Balls and Ramps

Group Meeting:  Some of the children have brought their snow people back to school today.  We took a few minutes to look at them.  They are all different and very fun to look at.  We will display them in the hallway. 

Story:  Today, I read Watch Me Throw the Ball.  This is a beginning reader book.  There were few words, but the story line is funny.  Also,  I knew that story line would make the children think.   In the story, Pig finds a ball.  The ball belongs to Elephant.  Pig asks if he can have a turn to throw it.  Elephant says that it takes a lot of skill and practice to throw a ball.  Pig says the most important thing about throwing a ball is to have fun.  So, Pig throws the ball.  It spins up in the air and lands behind him.  Elephant knows this, but Pig does not.  Ask your child to tell you what Pig thinks has happened to the ball.

Small Group:  We have been working on letter D this week.  We did wet, dry, try today.  We also did our workbook page following snack time.

Large Group:  We used ramps today to experiment with rolling balls.  Will a ball roll faster if the ramp is higher?  Will a ball go further if the ramp is lower?  We tried several times with different balls and different settings for the ramps.

Snacks:  The morning class had peanut butter crackers and milk brought by Payton.  The afternoon class had strawberries, granola, and milk brought by Leah F.  Thank you!

Snowballs

Group Meeting:  Last week we ask the question, "Do all balls bounce?"  This week, we are asking, "Do all balls roll?" and "What makes something roll?"  We will be doing some experiments as we try to answer these questions.

Story:  We read Snowballs.  This is the story of a family that has been waiting for it to snow so that they could create snow people.  The family has saved up lots of materials to use to decorate the snow people.  Following the story, the children used paper circles to make a snow person.  They are to decorate the snow person at home and bring it back to school to display.  Thank you for your help with this activity.

Small Group:  We gathered several items from the preschool to help us answer the question, "What makes something roll?"  I assembled a ramp at the end of the table.  The children took turns trying to find out what would roll and what would not.  Ask your child to tell you what items would roll and why.

Large Group:  The children love having time to play with the ball collection that we have gathered.  Therefore, we spent the last 15 minutes doing ball play.  It was a good way to get some exercise!

Snacks:  The morning class had graham crackers and juice.  We are a little mixed up on whose turn it was to bring the snack.  We think we have straightened it out.  The afternoon class had Wheat Thins and juice brought by Campbell.  Thank you!  We also sang Happy Birthday to the January birthday children since we missed this last week.

It was a Five Dog Night!

Group Meeting:  We took a few minutes to get back into our school mode.  This cold weather is making it hard for us to get back into a routine.  We discussed our plans for the day and told the children that there would be finger painting at the Art Table for those who would like to participate.

Story:  We read The Five Dog Night.  This is the story of Ezra who lives with five dogs.  His neighbor Betty comes to visit every few days.  One day, during her visit, she mentions that it is going to get cold.  She tells Ezra that he will need an extra blanket on his bed.  Ezra says that he doesn't use blankets.  She is concerned about him getting cold, but he tells her it is only a one dog night.  As it gets colder, Betty becomes more concerned, but Ezra says it's only a two, three, four, or five dog night.  What does he mean?  Ask your child to tell you!

Small Group:  We did a shape search.  The children had to search for shapes that were taped in various places in the classroom.  Then, they had to find the matching shape on their paper and color it same color as the one that they had found.    The papers are in their backpacks.  Please ask them to identify the shapes for you.

Large Group:  We didn't have much time for Large Group today.  We wanted to finish up the letter J from last week and introduce the letter D for this week. 

Snacks:  The children had Teddy Grahams and milk brought by Robert.  Thank you!

The children are bringing home a February calendar and note about Valentine's Day. 

Will a bowling ball bounce?

Group Meeting:  I reminded the children of our ball bouncing experiment yesterday.  I showed them the bowling ball that I had promised to bring from home.  At large group time, we will see if it bounces.  The children made guesses as to what would happen. 

Story:  I retold the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff using the felt board.  We read the story book last week.  Following the story, we used headband props to act out the story.  Three children pretended to be the goats trying to cross the bridge while another child hid under the bridge (bench from the hallway) waiting to come out to eat the goats.  Did the goats make it to the other side?

The Biggest Goat is going to push the Troll into the river!

The Middle Goat is telling the Troll to wait for the Biggest Goat.

Small Group:  This week, we are learning about the letter J.  We practiced printing the J on our wet, dry, try boards.

Large Group:  I got out the step ladder so that we could see what would happen if I dropped a bowling ball.  Will it bounce?  Will it break?  Will the floor break?  Ask your child to tell you what happened.

Snacks:  The morning class had Vanilla Wafers and milk brought by Hudson.  The afternoon class had trail mix and juice brought by Allison.  Thank you!

Do all balls bounce?

Group Meeting:  I asked the children, "Do all balls bounce?"  We had a variety of responses.  I told the children that we would try to answer that question today using the balls that they had brought to school.  I also informed the children that we had put some of our balls in the paint tray at the easel.  They could use these balls to paint during free play.  The balls were a variety of size and texture. 

Story:  Our story had one word for a title, Bounce.  In this book, a cartoon dog tells us ways that we can bounce with our bodies as well as ways that we can bounce a ball.  The dog says that bouncing on the couch and on the bed can cause trouble.  Many of the children commented that they loved to bounce on their bed, but many also said that they weren't supposed to do it. 

Small Group:  We measured the circumference of our balls today by taking a piece of yarn and wrapping it around the ball.  After I cut the  yarn, the children used rulers to measure the length of their yarn.  If the ball was big, we had to use a yard stick to measure the yarn.  Your child is bringing home their piece of yarn.  If you have a ruler or yard stick at home, ask them to measure the yarn piece for you.

Large Group:  To find out if all balls bounce, we brought a short ladder into the room and let the children take turns dropping their balls from the top of the ladder.  We found out that all balls bounce.  However, some balls bounce higher and some bounce longer than others.  I then asked the children if they thought a bowling ball would bounce.  They said, "No!"  I will be bringing my bowling ball tomorrow!

Snacks:  The morning class had apples, peanut butter, and milk brought by Evie.  The afternoon class had graham crackers and juice.  Ryan was our helper.  Thank you!

Group Meeting:  We finished up our review of the learning centers today by discussing items in the Tabletop Area.  We have puzzles, games, and manipulatives in this area.  The children spent more time in this area today.  I think they had forgotten everything that we had.

Story:  We read The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  This is another classic story that the children love to hear over and over.  In this story, three billy goat brothers are trying to cross over a bridge to get to the green grass over in the meadow.  However, under the bridge lives a horrible, stinky troll who likes to eat goats.  The three goats put their heads together and come up with a plan to trick the troll.  Ask your child to tell you how the goats get across the bridge.

Small Group:  The children made a list of words that rhyme with the word ball.  We used a few picture cards and the white board to find words that ended in all. 

Large Group:  We have been learning a new song about how to make a pizza.  Your child may be able to remember a few of the steps.

In the morning class, Max's mother, Mrs. Smith, came in to teach us how to make a bouncy ball using borax, glue, and water.  The children also added coloring and glitter.  It was interesting to see how mixing these liquids created a solid ball that was bouncy.  Mrs. Smith has offered to come to the afternoon class to allow them to create a ball as well.  Thank you, Mrs. Smith!!

Snacks:  The morning class had Cheez-its and juice brought by Luca.  The afternoon class had bananas and milk brought by Chloe D.  Thank you!

School will not be in session on Monday due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

Bouncing

Group Meeting:  Yesterday, we talked about all of the things that we can do in the Housekeeping Area.  Today, we made a list of all of the things that we can play in the Block Area. 
The children have been creating pictures at the art table using marbles.  We wondered what would happen if we used a bigger ball such as a bouncy ball.  Some of the children tried it. 

Story:  We read a book that was a guessing game.  It was Round Like a Ball.  In this book, the reader  is given clues to figure out what is on the last page that is round like a ball.  It is wet and dry.  It is hard and soft.  It has air around it.  It nourishes us.  What is it?  Is it a balloon?  Is it a rock?  Is it a scoop of ice cream?  Ask your child to tell you what is round like a ball.

Small Group:  The children practiced making the letter S on wet, dry, try boards.  It is easy if the children remember that an S is two small curves.  The first curve is like the letter C.  The second curve goes the opposite way.

Large Group:  The children practiced bouncing a ball.  They dribbled playground balls using one hand and then the other.  They partnered up and practiced bouncing a ball to their friend.  It got a little crazy, but was a lot of fun.  I wish we had the time and space to do this every day!

Snacks:  The morning class had Rice Krispie treats and juice brought by Jordyn.  The afternoon class had Cheez-its and juice brought by Mason.  Thank you!

Kick Ball

Group Meeting:  During this week, we are going to take a little time to review what we can do in the various centers during play time.  We did this at the beginning of the year but have noticed that some of the children have kind of gotten into a rut of doing the same thing over and over again.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I want to make them aware of other things to try.  Today, we made a list of things that we can do in the Housekeeping Area.

Story:  We reread the story of The Little Red Hen.  There were two vocabulary words in this book that I wanted to highlight, and we didn't get the chance to do that last week.  The words were groom and gossip.  The cat liked to groom himself and the goose liked to gossip.  We gave several examples of why it was not a good idea to do these things instead of helping The Little Red Hen.  Ask your child to tell you the meaning of these words.

Small Group:  I took pictures of the children holding the balls that they had brought to school.  Then I asked each child to give me a description of their ball.  We compared balls and came up with ways that they were the same and ways that they were different.

Large Group:  The children learned how to play kick ball today.  We set up the bases, divided into teams, and learned some basic rules.  Everyone had a turn to kick and run the bases.  The outfielders had to learn to work as a team to get the ball back to the pitcher.  Just learning to run the bases was fun.

Snacks:  The morning class had string cheese and juice brought by Reese.  The afternoon class had granola bars and milk brought by Evelyn.  Thank you!

Do all balls roll?

Group Meeting:  Most of the balls that have been brought to school are round.  I asked the children to tell me what would happen if we put the ball on the table.  They answered that it would roll off.  I showed the children how we could use rolling balls to paint.  I put a piece of paper in the bottom of a paint tray.  Using small bottles of paint, I squirted small drops of paint onto the paper.  Then I added marbles.  I moved the tray around to get the marbles to roll into the paint and create a picture.  At center time, the children could select that activity at the art table.

Story:  Our story today was Stop That Ball!  In this story, a boy hits a ball out of his yard.  The ball rolls down the street and into a manhole.  A worker in the hole throws the ball out causing it to bounce into the back of a dump truck.  The truck dumps sand and the ball into the construction yard.  The ball rolls onto the construction elevator.  Throughout the story, the ball keeps rolling, bouncing, and moving while the boy tries to get it back.  Ask your child to tell you how the ball gets back into the boy's yard.

Small Group:  We played a guessing game with three jars that had balls in them.  The children had to guess which jar looked like it had the most balls in it.  Then we counted them to see if they were correct.  We also guessed which jar had the least amount of balls in it.  The word "least" was a little more challenging for the children. 

Large Group: The children sorted their collection of balls into categories. We sorted them by size, shape, and texture. If your child has not brought a ball to school yet, we would like them to do so.

Snacks:  The morning class had graham crackers and juice brought by Mason.  The afternoon class had bread/pretzel sticks with dipping cheese and juice brought by Lana.  Thank you!

Beginning our ball study

Group Meeting:  We talked about how to make the letter G so that we could do wet, dry, try at Small Group time.  The children were anxious to talk about the balls that they had brought to school.  If your child forgot to bring a ball, please have them bring it on Monday.

Story:  We read a non-fiction book, Have a Ball.  This book was a wonderful read for us to use to start out ball study.  It gave examples of many kinds of balls, uses of balls, and how balls are made.  Ask your child to help you make a list of different kinds of balls.

Small Group:  We made the letter G with out wet, dry, try boards.

Large Group:  We completed the G page in our workbooks.  We opened the G tub to see what was inside that started with the letter G.

The children played with the balls that they had brought to school.  The children that did not bring one borrowed a ball from our ball basket. 

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese sticks and juice brought by Maddie.   The afternoon class had Clementines, Wheat Thins, and milk brought by Leah Z.   Thank you!

It's good to be back!

It's good to be back at school after what seemed like a very long break.  The children seemed to be glad about returning to school as well.

Group Meeting:  Because we have started a new month, we took a look at the calendar and noted upcoming events.  We also reviewed the classroom rules, and I explained changes that we had made in the classroom.

Story:  We read the story of The Little Red Hen.  The Little Red Hen has three friends; a dog, a cat, and a goose.  The friends enjoy living with The Little Red Hen, because they can do what they enjoy while The Little Red Hen does all of the work around the house.  One day, The Little Red Hen finds a bag of wheat seed.  She asks the other animals to help her plant the wheat so that they can make bread.  The animals are too busy to help help her.  She asks for help harvesting the wheat, grinding the wheat into flour, making the dough, and baking the bread.  The friends have many excuses for not helping her.  At the end, she asks if they want to help her eat the bread.  What do you think they said?  What do you think The Little Red Hen said?  Ask you child to tell you!

Small Group:  We are learning about beginning sounds.  I had a box with the word Box written on it.  We talked about the sound that B makes.  Next, I showed the children picture cards.  If they thought that the picture also started with the B sound, such as bread, blanket, bed, bath tub, they put the picture in the box.  If it did not, it was placed on the table. 

Large Group:  We are going to start a new study.  I put the item that we are going to study in a box and asked the children to guess what was inside.  The children could ask questions to help them figure out what it was.  It was a ball.  Please read the note about the ball study that we are beginning in the classroom.  The children are to bring one ball to school tomorrow.

Snacks:  The morning class had cheese, crackers, and juice brought by Max and Lucy W.  The afternoon class had carrots, peanut butter, and juice brought by Lucy S.  Thank you!