We began a new unit this week…outer space! This is a fun unit with 2 big projects: A Solar System book, and a Papier-mâché astronaut helmet. As the two projects finish, we will put on our helmets and journey through our books with Dr. Kirkland. An honorary Lemur astronaut, Dr. Kirkland even has his own helmet!
For Math this unit we focus on counting backward from 20, writing double-digit numbers, and probability vocabulary.
For Literacy, we begin talking about sentence structure and punctuation. We strengthen our handwriting skills with planet fact pages. We continue to build pre-reading skills with guided reading. We talk more this unit about stopping to decipher new vocabulary words in read-aloud books.
Small group work this week:
Monday
Math – Rocket Blast off Counting: Using a paper rocket and number strip 20 – 0, students tried counting the rocket down to lift off.
Science – Intro to Space Unit: – We watched a short video of the space shuttle lifting off, what the inside of mission control and the space station look like. Students talked about what they think they already know about space and what they wonder about space. As the unit ends, we will talk about what we learned.
Tuesday
Math – Domino Match: – Students played a game of dominos with Mrs. Swanson. We use dominos and dice often 
with math lessons to practice sight-counting.
Literacy – Hedgie Blasts Off!: – A favorite book among the pre-k crowd, we enjoyed Hedgie Blasts off by the fabulous Jan Brett.
Art – Marbled Paper: Using shaving cream and liquid watercolor, we created marbled paper to use as the background of our Hedgie space pictures.
Wednesday
Science – Facts about the Sun: We began our study of the solar system with the firey ball of gas we orbit around…the sun.
Literacy – Sentence Structure – Students looked at sentence structure…it begins with a capital letter, followed by lowercase letters, until we come to a period. Students copied a sentence to entitle their books. “The sun is a star.” 
Art – Painting the Sun: – Students used fire colors to paint a giant yellow circle that will serve as the cover of their books.
Read Aloud – Arrow to the Sun: – Another favorite with children of all ages (I think this is still my son’s favorite book ever) We read Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott. This is a Pueblo Indian myth about the origin of the sun. We also watched a beautifully animated version of this story.
Thursday
Problem Solving – Apollo 13 – “Fit a square peg in a round hole” : We watched a video clip from the movie Apollo 13 when the CO2 filter breaks and the astronauts work with mission control to fix the filter using only materials on the space shuttle.
Fixing Asteroid Holes: Inspired by the movie clip, students worked together to fix holes ripped on our space shuttle by asteroids! They had to use materials in the classroom and the fix had to withstand the force of outer space.
Literacy – Sequencing Arrow to the Sun: – Students created a sequenced visual strip from the story we read, Arrow to the Sun. They used drawing to represent the boy’s challenges and sounded out words to describe the challenge.
Friday
Holiday – The First Thanksgiving: We learned the story of the first Thanksgiving. We talked about all of the things we have in our lives to be thankful for. Students created a turkey that stated something they are thankful for.
Math – Pattern Stencil Native American Headdress: Students used pattern block stencils to create a pattern for a native american headdress to wear during snacktime.
