Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Spooktacular Learning

Hi Preschool and PreK families!
.
Time flies when we are investigating new topics of interest. The children were quite fascinated by the rotting gourds that we discovered in the classroom and decided to add them to the garden so that we could not only have our own gourds next year (along with pumpkins and green beans) but watch the process of decomposition through the late fall and winter. We also had lots of fun exploring the pumpkins that one of the room mommies purchased for our class-we scooped out the pulp (we were very surprised to note that most of the pulp had "evaporated"), counted all the seeds we found (the total was somewhere between one hundred and seventy six and one hundred thousand lots), and made pumpkin soup with the seeds and pulp. We then made our very own pumpkin "pulp" (to compensate for the lack of real pulp) using cornstarch, water, and food coloring and cooked pumpkin soup (we have really enjoyed the series of books featuring a cat, a squirrel, and a duck who love pumpkin soup)-although we all agreed we liked the process much better than the result! After we investigated all the parts of the pumpkin, we wrote a thank-you note to the "mommy" who had purchased the pumpkins for us-complete with drawings of our findings, pictures of the class engaged in their activities, and our names.

 In addition to our classroom scientific investigations, we went on a field trip to Blooms and Berries.  We took a hayride through a forest, played in a life-size sensory bin filled with corn, helped the ducks navigate the water, and picked our own pumpkins from the pumpkin field. The children, Ms. Luann and Ms. Sara even had an adventure on the way to Blooms and Berries-we realized the winding roads were very similar to the roller coaster ride at King's Island.

Halloween was a prominent feature of last month's group discussions. We talked about what costumes we might wear (and what our family members and teachers might dress up as), created costumes for our stuffed animals and dolls, and allowed our classmates to explore and investigate our costumes on the big day itself. We also learned how to walk (and groan) like "zombie Frankenstein monsters", read several stories about monsters (we all had our own favorites), made "green goblin exploding goo" utilizing baking soda and vinegar (and food coloring), and listened to "scary music" such as "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and Bach's Toccata. And, of course, we had a Halloween parade with the toddler and infant classes to show off our new "zombie moves" and our costumes to our families.




The children investigate the various properties of the pumpkins purchased for us by a "mommy" in the classroom.

The preschool children love learning about money-anyway they can.


One of the Pre-K children explores the chemical reaction of baking soda and vinegar.





The legal "stuff"

Standards met::
 Domain: Language and Literacy Development
Strand: Listening and Speaking
Topic: Expressive Language
Standard: Use language to communicate in a variety of ways with others to share observations, ideas, and experiences, problem solve, reason, predict and seek new information 

Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge
Subdomain: Social Studies
Strand: History
Topic: HIstorical thinking and skills
Standard:: Develop an awareness of personal history

Domain: Approaches to Learning
Strand: Creativity
Topic: Innovation and Invention
Standard: Use imagination and creativity to interact with objects and materials 



Please remember to send your child dressed for the weather as we go outside even when it is cold (this is a wonderful scientific investigation project). We recommend visiting the thrift stores to find fairly cheap hats, gloves, coats, and boots you can leave at school just in case!










Thursday, October 17, 2013

Learning is Fun...damental at Endeavor Learning Center

Hi Preschool-PreK families:

Can you believe it is October ?  The children have been fascinated by the changes we have observed out the classroom window and when we take walks around the property. We discovered that some creatures (or creatures) took some of the fruit out of the garden and left a trail of seeds by the pine trees for us to follow. We also have been very intrigued by the idea that squelshy shoes can leave footprints on the cement path behind the building and have spent lots of time trying out our ideas. And of course we always enjoy watching the local wildlife that comes to the bird feeder-especially the antics of the chipmunk as it tries to determine the best way to gather all the birdseed from inside the feeder.

We also had a visit from Jane Gonzales who talked to us about how apples grow and told us the story of "Johnny Appleseed" (John Chapman) who planted some of the first apple trees in Ohio and across the Midwest. We even got to imagine that we were Johnny Appleseed-although we were not too excited about the costume!




We also have been learning how to care for the "infants" in the classroom-from changing their diapers to 
making their bottles to rocking them to sleep. We even had a visit from a real life baby.









And we had assistance from our older classmates as we practiced making new letters.



And we had an unplanned physics lesson when we discovered that the tubing for our new laminate could double as a larger version 
of our marble tower work.



The legal "stuff"
Ohio Early Learning and Development Standards we met this month:
Domain: Approaches to learning
Strand: Creativity
Topic: Innovation and Invention
Standard: Use imagination and creativity to interact with objects and materials


Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge
Subdomain: Science
Strand: Science inquiry and application
Topic: Inquiry
Standard: Engage in simple investigations

Domain: Language and Literacy development
Strand: Listening and Speaking
Topic: Expressive Language
Standard: Use language to communicate in a variety of ways with others to share observations, ideas and experiences, problem-solve, reason, predict, and seek new information




Please remember to sign your child out at the end of the day-especially if your teacher has already left the building:

October 31st is our costume parade. Please ask your teachers or one of the administrators with any questions you might have..


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

September happenings

What we are learning in our new classroom


We researched the items we find outside on the playground or on our walks in the field.

 
We practiced folding the laundry for Ms. Angela.

 
We continued to strengthen our fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination as we poured and scooped the bird seed.
 

And we made our own work from the "squishy things" we found on the playground.

Domain: Social and Emotional Development
Strand: Self
Topic: Sense of Competence
Recognize own abilities and express satisfaction when demonstrating them to others

Domain: Physical Well-being and Motor Development
Strand: Small Motor Development
Topic: Small Muscle: Touch, Grasp, Reach, Manipulate
Coordinate the use of hands, fingers, and wrists to manipulate objects and perform tasks requiring precise movements.

Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge
Strand: Life Science
Topic: Exploration of Living Things
With modeling and support, identify physical characteristics and simple behaviors of living things 

Thursday, July 18, 2013

The Zoo presents 'Wings of Wonder'

The Cincinnati Zoo came to our school!
We learned about birds and even got to pet a penguin!
The video is of a Kookaburra making some loud noise
(and his handler)!
 


Owl feathers, very soft


The feathers belonged to this owl.




The kookaburra

 


Petting the penguin




Parts of a Car

 
During the first day of our car lesson we explored the inside of my car.
(A Chevy Tahoe)
We found many things that a car has and what those things do.
 
Indoor lighting.

Speakers


Power Outlet

Hidden compartments



This compartment had a car jack in it.

Seats


Seat belts

Hidden table with cup holders.
Car seat

Lights on the door, a lock, a handle, and more speakers

Mirrors

Steering wheel

Buttons that move the seat


A lot of gadgets!



Found where the gas goes

Air bags and peddles