Pre-K: Numbers, Neighborhoods, Nursery Rhymes and Nighttime
"Nn" week was certainly Not Normal! With both Emily and Martine out, Pre-K had Numerous New teachers. However, there was No Need to be Nervous. With a little help from Nicky and Barbara, and a lot of help from the Pre-K students, Nina was able to Navigate the week very Nicely! Language and Literacy We started the week with a book titled In Lucia's Neighborhood, which follows a little girl throughout a day in her urban neighborhood. We talked about what makes up a neighborhood and decided that it is the places surrounding your house that are maybe a walk or a short drive away. Each child got to name something in their own neighborhood, and then the class decided they wanted to write their own book, In Pre-K's Neighborhood. Their illustrations are very detailed, and I think they represent Newton very well! Among other things, we have a school, a park, a playground, and, of course, Whole Foods and Starbucks.
Later in the week, we moved on to nursery rhymes, and found out we have MANY favorites! "Humpty Dumpty" was definitely one of our top three, and we pretended we were all the king's horses and all the king's men putting him back together again by matching easter egg halves with uppercase and lowercase letters, then placing them carefully back on the wall. We also took turns acting out "Jack Be Nimble", jumping over a candlestick, and "Little Miss (or Mister) Muffet", sitting on a tuffet then getting scared away by the spider. Math and Science Our math project was to create a book of numbers from zero to nine. Each page of the book had four boxes in which we had to write the number, spell the number, stamp the number and stick on that many stickers. It was a lot to remember, but, once we got the hang of it, it was a fun challenge. This project was out all week so that we could work our way through it a few numbers at a time. It was interesting to see the different methods the children used to complete their pages. Some started at zero and worked their way through, while others picked numbers at random, some did a few pages each day, and others tried to get as many pages done in one sitting as possible.
For science, Martine had a discussion with the children about night and what makes it nighttime versus daytime. The children had a lot of great ideas, and it was impressive to see them using knowledge they had picked up from previous science topics. We talked about how the earth is spinning, although slowly enough that we can't feel it, and the children remembered that gravity keeps us from flying off. We determined that when we are facing the sun it is daytime, and when we are facing away it is nighttime. To illustrate that, Martine played the part of the sun, and the children spun around as they orbited her. When Martine said, "Freeze!" the children would stop and then determine whether they were day or night. Some, who were facing sideways, remarked that it must be sunrise or sunset! Art We weaved the various themes of the week through our art table, and we also reviewed some of the artists we have already studied. We created Neon Matisse collages, made Night skies in the style of Van Gogh's Starry Night, and created Mary Mary Quite Contrary's garden. On Friday, we made Notecards for Emily, in the hopes that we will be welcoming her back on Monday! I very much enjoyed being back in the classroom this week! Your children are curious, creative, loving, and fun. They helped me with the rules and routines, were patient with me when I didn't do things the way Emily does, and gave me lots of support and hugs each day. They even told me I smelled nice! I thank them for letting me be their teacher for "Nn" week. Love, Nina and Martine Questions to ask your child:
What did we make in dramatic play in order to observe the night sky? What did "Old King Cole" call for? How hot is the sun, and how did the scientists figure that out? Now we are all 5! Who celebrated her birthday this week?