Dear Parents,
We had quite a busy week making pet houses and various types of animals including birds and cats. We introduced our pet theme with a discussion about the different needs of pets versus human beings. Some the similarities that the children came up with were: Animals and people both need food, water, sunshine, exercise and friends. The differences were: dogs bark, cats meow, and people talk and sing.
The children did a great job sitting and listening to animal stories. Some of their favorites were: Dog, by Matthew Van Fleet, Carl’s Afternoon in the Park, by Alexandra Day, and Old MacDonald by Jane Cabrera. They also sang “Bingo,” and “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,”
The children had a lot of fun learning many different animal songs with Michelle and playing the piano with Yina. We used "If You're Happy and You Know It" with animal actions, as well.
One of the highlights of the week was when Bo (parrot) visited our classroom. He sang “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!, roller skated, played basketball, put money in a piggy bank, played the ring toss game, and rolled over. We also had a discussion about birds. We learned that parrots come from the rain forests, where it is hot and humid. We also talked about what birds eat. They mainly eat fruit, vegetables, seeds, and occasionally nuts.
I think Bo had almost as much fun performing for the children as they did watching him. Did you know, according to bird experts, some parrots have the reasoning skills of a three year old child? I am not sure if that is true but, it only took Bo two weeks to learn each one of his tricks. Bo is twenty- five years old and is expected to live another seventy years.
After seeing what a parrot looks like, the children made their own version of a bird. First they traced a template of a bird, then cut it out and finally decorated it with eyes and feathers. The children seem to like using scissors and are working on their cutting skills.
We will continue our animal theme next week. So please have your child bring in a small stuffed animal, if they have not done so already.
We concluded our week by baking delicious animal cookies.
Love,
Ms. Bonne
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