5-Day: Hibernation, Illustration and Numeration

This was our last week exploring "all things animal". As a final project, the children created bear caves for the bears they made a week ago out of clay. As you know, with winter coming, they need a place to hibernate! This activity began with a simple paper bowl, which the children painted. We wanted to place these caves in a habitat, so the next step was to attach them to a cardboard base. After that, the class added grass (rice), twigs, boulders (crumpled brown paper), and mulch. Their focus and their attention to detail were wonderful to watch as they became so engaged in this project. The next day, we added pine cone trees, which were painted green. Finally, the children could play with them on Thursday! On Friday, these works of art were proudly displayed in the big room.

The children also created a class book based on their Showtime animals. Each child illustrated their own page for this book with a drawing of their favorite animal. This is included in our class library. A new bulletin board is by the windows. Please check out our pictures with these animals along with wonderful quotes, which arose during Showtime (my apologies for any photos that are still in my phone and not yet displayed; they will be there next week).

The class found some animals in a picture, counted them and graphed them using their numeracy skills. Animals were found hiding in gak, playdough and the discovery table as well as in some new puzzles. Not only were we focused on our theme in our sensory activities, but the writing table was also very busy with inventive art work. We saw some exciting new 3D creations going home and paired readings of our favorite books. We also saw some amazing construction projects in the block area.

As always, the children are busy sharing, listening, using kind words and gentle hands.

Enjoy your weekend!

Kristi and Cathy

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