Pets We Know

Dear Parents,

We began our week making a list of pets we know. Many children named their own pets first. One person said his dog had died and so he was extinct, like the dinosaurs. We talked about how we feel when our pets die. Someone said it was sad. 

We asked what do our pets need? The children listed everything in our book What Do We Need, and more. They said pets need water, food, a walk, love, a home, to be petted, a dog bowl, a cat bowl, a park, and for you to let them lick you. 

After reading books about dogs and wolves we played a wild animal game. We worked in groups of four using bingo boards with pictures of animals. We listened to a tape with the animal sounds and matched them with their pictures. We heard elephant, rattlesnake, lion, hyena, cobra, and zebra sounds. 

We talked about the difference between domestic and wild animals. The children knew not to go near a wild animal, and that the wild animals are scared of us too. 

In the big room we played Mr. Wolf, What Time Is It? It’s a game of practicing listening, counting, taking turns, and running. It involves wolves and some sheep for dinner.

On Wednesday, we played another animal bingo game while half the class was tumbling with Casey. The children identified animals in four different habitats. The next day we sorted all our play animals into groups by animal, and then into bigger groups by habitat. We had farm, jungle, savanna, and forest animals. 

In the yard we have been swinging up a storm, digging down in the sandbox, and noticing buds on our tree. On Friday, we saw our first bumblebee. Someone said, "Don't try to smash it," and then told us the story of how she did that one time and got stung. 

Have a warm spring weekend,

Therese

Bears, Footprints, and Dirt

Dear Parents,

We started our week writing down things we know about bears. The children said: bears are scary, you don’t want to go near a bear, they can swim in a river, they like honey, and they hibernate. 

We read Teddy Bears 1 - 10, We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, and Amazing Bears. We compared the illustrations and photos of bears to figure out which bears were real and which were pretend. The children noted that the pretend bears were riding in a bus. 

We ate honey with apples and pretzels for snacks. 

We used brown and black paint, and stamps to make tracks on brown paper. We made deer, horse, frog, dog, and bird footprints. 

We’ve been reading bunches of non-fiction books about grizzly bears, bats, lambs, chipmunks, pigs, squirrels, polar bears, and hibernation.

On Wednesday, while half the class tumbled with Casey in the big room, the other half cut paper shapes with scissors. We drew triangles, circles, squares, hearts, stars, zigzags, and wavy lines. It was challenging but many children were focussed, and cut up a storm. 

On Friday, we took turns playing with dirt in a big bin. The children reminded us that we were supposed to make mud so we added water! 

Have a Muddy Waters weekend,

Therese