Pre-K: Apples and Albers
It was Aa week in Pre-K…
Language and Art:
While learning all about apples and autumn this week, we also discovered the artist Josef Albers, starting with the book An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers. We spent the week exploring his Homage to the Square: starting on Tuesday, each child began to create their own square, working on a different layer each day and compiling the whole piece on Friday. Please take a look at our temporary Pre-K board in the hallway outside 5-Day to see each individual masterpiece.
One of our goals in Pre-K is to encourage children to explore letters, numbers and their formation through tactile objects. This week we tried both a magnetic letter construction set and wiki sticks, both of which Pre-K really enjoyed.
Math and Science:
We started our week with an apple taste test…we tried 4 different varieties, and each child recorded his/her favorite on our classroom chart. 5-Day had taste tested the same apples, so we visited their classroom and discussed our varying results. We furthered our apple exploration by watching the visible changes to four quarters of an apple, 3 of which were covered in either water, lemon or vinegar. The last piece was left in the open air. Children first predicted which apple slice would remain the most white, and then observed the quarters on our light table during the course of the week. We recorded their observations each day. Their quotes may be seen on our science bulletin board! Martine read the book How an Apple Grows, and Pre-K was impressive in trying their first sequencing activity based on the book. They cut out pictures of each stage of a tree’s development and glued them in the correct order. Their hard work is also on display on our science board in the classroom.
Block Area and Dramatic Play:
Airplanes and runways invaded our block area, and children loved experimenting with the different planes’ speed on the runways they built. We decided to leave our dramatic play area in its basic “house” state, as the rest of our week felt quite busy. It was still a huge draw, so much so that we even brought out the timer to ensure that everyone got a turn.
Music:
Because we talked about our first vowel this week, we decided to sing “I like to eat apples and bananas” for Paula and the rest of Bowen, and your children did a great job singing each verse with a different vowel sound.
This weekend I will be sending around a sign-up sheet for conferences on November 8th - stay tuned!
Finally, Pre-K was so kind and considerate this week that we filled our pom pom jar. And that means that Monday is PAJAMA DAY in Pre-K! We have some bubbling excitement in our classroom, and Martine and I are so proud of your children.
It’s supposed to be a rainy weekend, stay warm and dry!
-Emily and Martine
Books included:
An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers
Josef Albers: Homage to the Square (picture browsing)
Fall Leaves Fall
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
How an Apple Grows
Fall Mixed Up
