There will not be school next week, as Quest will be off for Fall Break. I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving with their families and friends. We had a nice pre-Thanksgiving in the Lemur Room on Friday. Each student said what they are thankful for before we had our snack together at one big table. The children are so sincere and loving, it was very sweet.
This past week we began our new unit of study, space. Our climber was transformed into the Space Shuttle and the playhouse turned into Mission Control. The Lemurs’ imaginations exploded during Center time and we saw many future astronauts acting out space missions, research, and team work. We began work on our massive Solar System books. This is a month long project, creating a gigantic book as we learn the attributes of the planets in our solar system.
Mrs. Hasty sent home words to the songs the children will be singing on the Winter Concert. I hear that the Lemurs are doing a fantastic job already learning the words. The concert will be in the morning (8:30am) of December 13. Families and Friends are invited to come watch PS – 1st grade perform in the gym.
Small Group Treehouse Activities This Week:
Monday
Reading – Hedgie Blasts Off – Mrs. Kirsh read the beautiful book, Hedgie Blasts Off! by Jan Brett about a hedgehog who is sent out into outerspace to help solve a problem on a distant planet.
Math – Rocket Countdown – Students practiced counting down from 20 – 0 with a little paper rocket ship
Science– KWL Space – Students were introduced to our new unit by first discussing what we already KNOW about space and what we WONDER about space. I was impressed with student’s questions and observations!
Tuesday
Reading – Arrow to the Sun We read Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott (always a favorite book among students!). This is a Native American folk tale about the son of the Sun God who is sent to Earth to give life. The boy searches for his father and must endure 4 trials: the Kiva of Lions, the Kiva of Serpants, the Kivs of Bees, and lastly the KIva of Lightning. After reading the story, students created a booklet sequencing the events of the book.
Math – Domino Match – Students matched their hands to the number of dots on domino cards. Then practiced simple addition by adding the numbers together. We encourage using fingers as math tools.
Art – Hedgie Space Illustration – Inspired by the beautiful illustrations in Hedgie Blasts Off, students used watercolor paint, and collage materials to create their own illustration of the story.
Wednesday
Science – Apollo Problem Solving Video – As a whole group we watched a clip from the movie Apollo 13 when Mission Control and astronauts work together to solve the problem of a CO2 leak. Using materials found on board, the crew was able to “fit a square filter into a round hole.” This clip fed the imaginations of the Lemurs as they played at Center time.
Thursday
Reading – NASA Space Shuttle Book – Lemurs looked for the word ‘space” as they read along to the NASA cooloring book about the space shuttle. Students learned to identify different componants of space travel.
Problem Solving – Asteroid Damage Repair – Our space shuttle had been hit by asteroids! Inspired by yesterday’s movie clip, students worked together to problem solve and repair 6 holes in our space shuttle. Using materials we had in the classroom, the Lemurs quickly made repairs.
Science/Art – The Sun Is a Star – We created the cover to our Solar System books, a giant sun. We learned facts about the sun and Lemurs created a sentence “The sun is a star.” They learned that a sentence has a capital at the beginning, a period at the end, and spaces between the words.
Friday
Reading – The Story of Thanksgiving – Students learned the story of the Pilgrims coming to America and meeting the Wampanoag people of Massachusetts. Children created a color coded bead bracelet to help them retell the story of their harvest feast together.
Math – Native American Headband Patterns – Mrs. Swanson helped students to use shape templates to create a patterned design for a native American headband.
Art – What am I Thankful For? – Students thought about all the things they have to be thankful for. They created a paper turkey and dictated to me what they are most thankful for.
