January 18, 2013

Dear Parents,

This week we continued our winter theme by making snow globes.  The children were given three pieces of clay which they rolled into balls and pushed them together to make a snowman.  After baking the clay, the children decorated the snowmen with markers and then put them into a clear container filled with water, white glitter and plastic beads. The children were so surprised when they realized that after shaking the jar it actually looked like a snow storm.  They were so excited with them,  that they did not want to put them down all day.

After listening to the the Mitten Story, by Jan Brett the children traced, cut, and decorated their  own mittens. They then played a mitten matching game with lots of different colored mittens.  It was a lot of fun watching the children smile with delite  after they found a matching pair. They also listened to The Hat, by Jan Brett and water colored a hat to match their mittens.

The children had a great time in music this week with Michelle and Yina. They sang and danced with scarves as well as learning some new winter songs.  Some of the songs they sang were "Frosty the Snowman" and "I 'm a Little Snowman."  They also practiced with the rhythm sticks. 

We concluded our week by doing a science experiment.  The children poured vinegar into a water bottle, then poured baking soda into a balloon, using a funnel, and then stretched the mouth of the balloon over the bottle.  The children screamed with excitement as the balloon blew up. It was a great learning experience for the children.  They learned that when mixing two chemicals together you get a chemical reaction which caused the balloon to blow up.

Next week we will be learning about penguins and other animals that live in cold environments.

Love,

Ms. Bonne