Hippo Headlines

Hello all!
What fun we had learning more about the rainforest this week. All of us enjoyed playing in our rainforest arch with all the animals, playing with small animals in our diorama, playing with rainforest animals with blocks on the floor and adding rainforest lizards, toucans, snakes, butterflies, alligators and sloths to our bulletin board. In addition, we watched videos about sloths, leaf cutter ants, alligators and crocodiles and howler monkeys.

During the week we made leaf cutter ants and sloths! We glued on pictures of the animals that live in each of the 4 layers of the rainforest. We sorted and weighed bugs. After showing beautiful pictures of the waterfalls in the rainforest, we made rain sticks and made waterfalls using pipettes at the easel. In addition, we learned some interesting facts about the morpho butterfly, then made one using beautiful blue tissue papers. In our free play time we cut out dark green, light green and yellow strips. During opening time, we patterned these strips and stapled them together to make a boa constrictor. In addition, we played a rainforest memory game and cut vines (cooked green spaghetti). On Wednesday, we signed in to which was our favorite rainforest animal. (goals: fine motor, making decisions independently, patterning, sensory, sorting, counting, recognizing numbers and comparing numbers)

Thursday was another busy day in the rainforest! We wrote in our journals about our favorite rainforest animals. The hippos enjoyed playing "The Jaguar says ....The Sloth says...." game. The hippos listened and did the movements. For example, if the jaguar says run in place, the students ran in place really fast, if the sloth said run in place, the students ran in place really slow! We also watched a video that told us the differences between alligators and crocodiles. We then made an alligator/crocodile with our hands in green paint. We also played an alligator tooth game. The students pushed down teeth, one at a time, in the alligators mouth. They did not know which tooth would cause his mouth to shut. (goals: listening behaviors, following 2 step directions, gross motor, fine motor, sensory, drawing representational pictures)

During the two weeks we explored the rainforest, we played a yes/no game based on everything we learned. If we said something about the rainforest that was true, the children said yes. If we said something that was not true, the children said no. We were amazed at how much they have learned! They listened and demonstrated understanding of the books we read in class!

It was Earth Day on Wednesday. We made necklaces and read a book about the taking care of the earth.

The students then volunteered how they take care of the earth.

Books We Read:
If an Alligator Came to School
"Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth
Over In The Meadow
The Very Sleepy Sloth

The Earth Book

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emSHL03NkF8 Leaf cutter ants

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTp8W251aiQ Three Toed Sloth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdnwLX5m3G8 Howler Monkey

Questions to Ask:
1. Is the morpho butterfly the biggest or littlest of all butterflies? (the biggest)

2. What does the leaf cutter ant do with the leaf? (brings it back to its home)

3. What is your favorite rainforest animal?
4. Are sloths slow or fast? (slow)
5. Are leaf cutter ants slow or fast? (fast)
6. What is the shape of the crocodile mouth? (V shaped)

7. What is the shape of the alligator mouth? (U shaped)

8. Is the crocodile meaner that the alligator? (yes)

Reminders:

4/25 Spring Fair 10:00-12:00 at LECC

Things practice at home:
Continue reading and finding information on the rainforest.

Next Week:
Pizza!

Below are the wonderful pictures showing all the fun and learning we participated in this week!!!