Oceans have salt water

We continued to explore water and oceans today.

In art lab, students worked on adding sea creatures to their ocean painting and making the letter "t" with a paint brush on an easel. In writing lab, they traced star and fish stencils and carefully and with much precision and concentration they filled in their tracings with lines as a pre-writing skill.

For science lab the students learned that ocean water is salt water. We had 2 large bowls of water. They poured one cup of salt into a container, poured it into one of the bowls and then mixed it in. This bowl became our "ocean" salt water. They sampled the water with a tasting spoon. Then we had many items to explore. They felt each one and made a hypothesis (an idea you can test) about if it would sink or float. We took turns placing each item into the water and then into the sea water to check our predictions. One item, a blue craft bead was extra special - almost magical really! They watched as it sunk in the water bowl. In the salt water bowl though, it floated! We talked about how items floated better in salt water and introduced the word buoyancy. We will review this concept again in another exciting science lab yet to come.

Then we placed the items that floated in one basket: a wooden block, a craft stick (like a Popsicle stick) a feather, a Lego, a sponge, a plastic stencil-ruler tracer.

Items that sunk went into another basket: a quarter, a shell, a rock, a plastic gingerbread cookie from the kitchen center.

The special blue bead did not go in either basket since it sunk in the water but floated in the salt water.

Outside we played "Octopus, octopus may we cross your ocean?" They also played with moon sand today in the outside moon sand table.

At end circle time, we saw row, row, row your boat with partners and I introduced the hand clapping song "a sailor went to sea" Here is a video clip of Gabriella & Savannah trying to do the "Sailor went to sea" song.

Reversible change, states of matter - they "get" it!

We have been studying change. Well, reversible change to be specific. In our first science lab, the students independently used food color to dye water and then poured the water into ice cube trays. The trays were set outside, inside the house, in the refrigerator and in the freezer. Next class, they observed the ice cube trays and colored a sheet which helped them explain their conclusions. They had also put sea creatures into tubs of water and then next class, observed with amazement and delight that they changed- grew quite large. We took them out of the water to see if they would change again.

So that brings us to today. The children excitedly noted that the sea creatures did change - they got smaller, changing back to their original size. We re-discussed the ice cube trays and how water could change into a solid (ice) or back to water or even evaporate into the air (gas). During our movement time, we practiced being molecules. As a solid we huddled so close we couldn't move. As a liquid we held hands in a circle and moved a little bit together changing shape ever so slightly. Then we warmed up and broke apart and ran throughout the grass taking up lots of space like a gas molecule. We repeated this a few times since water has "reversible" change.

Then we lined up on one side of the yard and had a "race" across the yard. Children listened and followed directions such as forward, reverse, freeze until they all reached the other side.

During snack time, talking more about change and the concept of reverse one child mentioned we all used to be babies. I asked if we could "reverse and be a baby again?" They all laughed and one verbalized that we did not have reversible change. It was a great moment!

a sound

here is a video clip of the a sound:

m sound

Here is a video clip of the m sound:

S sound

Here is a video clip of the s sound and the ASL sign:

Gimme 5 for phonics!

Letter rings have been sent home and will be useful tool at school and at home.

In general, I use the "Montessori 3 part lesson" method to introducing letter-sound concepts with preschoolers. Since My Time & More Preschool only meets once a week, I think it is helpful if parents can practice phonics at home.

I will be adding the ASL sign and the phonic sound in the form of a video clip on my blog for each letter of the alphabet as we introduce it in class.

This is from the Montessori mom website BTW:

"With slow and deliberate movements, show your child two of the concepts you wish to teach (using appropraite manipulatives).

step one:

Point to one of the concepts, like the "s" letter card and say this letter says "sss" Make the sound clear and short. In class I usually repeat it 5 times and have the child say it 5 times as well. Work on this one concept until you think you child "gets" it. Then do the same process with the other concept, like the "a" letter card and say this letter says "ah" Work on just this concept until you think the child gets it.

step two:

Ask the child, can you give mt the one that says "sss?" Can you give me the one that says "ah?" If your child can do this correctly (I usually do it five times and "mix" up the cards, side by side, top and bottom, left and right, etc) go to step three. If your child has trouble go back to step one.

step three:

Point to one of the letters and say, "what sound does this one make?" If your child has difficulty, go back to step two.

Be positive, patient and non-critical. Keep the phonics lesson short end with a high five!

Studying water/ocean/change week 1 & 2

We have been studying water, oceans and change. The students mixed water with food color and poured it into ice cube trays. The trays were then left in the freezer, outside in the sun, inside the house and inside the refrigerator for one week. The next class time the students made observations about how the water changed. We also discussed how water can change into a gas through evaporation like the yellow water left outside or freeze into a solid like the blue water left in the freezer.

The students also put some sea creatures into tubs of water for their first class. Each one was outlined in its original shape/size. They were left in the tubs of water for one week. Then last class they were taken out. The students were amazed and excited to compare their huge size to the original size. Then each student made a hypothesis if leaving the sea creature out of water for a week would make the sea creature larger, smaller or have no change. Next class we will make our final observations and talk about reversible and irreversible change and how our 2 experiments help us understand this concept.

For art lab, students painted on an easel their first layer of the ocean. for writing, they uncovered and traced the letter "s" in a box of sand and made their own "s" on card stock using sand and glue. They all had a phonics lesson with "s" as well. For writing we worked on pre-writing skills of holding a pencil and fine motor skills by tracing a stencil and drawing horizontal parallel lines to fill in the shape with control and precision. We played a sharing game, sang the Amigo song, sang the slippery fish song and the abc phonic chant. We fished for sea creatures with numbers 1-6 after rolling a dice. We worked on number puzzles and counted during calendar time. For our motor skills development we worked on jumping and landing on two feet, balancing, catching a ball and other movements including an obstacle course. We are all having so much fun and learning along the way!

ABC ASL Phonic chant

This is the ABC Phonic/ASL sign chant we are using right now to introduce the lowercase letter with the sound it makes along with the corresponding ASL sign and word. I will update this video later once we've had some more practice! Also you can order the 26 photocards with the picture and lowercase letter from Walgreens if you wish for home use. Just let me know and I will email you the photo link to that album.

This is the slippery fish we sang today. I had Gabriella and Savannah help me sing it for the blog in case preschoolers wanted to practice at home or let mom and dad hear their child at home. I think we could use some practice ourselves :)

Slippery fish sliding through the water....

octopus squiggling through the water....

tuna fish flashing through the water....

great white shark lurking through the water....

humongous whale spouting in the water....

Now enrolling August 2011

Now enrolling for August 2011. Email to more information and to reserve your child's spot.
kvetonk@gmail.com

** Update: this session is FULL.

We will have a class of 6 children starting August 2011, following the Eduprize (Queen Creek campus) calendar.

Tuesdays class will meet from 8:30-11:30am
I will be accepting a total of 6 students ages 3 & up for the Tuesday sessions.

$35 registration/material fee yearly
$55 per month class fee

Once this class/time fills up there will be a wait list for another day (either Monday or Wednesday) Details of this class will be decided when there are at least 4 students on a waiting list.

Our curriculum will include phonics, reading, writing, math, science and Spanish as well as a perceptual motor skills development plan. Children will be given both individual as well as whole group instruction and also participate in learning labs based on the theme or a specific skill.

Children will be assessed throughout the program and conferences and feedback related to your child's development will be provided. With a one day a week preschool, I will encourage parents to be partners in their child's learning and communicate ways to encourage reinforcing "school" skills at home.

why one day a week?

When I was looking for a preschool option for my girls, I was a SAHM and in many ways I was homeschooling my girls for preschool. I wished for an option that would support my philosophy AND provide them with an opportunity to learn in a fun yet structured environment separate from me. I felt they only really needed this one day a week since we were having so much learning together at home.

I am hoping there are other moms/families in the San Tan Valley area looking for this option for whatever reason.

My Time & More Preschool is a unique setting where children can build a strong foundation in core areas such as science, phonics and math. Each session also provides motor skills assessment and development curriculum as well as a Spanish lesson.