Now, however, it is time to say goodbye to our butterfly friends. We can't keep them in our classroom forever. There are many beautiful flowers around our school so we may still see them from time to time.
Throughout the last three weeks, we have watched our caterpillars grow and change. They went into a chrysalis and after a few days they emerged as beautiful butterflies! The students made observations and wrote down what they saw over the past three weeks. It is amazing to see how much an animal can change in just a few weeks! The preschoolers were definitely amazed by the changes. Now, however, it is time to say goodbye to our butterfly friends. We can't keep them in our classroom forever. There are many beautiful flowers around our school so we may still see them from time to time.
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The school year is quickly coming to a close and you may already be thinking about fun activities that you would like to do with your child over the summer months. There are countless things that you can do with your child over the summer that will help this summer to be months full of learning. There are some great and cheap activities that you can do that will be fun and also educational. Please take a look at the ideas below. Also, please feel free to add your own ideas in the comment section.
Go to the library. Get a library card. Check out books and movies. While you are there, pick up a schedule for any events during the summer. Your local branch may have story times, concerts, movie screenings, or other activities. Go on a scavenger hunt in your neighborhood. Try to find every single letter in the alphabet. Look on signs, license plates, etc. You might even find some nature that resembles letters. Maybe you find a stick that looks like a letter. Perhaps there is a tree or a flower that looks like a letter. Read together! Read, read, read! Although there isn't a Reading Contract for the summer months, try to read together at least 20 minutes every day. Go on a walk in your neighborhood. Bring some paper and some crayons or pencils. Make observations about what you see. Draw some of things that you discover. Flowers? Buildings? Animals? Make something! There are many math skills that can be practiced when cooking or baking together. Students can practice measuring, less/more, and counting when cooking. You could even work on patterns when decorating what you have baked. See a movie in a park! The Chicago Park District hasn't released the full schedule yet you can check here for updates when they become available. Last summer the Chicago Park District had a full line-up of great arts activities in their Night Out at the Parks initiative. Although this schedule also hasn't been released yet, you can check on their website here for any updates. Many museums have free or discounted admission days during the summer. Take advantage of all of the cultural experiences that Chicago has to offer at a great price!
Is it going to be a rainy day? Check out some websites that you can explore together with your preschooler. You can find some great websites under the "Technology and Your Student" tab at the top of this page (located under the "more" section.) We grew lima bean plants in our classroom. They started as beans that we grew using damp paper towels inside plastic sandwich bags that were then hung on a window. After a couple weeks, we transplanted them into plastic bowls. These beans went home last Thursday so that your child can attempt to continue to grow them into larger plants. Some may be ready to transplant into larger containers or directly into the ground. Some have not shown any sign that they will grow. We have discussed this in class. Sometimes things don’t grow even if we gave them what they need: water and sunlight. Maybe there was too much water. Maybe there wasn’t enough water. Maybe there was not enough sunlight. I encourage you to grow things with your child. We’ve been growing grass in Styrofoam cups so you don’t need a lot of space to grow something. If you have a garden at home, encourage your child to participate when you are planting. Ask them to water the plants. Help them to make observations about the plants. Have they grown? How much have they changed? Below, please find some links to different ways to encourage your child to explore gardening that can be done with very little space.
If you visit our hallway, you will see some familiar faces. Last Monday, I cut pieces of yarn that matched up with each student's height. On Tuesday, we got to use those pieces of yarn to do some measuring. Students used different items in the classroom to see how many of those items it would take to match their height. We did this activity again today. The pieces of yarn are being sent home today so that students can practice this measuring activity while at home. This is a great way to practice math skills (measuring, counting) and science skills (comparing, contrasting, predicting). Ask your child to make a prediction about how many books it will take to equal their height. Then, together, test that prediction. What did you find? Try it again with different items and then compare your results. For example, if you measured using books and then again using spoons do you use the same number of items? |
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Mrs. Marx is a preschool teacher at Epiphany Catholic Elementary School in Chicago, IL. Archives
April 2019
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