January 25, 2013

Polar Bears

Oh it was fun getting to school this morning, wasn't it, friends?!  My commute is normally 20 minutes, but this morning, because of the freshly falling snow, it took 3 times as long.  Eeks!
 
We started the day in the block room, because I knew if I was late because of the roads, others would be too.  (It's just part of our lovely midwest weather, right?)  The kids had a great time playing in the gingerbread sensory tub, which they collectively decided was "inside snow".  Love it!
 
We read the books:
Little Polar Bear (reader's digest young families) (Littla Animal Adventures)Stella, Queen of the Snow (Stella and Sam)
 
We learned where polar bears live, the temperature they prefer, why their fur is white and what they like to eat.  Ask your kiddo to share some new polar bear facts with you!
 
At the science center, the children played with the polar bear play set, which included large blocks of ice, water, and later on, cottonball snow.
 
We also did a gummy bear science experiment, just like the one at Teach Preschool.  The kids poured some water into a clear cup, then dropped in one gummy bear.  We talked about what might happen to the gummy bears, and how they might change over the weekend.
 
 
They came up with some excellent ideas!  Their brains were really working hard today.  I love their responses!  We will check on the gummies first thing Monday morning, and make some observations about what happened to them.
 
Our other centers today included:
  • Art/Writing - painting at the easel, stickers (which promotes fine motor development) and tracing their highlighted names 3 times
  • Coloring - polar bear coloring page (also good for fine motor)
  • Puzzles/Blocks - variety of wooden puzzles and blocks
We also reviewed the letter Pp, and we will wrap that up on Monday.  We will also begin the letter Qq, and start our unit on penguins (my favorite!).
 
Ask your kiddo what was best about our polar-ific day!
Happy Weekend!!

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