FROM MS. KRISTINE
This week we worked on the sound for /V/. The obvious focus this week, staying with our letter sound is .... volcanoes. Yes, it is Volcano Week and the children had a blast. We had so much fun learning fun facts about volcanoes, painting volcanoes and we even built and erupted our own volcano in the classroom.
Volcano Week:
- We started with everyone making their own volcano by cutting and assembling shapes to form the volcano and they used paint for lava. And, as always, we had our letter ((V) hidden in the art. They all came out vibrant and bold.
- As a class project, we also made a special volcano that we could erupt. We started with making a mold and mixing the plaster. Everyone got to participate during the process. They also got a preview in 'states for matter' as they saw the liquid quickly turn to a solid. They were all amazed at how quickly it changed. Once it was fully set and dry, everyone got a turn painting it to make it look colorful. We then got to create a mixture (another new science term) to get a chemical reaction and make 'lava'. We added a little dish soap to increase the fun. The children had a blast and learned a lot along the way.
- We also go to explore lava rocks. They learned that lava is basically cooled by air or water. They got to feel a solid smooth rock compared to a porous volcanic rock. They thought it was amazing that the volcanic rock was bigger but so much lighter. They learned that it had pockets of air trapped in it when it was cooled. We also examined geodes (also volcanic rocks) and learned that the beautiful sparkles in the center came from the water as it cooled with minerals trapped inside. The children were so excited to see the geodes get cracked open with the beautiful crystals inside. After our experiment, they were able to identify how each rock was formed (cooled) based on how it looked and felt.
In keeping with /V/, we also made a vase full of flowers that had /V/ pictures on them. It was a little tricky because not every flower had /V/ things on them. They did a great job identifying the correct pictures. The activity was also challenging because they had to do a lot of cutting (making their own leaves and stems) and connect the flowers with the stem inside the vase. This took some fine motor work to get all the little pieces in the right place. They were very proud of their finished product. We concluded with our word match.
Continuing our winter theme, we read The Mitten. This is a Ukrainian Folktale, adapted and illustrated by Jan Brett. This story teaches sequencing, allowing for the child to make predictions. With a pattern in the story, the children feel confident being able to retell the story successfully. For our story connection, we made giant mittens that the children decorated and laced. Then they colored and cut out animals to put inside the mitten, giving them a nice prop to hopefully use to retell the story at home. They worked hard on this activity and had fun. Everyone was excited to take their stuffed mittens home.
On Thursday, we reached the 90th day of school. To reinforce counting by 10’s, we revisited the tens board. This supports their understanding of place value and quantity for numbers 10-99. They are so excited to reach 100.
The parsha of the week is Beshalach, Beshalach, Beshalach, The parsha of the week is Beshalach, That is the parsha of the week.
Hooray! The Jewish people are finally free and are allowed to leave Egypt. Their destination? The desert! But how did they know where to go? They had no maps. A cloud led them by day, and a fire led them by night.
A few days later, who changed his mind? King Paraoh! Even though he was the king and did not have to do anything on his own, he saddled his own horse to chase after the Jewish people. Oh no! The Jews were trapped! Don’t worry! Hashem took care of them and split the sea! They walked across, on dry land.
The Jewish people thanked Hashem by singing and dancing. The birds helped them and sang along. This week is called Shabbat Shira, the Shabbos of song. We have a custom of feeding the birds before Shabbos, which is why we made bird feeders.
The Jewish people had a special diet in the desert. It was called mann! It fell from the sky and tasted like anything you wished. The only day it did not fall was on Shabbos. There was a double portion that fell on Friday.
The bracha we explored this week is haeitz. The children tasted various fruits and looked at picture cards of common and uncommon fruits of the tree. They were also encouraged to participate in sensory and art activities involving fruit.
Tu B’Shvat, the new year for trees, is coming up on Monday! This week, we talked about the significance of Tu B’Shvat and the seven species Israel is blessed with. We read many books, Dear Tree by Doba Rivka Weber, A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry, and Picture a Tree by Barbara Reid.
Shabbat Shalom!
