Penguins, Part 2

Hello!  I know you're all loving this weather, right?!  (You may hear just a *hint* of sarcasm at this point!)  One day it's 12 degrees, the next it's 50 and currently, we've got showers of icy, cold rain falling down!  Wonder what kind of weaher is in store for tomorrow?

 

Today, we had lots of fun learning more about penguins.  We read the book:

In this book, we learned that penguin babies are called chicks, and that penguins are birds that have feathers and wings, but do not fly.  They do love to swim though!

 

In art, we finished our cardboard roll penguin craft.  My hope is that your child will play with his/her penguin at home, and that you will hear some penguin facts during playtime.  For instance, penguins like cold weather, and they love to eat fish!

Our math center had two games for the children to play.  This one is a Penguin Mommy and Chicks math match, in which we used black and white unifix blocks as the chicks and Emperor penguin cutouts at the mommies.  We numbered the moms 1-10, and had the kids match the same number of chicks to the mom.

The other math game was a penguin roll and cover, which I found online, but now can't remember where!  So, to whoever created this cute game, thanks!  The kids rolled a die (numbered 0-5), and placed the same number of goldfish crackers on the penguins.  What do you think happened when they were finished with the game?  Yep - the kiddos got to munch their goldfish!

I also like to incorporate simple science experiments whenever I can, and I thought the sugar cube experiment would be perfect to complement our penguin study.  We stacked up the cubes in a pie plate, and pretended they were icebergs for the penguins.  Each small group of kiddos chose the color they wanted for the water in the pitcher, dropped in some food coloring, and poured the water in the pie plate.  Then the magic happened!  The children were amazed to watch the sugar cubes change color and begin to dissolve.  When I asked them what was happening, several said, "It's melting!" or "It's breaking!"  They are so smart!

We also talked about how the sugar cubes absorb the water, like sponges, and then the water dissolves the sugar.  These experiments are very hands-on for the children, and when they get to participate by doing, it makes the activity more meaningful and interesting for them!

 

Other activities today included:

• playdough and easel
• dry erase writing and drawing
• penguin play
• block room
• penguin action rhyme

Our closing story was:

And for those of you who are still trying to figure out who Chilly Willy is, take a look here for a throwback:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8W9B-ftx_E

 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Penguins All Around!

Look who greeted me when I walked into class on Monday morning!

Oh yes, the Tigger Bandit strikes again!

I love coming in and seeing things like this first thing.  It just puts a happy, positive spin on the whole morning.  I definitely had a good chuckle, as "Cool Tigger" chatted on his cell!

 

When the kids came in, they wanted to see their gummy bear science experiments.  They were pleased to find that most of the gummy bears grew a little, and that the red ones ended up with a slight hint of red water.  They also observed that the gummies were covered in bubbles!  This was a simple experiment in which the kiddos learned to patiently "wait and see" to observe changes.

 

During Circle, we reviewed the letter Pp and introduced Qq.  We began our discussion on penguins, and the children excitedly told us all about their trips to the zoo to see them!

 

We read a very informative, kid-friendly book:

 

Our Centers included Penguin Play, where they got to imagine and create their own stories with {my favorite} Madagascar penguins.

 

The children also practiced coloring and cutting a penguin.  We're intent on developing those fine motor muscles!  Also at this center, they played a penguin matching game with real-life photos of different kinds of penguins.  Miss D used a yard stick to (get in some math and) show the kids how short or tall each kind of penguin can be.  Did you know that the tallest are the Emperor Penguins, which can grow to be 4 feet tall?!  Amazing!

 

For art, we started the first part of their cardboard roll penguin, which they will finish on Wednesday.  We also built cute sticker penguins.  They could use the bow as a tie or on the head.  They turned out cute either way!

 

For our movement game, we pretended to be daddy penguins, balancing an egg (bean bag) on our feet.  Not as easy as one may think!  We tried waddling, jumping and turning around in a circle.  We also got in some letter recognition, because the bean bag set we used has letters on one side.  I asked the children to pop their "egg" back into the basket by identifying the letter on the bean bag.  They did a great job!

 

See you on Wednesday for more Chilly Willy fun!

(I know the kids don't know who that is, but you do, right?!)