So long solar system... Just because we won't be learning about planets anymore, doesn't mean the learning has to stop. If your child is still interested in learning more about space, there are many wonderful books, projects, and ideas you can explore together. The planet song the hippos learned last week was sung multiple times again this week, and it is likely to be sung in your home many times as well.
Many of our activities incorporated fine motor skills, letters, numbers, language, sensory, rhyming, patterning, following two step directions, strengthening finger muscles and sequencing.
* peeling stickers to make constellations and decorate a telescope
* playing with moon sand, cups and scoopers
* sensory table with small colored rocks, tongs and letters
* connecting stars with crayons and naming our constellation
* practicing writing our names
* creating rocket ships with little legos and shapes
* practicing cutting- cutting the nose of the rocket
* using a push pin to make stars
* painting a moon using foil instead of a paint brush
* rhyming words with moon, sun, star
* recognizing the number 8 for 8 planets
* building and recognizing the letter I
* using our telescopes to find our HWOT letters
* patterning with space
* sequencing planets
* answering questions about our books read in class
* signing in by picking out their favorite planet and comparing the answers/numbers
* making rockets using the letters in our name
* observing rocks with magnifying glasses and weighing the different rocks
* counting stars to make rockets
* Journal-If I were an astronaut I would.....
* Using a flashlight, a picture of Saba and I and the globe to show day and night.
We used our gross motor skills when we pretended to walk on the moon like astronauts and pick up moon rocks with grabbers, counted backwards from 10 to blast off like a rocket, spun around on sit and spins, and ran, rode and played on the playground. During gym we each held a planet and a rope and orbited around the sun.
This month's character word is Friendly. The hippos listened to a story about being a good friend and sang a friendship song. The students recalled ways to be a good friend!! We also did some role playing!
Questions to ask your child:
*What is your favorite planet?
* What did we make to see the moon and stars at night? (telescopes)
* Are there plants and animals on the moon?
* What rhymes with moon? star? sun? (give 2 words and ask if they rhyme? i.e. moon-soon, moon-dog)
* Does Uranus spin on its side? (yes)
Books We Read:
On The Moon
A Good Friend
If I Were an Astronaut
Peppa In Space
Video-"Time to Shine" and "I'm a Star" by the Storybots
What to practice at home:
Use the students telescope (paper towel roll decorated with stickers) to observe the moon and stars at night. We discussed how the moon doesn't always look the same each night.
Practice putting on backpack, placing school snacks in the backpack, and zipping the backpack. We are also working on how to get school papers into backpacks. We encourage the students to roll or fold their papers up and place them in the backpacks. Please practice this skill at home.
Next week:
Bats, pumpkins, and spiders!
Reminders:
10/16 Parent Teacher Conference week- Monday and Wednesday
10/26 Thursday Theis Pumpkin Farm field trip
10/29 Magic House Halloween Party
10/18 & 11/2 Hearing screening during school
11/7 No School Professional Development Day
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We made the letter T with wooden strips and salt trays.
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| We used paint sticks and star stickers to make outer space. |
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| Here we practiced making patterns with space pictures. |
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| Journal-What would you do if you were an astronaut? |
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| Playdoh, milk lids and scissors. |
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We counted stars and placed a unifix cube on the number
then put them together when it was filled to make a rocket. |
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| Matching planet puzzles. |
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We did an experiment to show how Venus' rocks harden then melt
by using butter that we melted and then observed later that it became hard. |
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| We made a large sun by crumbling tissues. |
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| We used our problem solving skills to put this big planet puzzle together. |
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| We showed daytime and night time using a flashlight. |
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We showed the students the different phases of the moon with
my light up moon! |
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| I read a book every time we visit the library! |
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| The letter I was this week's letter!! |
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| Telescope making! |
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| Moon sand! |
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| Our volcano on Mars! |
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| We practiced matching planets! |
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We decided which phase of the moon we wanted then painted it using foil
to resemble the craters. |
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| We each used a telescope to find our HWOT letters! |
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| We watched a story about feelings! |
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| Then gave our monsters our worries! |
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| It was fun to make constellations and then name them! |
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| Show and Tell |
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| Show and Tell |
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| We practiced making patterns in art class! |
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| Look at the pattern I made! |
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| I made stars!! |
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| The rocks hardened on Venus! |
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| It was fun to stand on the moon and grab moon rocks! |
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| We made name rockets! |
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It was fun to investigate rocks by weighing them and looking
at them through a magnifying glass. |
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| We made rockets with tangram blocks. |
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| It was fun to use giant push pins to make stars! |
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There is a firefighter! He talked to the kids but had to go to an emergency.
They are coming back next Wednesday! |
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| Sparky tells us how to be safe with fire! |
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| We practiced orbiting around the sun with our planets. |
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| We counted the pictures and clipped the correct number! |
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| We went over our planet song with our planet strip. We also counted the planets! |
