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Bear Picnic Day!


Daily Question:  Hip Hip Hooray!  It's Bear Picnic Day.  Are you excited?

 Gathering Activity and Introductions:  Welcoming preschoolers in were the bean bag chairs with many Bear books that they could read to their bears this morning.  We had fun learning about our bears (names, types, etc.)  We also enjoyed reading aloud Bear Snores On and The Three Bears.



Scholastic Movie Clip:  Meet Corduroy the Bear (while I set up our Bubble Art Activity.).

Snack Time and Math Activity:  Cheez-It crackers and Large and Small Teddy Graham Crackers.  We had a lot of fun talking about opposites (big and small), ordering, patterning, counting, and best of all gobbling up our sweet cookie snack.




Recess (and Bear Spotting):  The children had a great time (and took turns) on the airplane today.  We flew over Alaska with it's snow and ice and spotted polar bears on the ice.  Jacki asks, "Are they nice?"  These ones are!  Next, we are off to the forest where we spot brown bears (Jack says, "using the potty!") and black bears (who are attempting to climb a climb a tree).  Lastly, we fly over the Washington D.C. Zoo and take a peek at the panda bear (who is laying down on a wall nibbling some vegetation--bamboo?)



Bubble Art Activity:
Bear Songs while we indoor Picnic:


Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Author: Unknown
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Turn around.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Touch the ground.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Shine your shoes.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, Skidoo.

Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Go upstairs.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Say your prayers.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Turn out the light.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,
Say good night.


The Bear Went Over the Mountain
Author: Unknown
Tune: For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
The bear went over the mountain,
The bear went over the mountain,
The bear went over the mountain,
To see what he could see

To see what he could see,
To see what he could see

The other side of the mountain,
The other side of the mountain,
The other side of the mountain,
Was all that he could see

Was all that he could see,
Was all that he could see,
The other side of the mountain,


*Bear Books:
Little Bear (series) by Else Holmelund Minarik, Ill. by Maurice Sendak
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr., Ill. by Eric Carle
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by Nancy White Carlstrom, Ill. by Bruce Degen
It's About Time, Jessie Bear and Other Rhymes by Nancy White, Ill. by Bruce Degen
Bears, Bears, Everywhere (A Rookie Reader)
The Bear next Door by Ginnie Hofmann
Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? by Martin Waddell, Ill. by Barbara Firth
The Red Ribbon; A Story of Friendship by Kristine Lombardi, Ill. by Thomas Taylor
Mr. Bear to the Rescue by Debi Gliori
(Goldilocks and ) The Three Bears; A Little Golden Book.
Goldilocks and The Three Bears (Caldecott Honor Book) by James Marshall
It's The Bear! by Jez Alborough
Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, Ill. by Helen Oxenbury
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, Ill. by Jane Chapman
Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson, Ill. by Jane Chapman
Pooh's Basket of Surprises (Jellybean Books--Disney's Winnie the Pooh)
Arthur's Honey Bear by Lillian Hoban
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Bears Odd, Bears Even (Puffin Math Easy to Read, 2) by Harriet Ziefert, Ill. by Andrea Baruffi
The Berenstein Bears (series) by Stan and Jan Berenstein
Can You See a Little Bear? by James Mayhew and Jackie Morris
The Bear With The Golden Hair by Karla Kuskin, Ill. by Linda Yakel
Bear Hugs by Kathleen Hague, Ill. by Michael Hague
Big Bear's Treasury; A Children's Anthology (Candlewick Press, Vol. 1, 3, & 4)
Baby Bear's Treasure; 25 Stories For the Very, Very Young (Candlewick Press) *
The Three Bears Holiday Rhyme Book by Jane Yolen and Jane Dyer (Month Poems)
The Biggest Bear by Adam Relf (oversized, light up constellation) by Scholastic
The Big Baby Bear book by John Prater * Perfect anthology for preschoolers

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B is for Bubbles!

Daily Question:  Do you like bubbles? Our class all voted YES!

 Toys:  Baking (Play Kitchen, cookies, knives and wooden puzzles), Bug Game (Patterning), Progressive Puzzles, Busy Town Blocks, and Buckaroo Games.





Snack: Grapes and Graham crackers.
Recess and Bubble Time! Each child received his/her own bottle of bubbles to take outside and blow!







 B Show and Teach:
Ellie's blanket
 Jack's black marker and Eli's Beyblade (front and back)
 Hugh's B block, backhoe and bulldozer
 Savannah's baby doll
 Susie's bird
B Sharing Time:
We are working on a lot of "Be"s:
Being nice, 
being kind, 
being gregarious (able to talk in front of others), 
being helpful, 
being clean (and helping put away toys), 
being dry (which many are still working on in this class!  :)

We spied a bunch of B words:
Basketball, bean bag, bubbles, bubble gum, bear, bag, book, banana, balloon, baby, bottle, blanket, blue, brown, and black, boy, bird, backhoe, bucket, bugs (and worms after the rain), bike, bunny, bump, bonk, bam.

B Books:
The Berenstains' B Book by Stan and Jan Berestain
The Bike Lesson; Another Adventure of the Berenstain Bears by Stand and Jan Berenstain
It's Not Easy Being a Bunny by Marilyn Sadler, Ill. by Roger Bollen
Bembo's Zoo: An Animal A B C Book by Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich

*Children play to learn and it IS their work!  We had a lot of fun learning together today.  Some children might enjoy a "Quiet Time" after lunch to rest and process what they learned.
**Remember for next time to send your student with a bear and bag lunch (and possibly a light sweat shirt if the weather is cool).


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Applesauce, Apples, and Ants!

Daily Question:  Have you ever made applesauce?

 Toys: Apple Books and Alphabet/Number tracing books.

Applesauce activity: We had so much fun peeling the stickers off our apples; giving them a bath/rinse in hot, soapy, water and then taking turns using an Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer to help us make our very own applesauce!  An abstract recipe:   


 Homemade Apple Sauce
Peel several apples (different varieties make it especially sweet.  Great for older "grumpy" apples).
 Core and slice up the apples.
Place in pot with a shallow layer of boiling water and a pinch of salt.
Turn apples down to a simmer and partially cover.  
Refill water when pan sounds "dry."  
When apples turn somewhat translucent (after 10-15 minutes), take off the heat and allow to cool some.  
Use a potato masher to squish up apples (my children love to help with this) or ladle apples into a blender and gently process.  
When finished to desired consistency, ladle into bowls and top with cinnamon and or cream and enjoy!

APPLES!

Science:  Do apples float?  Initially, our apples sank to the bottom of the sink (with little water) and many students guessed that an apple would NOT float.  As the water rose, so did the apples!  Apples FLOAT in water!  The principle behind this is that anything that is less dense than water will float and apples contain about 25% air and are less dense that water and so they float--leading to a fun game in the Fall,  Bobbing for Apples.




Apple Facts: We learned that another word for apple seed is a pip.  (Lemons seeds are also called pips.)  Also, we cut an apple in half and learned that it hides a star inside.


Finger Painting Activity:
 We learned that A the alligator is angry because ants took his adorable apples, "A a a! Bring me back my apple!" he calls.  Students make their hands into fists and shout "a" with A the alligator.  In the finger painting activity, student made an ant path up the maze to the apple.
















 While washing Seth's hands, "Look teacher, I made the water colored! " "Yes, you mixed red and blue and made purple!"  "Why (is it purple)?"

Comments:  
  • Hugh suggested then when his family makes applesauce, they call the apple peels"candy!"
  • I was proud of Eli for trying the apple peels.  That's what preschool is all about--trying new things!  Our class gobbled up the skins and small left over apple bits! 
  • We had a "teaching moment" when Susie did not care for part of our snack--we learned we can simply throw it away or leave it on our napkin and then ask politely for the part we do want more of.
  • Parents, please help your student use the toilet fifteen minutes BEFORE school. There are still several students doing the potty dance each day shortly after coming.  This allows students time to participate in class.  You might try saying something like, "Let's try to go potty before school, so you can feel nice and dry and not have to worry about going potty when you get to school.  You will have more time to play!"
  • Also, please send your son or daughter in shoes that they can put on and off by his/herself.  This will save us a lot of class time.
  • Thank YOU for all you do!  I love teaching (and learning) from your child.
Books Read:
Apples Here!
Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Suess.

Song:  Johnny Appleseed Grace (Song)
(For a link to the music and other verses click on the above underlined song title.) 

Oh, the Lord's been good to me.
And so I thank the Lord
For giving me the things I need:
The sun, the rain and the appleseed;
Oh, the Lord's been good to me.


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The Letter "A"




Daily Question:  Do you like apples? 
(I put the vowels in red to contrast them with black consonants for early readers).

 Seth's Fall Bouquet for Teacher! 
(I love how little ones see what is down under their feet!  A whole new world.)
Toys:  Potato Heads (with new set), Linkin Blocks, Number Magnets, Skee-ball, and Puzzles.

 A little Skee-ball with the guys!  (I loved overhearing a Eli say, "Jack, here's a ball (for you)!"  At another time, Hugh said, "Guys, we are supposed to stay in the class until everyone is ready!"
Our class members are looking out for each other and becoming friends.)
 
Puzzlers!
Snacks:  Goldfish crackers, string cheese, and fruit snacks.
Letter A Show and Tells:
 Ellie's Book: A is for Ark.

  Susie's Annie Character (from Disney's Little Einsteins).

  Eli's Alligator.

 Hugh's Amazon River in South America in his Amazing Atlas.
 Jack's Allspice (smells delicious!)
Aaron who spied an Arachnid (Spider and web) at recess.

Circle Time:
We became "Aa" Detectives in class today.  We spied A in apple (on the wall), an ant at recess, a student named Aaron, and various Aa in books:  ape, archery, airplane, Aunt Annie,.  We learned the sounds of Aa (short a and long a).

Letter A Stories:  
Dr. Seuss's ABCs: An Amazing Alphabet Big Book by Dr. Seuss
The Berenstain Bear's A Book by Stan and Jan Berenstain.
The Amazing I Spy ABCs: Over 250 Animals and Objects to Spy and Identify by Ken Laidlaw
Ten Apples Up On Top! by Theo LeSieg (Dr. Seuss) 

Books in italics are books we read and talked about today in class.


Recess Fun:
Math Concept: Zero, My Hero! 

  
We watched a catchy, short clip about the importance of the number "0" from Schoolhouse Rock (Multiplication Rock).  Then we had a quick board discussion on counting and what zero represents and why it is important to remember zero in front of the traditional counting numbers.  We counted to ten and then saw how after nine candies, one more made a group of ten with a 1 in the tens and a 0 in the ones.

 We then read the AppleJacks Box* and threaded our Zero Hero necklaces and listened to the letter A song about an alligator, apple, and ants.

 Our Environmental Print wall is filling up. What is Environmental Print? Environmental Print are words on packaging and advertising that often become the first words a child learns to read. He/she may see an advertisement on tv that has Bill Cosby saying "J-E-L-L-O!" And then he knows "Jell-o says 'jello'."If you have any clean package containers with simple words--please send them in for our Environmental Print Wall.
Zero, My Hero! Necklaces
 Necklace Models

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