Smart Apples

This week we started our study on insects. We created a KWL chart, we discussed what the children knew and what they wanted to learn. We learned how to recognize an insect. Insects have 6 legs and three body parts (head, thorax and abdomen) and some insects have wings and antennas. We transformed our dramatic center into a bug lab. The children explored plastic insects with magnifying glasses and microscopes and sorted pictures of insects by size. At art table, we use pattern blocks to create insects and talk about symmetric butterflies, practice creating patterns, sort objects by size and practice to count 1:1 correspondence. At science table, we counted and sorted insects by colors and types. At blocks, the children work together to create different structures. At art table, we use different shapes to make our favorite insects and practice our fine motor by cutting circles to create a caterpillar and we used playdough to make insects.  It was a busy week! We will continue le...

This week we continue learning about flowers. At manipulatives, the children created patterns with stickers and use rubber rocks to create different pattern shapes. At art table, the children made their representation of dandelions. It was great to see how they used the material! At dramatic play, we continued playing with flowers, but this week we added some books. It was great to see the children explore non-fictional books.  At science, we planted our germinate black beans. We talked about the importance of watering and sun light. At writing table, we continue practicing our fine motor skills and engaged in pre- writing activities.  At blocks, the children continue to create amazing gardens with blocks and plastic flowers.  We finally finish our week with a science experiment. We used white flowers and colored water (food coloring) to help show how the water travel to the plants. Most plants "drink" water from the ground through their roots.  T...