garden of other bugs that DO harm the garden.

We made these fun lady bugs.
Then, we got to play with real live lady bugs at the park. We bought 1500 ladybugs from a local nursery.
Yes, they really all fit in this little container.
We set up a small tent, and released the ladybugs in the tent, making a lady bug tent for the preschoolers to go inside. They went inside two at a time.
The lady bugs flew to the top of the tent, and crawled around in the grass on the ground (the tent had no bottom and was simply staked into the grass). The preschoolers had ladybugs on their clothes, in their hair, and crawling up and down their arms and legs.
Many lady bugs escaped and crawled around on the outside of the tent. They escaped under the tent, too, and the preschoolers waiting to go inside the tent, found plenty of bugs to play with on the outside, which helped them be patient.
It took some convincing for some, but after some time, everyone adjusted to the tickley bugs crawling all over them and had fun. There were lots of giggles and smiles as we enjoyed our "bug day" trip to the park.

Slowly, the lady bugs flew away to freedom! And eventually, the tent emptied of all of the little critters. By then, everyone was hungry, tired, and ready for a drink. So, we had our snack at the park before heading back to class.
What a fun day!! Memories were created that will last a life time and that is what preschool is all about!