Zoo!

We took a field trip to the Zoo last Thursday and, even though it was crazy busy, it was still fun and the kids had a good time.  Our previously scheduled Zoo fieldtrip was too cold and rainy so we rescheduled it for last week and the weather was amazing! So sad that this is one of our last fieldtrips together as a Blue Preschool!  These boys have had a lot of good times together!

 P with his cool sunglasses waiting for everyone to come.

 T getting all wet!

 G has the whole world in his hands!

A very large turkey that was hanging out right be the sidewalk.  I don't think he liked us taking pictures of him...

A couple of monkeys watching the monkeys.

The elephant is loud!

 P taking a ride on the big elephant.

 J's turn!

 EW sharing his snacks with T.

 Looking for the crocodile!

Science Day

We had a great preschool science day.  These kids love "getting their hands dirty" and experimenting with everything around them.  So it was very natural for the kids to play these games and experiment with all the materials around them.  Here's our cute little preschool boys along with K (J's brother who we were lucky enough to have join us for the day!). Left to Right: EW, T, P, J, G, EM, and K.

Gathering Activity- Trains, Mr. Potato Heads, and Little People.
Circle Time- Color Orange, Cone Shape, Letter Z, Number 11.  All the kids took turns finding a magnet letter that was orange.  We looked at a cone shape and talked about all the things we could do with it- a hat, or ice cream cone, or horn.  We sang the alphabet song and practiced making the letter Z in sign-language.  We also counted to eleven and a few of them made the letter eleven with the magnet numbers.
Group Experiment- Blow-up Balloon.  We learned the word "experiment" and "hypothesis" and practiced saying them.  We did an experiment all together where we talked about how air is all around us, we just can't see it and that we would be doing a lot of experiments about air today.  I put baking soda in water and we watched what happened.  I then put some in vinegar and we watched the chemical reaction that made bubbles in the air.  Finally I put baking soda in a balloon and vinegar in a bottle then put the balloon on the bottle and we watched how the balloon inflated with the expanding air from the reaction.  The kids all thought this was really cool.

After this we split into two groups to do some experiments that were more hands-on.  Teacher W took the boys upstairs to do water experiments in the kitchen and I, Teacher R, took the kids to do some air experiments downstairs.
Water Experiments- Water and Air- The kids learned that air stays in a cup if you hold it straight down into the water.  They put paper towels in the bottom of the cups and tried putting them straight down into the water and seeing that the towels don't get wet! They also saw that if you tip the cup the air in the cups will escape as bubbles in the water.
Sink or Float- The kids learned what it means to "sink" and "float".  They experimented with different objects to see which ones would sink and which would float.  They were able to say, "My hypothesis is the ______ will sink (or float!) and then to test it out.  There were a few surprises like the baseball that floated and the jar lid that sunk.
Balloon in Water- It was explained that air is all around us and when we breathe we get air into our lungs just like when we blow air into a balloon.  The kids watched a balloon being blown up and saw what happened when the air is let out.  They then tried the balloon underwater so they could see the bubbles and air escaping from the balloon.

Air Experiments- Ziplock balloons- Ekid had a straw that they zipped into a ziplock bag and then blew into the straw to fill up the bag and make it a balloon- they then took the straw out and zipped it closed quickly.  Once they opened the bag they saw how it got smaller when the air went out.  The kids got a kick out of this and were all able to do it by themselves.

Straw Races- We used the straws again with crumbled paper towels and practiced blowing them across the table to each other.  We talked about how we are blowing air through the straw and it is pushing the towel. Once we were good with that I lined up the kids and we did straw races.  They all lay down behind the line with their paper towel balls and blew them when I said, "Go".  Most of the kids really enjoyed this activity and asked to do it over and over again.

Making Bubbles- The kids had a few pans of soapy water and blew their straws into the water to make bubbles.  They had fun watching the bubbles get bigger as they blew more air into them.  They also experimented with touching the bubbles- they would pop with a dry finger and not pop with a wet finger!

Bubble Art- Each kid got a colored paper and tried to catch bubbles (as I blew them into the air) on their paper.  Once they had some bubble marks they colored the marks to make bubble art!
Exploding Pop Bottle- T's Dad helped us with this experiment.  We got coats and shoes on and watched him put Mentos into a pop bottle and saw what happened.  The kids loved that it shot up like a rocket into the sky.  They all wanted to do it again! (For Parents: This works best with mint Mentos and Diet Coke).

Snack Experiments- For snack we did a few food experiments.  I poured some club soda or "bubbly water" in a clear cup then dropped some raisins into it and we watched the raisins dance in the bubbles.  Each kid got a little bubbly water to play with as well- some even liked how it tasted! They then each got a raisin box for snack.  They also each made a mixture by mixing cinnamon and sugar together in a jar then putting it on a piece of toast.

After snack we switched which groups for the water and air experiments.

Finally we all got back together and practiced using scissors by cutting up tissue paper into small pieces.  We then blew up balloons and I showed the kids how if you rub the balloon in your hair or on wool or fur then it would pick up the tissue pieces or stick to the wall. They all thought that was really fun and were SO happy when their balloon stuck to the wall.

Here is EW showing off his balloon on the wall.

Some GREAT preschool science books that I used to help me with this lesson:

Pint-Size Science by Linda Allison and Martha Weston

Bubbles, Rainbows, & Worms (Science Experiments for Preschool Children) by Sam Ed Brown

World Music, Primary Colors

Gathering Activity- cars

Circle Time- Weather, Pledge, number 5, triangle shape.  I tried having the kids count out 5 beans each, but that didn't work so well- most of them seemed to just want to grab a handful.  

Theme Introduction- I read “Like Me and You” to the kids and talked about how there are kids who live all over the world, and although we have different clothes, food, music, and might look different we are all God’s children and all special.  I told the kids that we were going to take a trip around the world and find out more about some of the countries that thes kids from the story were from!  We talked about how we live in The United States of America and we saw where that was on the map. 

We went over rules and practiced how to form a line with the Star Helper in front!  They actually did a really good job!  I think sunbeams might have helped this as well since they all folded their arms and were really quiet whenever we did the lines.

Africa- First the kids took a trip to South Africa!  There they met a Safari-man (T's Daddy) who taught them about what kids are like in Africa- what they wear, what they like to do and eat, and what music they like.  He then taught the kids about how drums are very important in Afrcan music and they all got drums to bang on with him while they listened to some fun South African music.  They also each got a turn hitting the big drum.  Finally our Safari-man took the kid's on a Lion Hunt- which they all LOVED and was so cute to watch.

Here is a cute video of the kids in Africa and part of their Lion Hunt!

Germany- We next took the kids on a trip to Germany!  There we met Frau W (T's Grandma) who told us all about Germany.  She told us some fun words in German, about what kids might wear and bring to school in Germany, and about the forests and castles.  She also showed the kids a lot of fun items that she had- walking stick, German hats, dolls, wood carvings, caslte replicas, etc.  Next she talked about German music and how there was such a big variety of music since the country was so old.  She first played some "old" German music -a nice Bach piece- on the piano.  After that the kids got to see a German horn and hear T's Daddy play it- then they all got turns playing the horn. She also talked about how the horn was used for hunting and had all the kids go on a Fox Hunt.  Finally she had them listen to a fun polka and dance however they felt they should to the music.  Then, to top it all off we did the most famous polka of all... The Chicken Dance!!

Another video of the kids in Germany- notice P dancing to the polka... he must have some German in him! 

Mexico- Next on our World Tour we stopped in Mexico where we met Sinora W (Teacher W) who even had a large Mexican sombraro.  She showed the kids a picture of kids in Mexico and talked about what it is like there.  She talked about their beaches and even showed the kids a few sea shells.  She also talked about the kind of food they eat in Mexico and the kids all got to try some chips and salsa.  Next they learned about Mexican music and talked about how the maracas they made on Tuesday were Mexcian instruments.  Finally they all danced with colorful scarves and ribbons to a fun Mexican song.           

Passports- All the kids got a passport (just a paper with their picture and name on it) that they took around on their World Tour. Whenever they got to a new country they were given another "stamp" for their passport that we glued on.  At the end Teacher W even glued on their fortunes from their fortune cookies- so cute!  These were their binder papers for today.

Free Time- play cars

Primary Color Centers- The kids got to pick one of three centers to go to- they could switch whenever they wanted.  Center 1 had fruit loops and yarn where the kids put red, yellow, and blue fruit loops on the yarn to make necklaces and patterns.  Center 2 was paint mixing. The kids got to pick two of the primary colors to mix together and see what happened! Center 3 was a dress up corner where the kids could dress up in clothes of red, yellow, and blue.  The kids loved the centers and it was so fun to let them have some self-directed learning and I think most of them tried all three centers at one point. 

 E showing off his fruit loop necklace- he was really good at stringing that cereal!

Before all the kids left I got a picture with them all in the different hats from our World Tour.  It was really cute and a lot of fun!

 EW, J, and G

 P, T, and EM

China- Finally on the World Tour we stopped in China.  There they met our Chinese lady (me) who taught the kids about life in China.  She showed the kids a picture of what children look like and wear in China and also what they might wear to school. They talked about how the Chinese way of writing is much different from ours and she had all sorts of fun Chinese writing for them to look at.  They then learned about music in China and all had a chance to ring a Chinese bell that you might find in a temple over there and then listen to some fun music while they played a chopsticks game.  She told them how in China they won't use a spoon or fork, but will use chopsticks to eat with.  They each then got to try to pick up some colored marshmallows and eat them with chopsticks which was pretty funny, but they all ended figuring out a way to get them in their mouths using only chopsticks!Snack- For snack we talked about the Primary Colors and sang the first part of the Primary Colors song.  We then made red (raspberries), yellow (bananas), blue (blueberries) smoothies and had fortune cookies.  All the kids got to help make the smoothies- either putting in the ingredients or pushing the button on the smoothie maker. 

Gardner Village- Elf Hunt

We had a really fun field trip to Gardner Village for a Christmas Elf Hunt.  (We had been planning on going sledding for our snow/winter week, but the snow all melted before we got the chance!)  It was a lot of fun and the weather pretty much cooperated- it was a little cold at first, but once we started walking it was great.  C had printed off a bunch of Elf Hunt scavenger hunts for us to follow and we walked around the village looking for the Elves on our list.  We actually ended up finding all but one, which they told us later was up high on a building so we didn't see it.  They were nice and gave each boy a candy cane anyway.  Afterwards we went over to the bakery and got some lunch.  We missed P and EM and hope to see them next week!

Here's the whole group in front of some of the first elves we saw that were roasting marshmallows by a fire.

T and G in front of a cute covered bridge.

 The Preschool boys on a Christmas truck with some elves.  G did not want to sit on the truck so he sat on the wheel which worked out just fine.  (Boys from left to right: EW, little J, G, and T.)

 

 T about to blow a kiss to this elf carrying Christmas packages.

 The Elf barbershop.  Really cute. They had very clever displays like this all over the village.

**Moms: if you have more pictures please share them!