We had a such a wonderful time learning and exploring the uniqueness of the rainforest! The week began with reading books about the rainforest, showing pictures and watching videos to enhance our understanding of the rainforest and the animals that live there. The hippos began making a rainforest out of our arch by painting trees, cutting out leaves to add to the trees and making vines by cutting yarn and scrunching paper. The students also added materials to a diorama showing the 4 layers of the rainforest. After the diorama was completed we brought in the little rainforest animals for pretend play! Our arch contained rainforest animals, an animal rainforest hunt, binoculars, magnifying glasses, and a view finder showing rainforest animals. All of these activities provided opportunities to share, take turns, make decisions, answer and ask questions, create, work on fine motor, and build community.
During center time this week, we made parrots and tree frogs. We also enjoyed vine painting. The students sorted farm and rainforest animals and also made trees with buttons and pipe cleaners! Our sensory table contained coffee grounds, lizards, frogs and scoopers. Coffee comes from the rainforest and so does chocolate. At the playdoh table we used broccoli stalks to represent tall trees in the rainforest. The students placed rainforest animals under and on the trees the trees. In addition, the hippos counted frogs to the correct number on the lily pads in water and made jaguars out of the letter J. In gym class we did rainforest animal yoga! Our sensory table contained coffee grounds, tongs, little lizards and frong and cups. (learning goals this week: answering questions, fine and gross motor, making decisions independently, taking turns, participating as a member of a group, following 2 step directions, sensory, respectful behavior, counting, number recognition, comparing numbers, letter Z and J, rhyming, sorting)
During 2nd Steps, we worked on ways to tell a person about a problem and then figuring out how to solve the problem. First, we have to calm down, then figure out the problem and then think of a solution. The students came up with solutions involving sharing, taking turns, and playing together. The students did a great job remembering the solutions from our chart that they could not see.
Since it was earth day, we colored in an earth day badge, discussed ways to take care of the earth and read the Earth Day book. We discussed recycling, reusing and reducing.
Books We Read:
Rainforest
Red Eyed Tree Frog
Flashy Frogs
Way Up High In a Tall Green Tree
Questions
1. When do jaguars sleep? (during the day)
2. Where does coffee and chocolate come from? ( the rainforest)
3. How does the tree frogs use their red eyes? ( to scare off other animals)
4. When do tree frogs hunt for food, during the day or at night? (night)
5. How many layers are in the rainforest? (4)
6. What is the weather like in the rainforest? (very rainy)
7. Name an animal in the rainforest. (sloth, howler monkey, jaguar, leaf cutter ants, frogs, lizards, snakes, toucans, parrots, lemur, butterflies, orangutang, to name a few)
Things to Do at Home
Find out more information about the rainforest through books, pictures and the internet.
Next Week:
More Rainforest!
Dates To Remember:
Last day of school party- Thursday, May 31st-More details to come!
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| Show and Tell |
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| Hanging frogs and monkeys in our rainforest arch! |
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We painted by using vines (rope) and using a magnifying
glass to search for the animals in the pictures.
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| We added vines (yarn) to our diorama. |
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| Looking at books after snack time! |
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| Making a jaguar out of the letter J. |
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| Outdoor fun! |
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| Show and Tell |
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| Show and Tell |
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| Practicing safety while fishing. |
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| During music we played a variety of instruments. |
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| Puzzles work on fine motor and problem solving. |
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| Using magnetic clothes to dress the boys and girls. |
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| Our rainforest arch! |
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| Happy Birthday, Teddy! |
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| Everyone enjoyed making a tree frog out of rocks! |
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| We used our finger muscles to make the frogs jump! |
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Look at this creativity! We used broccoli stalks
and rainforest animals! |
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| We had a visit from an officer and his dog! |
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| The hippos love library and picking out books. |
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| We had a rainforest animal hunt in the room. |
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| We practiced our cutting skills when making leaves for our rainforest. |
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| The students decorated the diorama of the 4 layers of the rainforest. |
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We practiced our fine motor skills while stringing on buttons (leaves)
to the pipe cleaner (tree). |
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| Everyone painted trees for our rainforest. |
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| Sorting rainforest animals and farm animals. |
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| We practiced making the letter Z and diagonal lines! |
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After discussing the chameleon, we made one using
a variety of materials. This activity works on
fine motor, persistence and making decisions independently. |
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| Weighing and sorting worms. |
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| Cutting vines (cooked spaghetti noodles) |
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| Rainforest yoga- snake-cobra pose. |
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| Fun in the sensory table at art class. |
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| We added eyes and beaks to our bird during art class. |
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The yarn shows the average amount of rainfall
in the desert, St. Louis and the rainforest. |
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| We scrunched paper to make vines for our rainforest. |
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| Show and Tell-We discussed how to take care of our earth! |
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| Blocks and rainforest animals. |
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| Making patterns with rainforest animals! |
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| Here are our earth day badges that we decorated using skinny markers. |
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| Rylie's brother Know came to visit during center time. |
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| The hippos love to play doctor! |
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| Counting frogs to the number on the lily pad. |
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| We loved Frisbee the police dog! |
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We all worked so hard and used teamwork to complete
this rainforest puzzle!! |
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The students used paint sticks to color in the legs of the tree frog
we made with the stone. |
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| We also made parrots during the week! |
