Caterpillars, Butterflies, and a trip to the Insect Zoo

I hope you have all had a fantastic Spring Break and are ready to return for another fun week of learning! Here's a recap from our time before break:

Math Centers:

• Build fine motor muscles as you lace fruits and vegetables to "feed" the hungry caterpillar
• Create and identify a caterpillar pattern, then use your imagination to invent your own crazy bug
• Graph to compare the food eaten each day in Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Search the room for numbers 1-50 and circle the corresponding number on your sheet. Count how many you can find.

Lit Centers:

• Learn new vocabulary while creating a book of a butterfly's lifecycle.
• Practice fine motor skills as you trace a butterfly pattern. Use this image to fill in our letter of the week (J) as a capital, lowercase, word beginning with that letter, and picture of the word.
• Learn all about insects in the reading loft
• Find words associated with spring hidden throughout the classroom

Other Activities:

• Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
• Paint a colorful coat for Joseph to reinforce our Bible lesson
• Create a class caterpillar pattern using our handprints (find this in our hallway!)
• Graph "Would you rather be a caterpillar or a butterfly?"
• Make a Venn Diagram of similarities and differences between caterpillars and butterflies
• Look at tiny caterpillars in the classroom (soon to be chrysalis, then butterfly!)
• Visit the KSU Insect Zoo

Lauren enjoys a butterfly treat brought by a friend

We practiced using one finger to pet so we didn't hurt the insects

Charleigh waits to ask a question

Tanner and Kaylee peer into a case of shed exoskeletons

Hank wasn't interested in the millipedes...

...but then he changed his mind!

Jade looks at the millipede all stretched out

Cade touches a variety of roaches

Alexa and Lauren gently pet the spider's thorax

Each case held a different species

A tube allows the honeybees to travel outside and bring back honey to their hive

AM Class at the Insect Zoo

Isabelle looks at the cockroaches

Uh Oh! We found a rogue bug!

Eek! We infested the museum!

A case of insect parts were available to magnify

Kacie and Hank enjoy lunch on the lawn

We wait patiently to learn about insects

Lydia and Keaton check out the leaf bug

Ashley discovered it really does feel like a leaf!

Thayer feels a stick bug's bumpy back

Who is brave enough to pet the tarantula?

Cameron looks at a variety of roaches

Ayla uses the flashlight to get a closer look at the insects

PM Class at the Insect Museum

Lydia points out an insect hidden in the case

Some of the girls enjoy lunch outdoors

Nicholas, Eric, and Adrianna sit around an empty fountain

Looking just like a bug!

A microscope gave closer examination of insect parts

Lydia squats down to examine each case

Cameron looks at the magnification of an insect

Nicholas plays with an oversized ant

Keaton thinks about touching some of the specimens on display

Spring

Math Activities

• puzzles - complete wooden tangram puzzles using various shapes and colors
• butterfly glyph - squeeze glue then cover with sand when given two options (ex: use purple sand if you like butterflies more, use black sand if you like caterpillars more)
• measurement - count the number of petals on a flower then measure its stem
• bee hive - draw a number and help that many bees fly into the bee hive
• spring patterns - complete a spring pattern

Lit Activities

• reading loft - new simple sight word books introduced
• roll a block game - record each letter as it is rolled and try to reach the bottom of your paper
• book of rhymes - with help from Mrs. Nanette, circle the set of rhyming words, then draw your own rhymes at the end
• word mats - practice word families (rhymes) and discover how real and nonsense words are formed. practice writing some of the words created
• class book - "We Love Spring." discuss what you love most about spring; complete the sentence copying what was printed for you then draw a picture (note: parents with children interested in writing--encourage them as often as possible to spell out words based on the sounds they hear. This will help them as they begin easy readers and throughout their learning career. Do not correct when words are misspelled! We want our children to love learning and love writing and not become discouraged with mistakes. The current focus must remain on the attempt, not the "right way.")

Other Activities

• learned March comes "in like a lion and goes out like a lamb"
• Read The Party, by David McPhail
• Read Chicken Little, by Laura Rader
• graphed "Have you seen a rainbow in the sky?"
• made a class rainbow
• made rainbow bracelets
• created a garden scene
• collage band-aids to remind us "Jesus Heals!"

Peyton completes his puzzle

Eric shows off "zero" bees to fly to their hive

Friends count the numbers on the ruler to discover how tall a flower stem is

Connor studies his work on his butterfly glyph

Tanner squeezes glue onto his butterfly

Ayla copies the sentence about why she likes spring

Nicholas rolls his letter die

Isabelle watches as Tanner rolls

Cameron practices writing the words he formed

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Can you name the rainbow colors, too?

Kaylee contributes to the yellow band

Hank carefully places a Froot Loop

Cade strings Froot Loops onto his bracelet

Songs
Beautiful Rainbow Came
One day the sun was shining bright (hold up right hand like blocking sunlight)
But some clouds came along and it became black as night
(Hold up left hand for the clouds)
Then the rain began to sprinkle onto the ground
(wiggle fingers for the rain coming down)
And soon it was raining all over the town.
But when the clouds had passed on by (move both hands to one side)
A big beautiful rainbow stretched across the sky
(make a rainbow arc with your hands)

Planting Seeds

First you take the seed and you plant it in the ground (pretend to plant seeds in hand)
Next a rain cloud comes and waters all around (Use one hand to simulate rain)
Next the sun shines brightly, without a sound (use fingers like sun)
And in just a few days, a flower is found (open hand like flower)

Dentist

Our week on dental health has hopefully led to some happy brushing in your home! Check out our activities, songs, and special field trip from this week:

Math Centers

• help the tooth fairy count how many teeth to collect (identify and count numbers 1-20)
• spin and graph carriage, prince, princess, and castle. introduce addition concepts as they count columns, identify most and least
• use fine motor muscles as they work with clay to create a necklace or bracelet to look like teeth
• sort healthy and unhealthy foods into a good and bad T-chart
• estimate how many teeth will fit in a mouth; stamp and record the actual amount

Lit Centers

• practice brushing teeth--use shaving cream on a plaster tooth. remember to brush in small circles, and don't forget to floss
• locate images and words around the room corresponding with dental health. record the words to practice letter writing
• visit the reading loft
• practice writing size by trying to fit words inside a tooth. work one-on-one to brainstorm basic sentences using the words, then try to write one
• cut and glue "Teeth for Keeps" to create a booklet on dental health

Other Activities

• learn how Jesus washed his disciples' feet, then take turns washing one anothers' hands, saying, "God loves you and so do I."
• make a tooth fairy to collect lost teeth
• sharing day
• visit Dr. Tindall
• graph "have you lost a tooth?"
• experiment: what will happen to an egg soaked in water, juice, tea overnight?

Songs

Happy Smile (twinkle, twinkle little star)

Got my toothpaste, got my brush

I won't hurry, I won't rush.

Making sure my teeth are clean,

Front and back and in between.

When I brush for quite a while,

I will have a happy smile.

Brush our Teeth (here we go round the mulberry bush)

This is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth
This is the way we brush our teeth, so early in the morning.
Brush them up and brush them down, in little circles or round and round
Don't brush them from side to side, for those sugar bugs will surely hide

The Dentist Says (here we go round the mulberry bush)

The dentist says, please brush your teeth , brush your teeth, brush your teeth
The dentist says, please brush your teeth
And you'll have a healthy smile.

The dentist says, please floss your teeth, floss your teeth, floss your teeth
The dentist says, please floss your teeth
And you'll have a healthy smile

The dentist says, please eat good food, please eat good food, please eat good food
The dentist says, please eat good food
And you'll have a healthy smile

Connor focuses on cutting out his book

Lauren writes words inside teeth

Jade works on brushing in circles

Alexa rinses her brush as she cleans her tooth

Kacie rings water out before washing a friend's hands

Palyn prepares to wash Kaylee's hands



Thayer looks at the picture his spin landed on



Landon and Eric stamp teeth into a mouth

Ayla rolls clay to make her necklace



Micah counts teeth for the tooth fairy to collect

writing words around the room

Peyton enjoys one of our class books

What happened to our eggs?



Ashley prepares to wash a friend's hands



More friends have NOT lost a tooth than have



Dr. Tindall let us squeeze into his patient room to tell us about taking care of our teeth



After telling us we have 20 baby teeth, Cade needed to check

Dr. Tindall let us ask some good questions about taking care of our teeth

We had a great visit. Thanks, Dr. Tindall!