Ocean Plants...

During our circle time I introduced the kids to our new triangle shape for the month.  We passed it around the circle and the kids counted the how many sides and points the triangle has.

Then we looked for items in the room that are shaped like a triangle...

On Tuesday, we learned about ocean plants!

I drew a picture of kelp on green paper and we passed it around the circle as we sang...
"(Name) holds the kelp.
(Name) holds the kelp.
He/she found it in the ocean deep.
(Name) holds the kelp."
(Sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell.")

I introduced the kids to our new math manipulatives that Mother Goose Time provided for us this month.  The blue tangrams are plastic and can be used again and again.  I laminated the activity sheets that they provided as well to go along with the shapes.  There were a total of four pictures for the kids to work with...

First, I let one volunteer experiment making her own picture with the tangrams.  N made a "underwater cave" with the shapes...

Next, P placed the shapes on top of the activity sheet...

Lastly, I challenged them to copy the activity sheet on the blank piece of paper provided.  I left these items out all morning for the kids to help themselves to.

For our next activity the kids drew a picture and made up a story about an underwater adventure.  Mother Goose Time provided each child with this fun paper for drawing. 

I listened to each child tell me their story and I wrote it on their paper.   I read all the stories to the kids, and then hung them on the wall.  They were so proud at the end of the day to show them off!

Since we learned about ocean plants, we made seaweed chips!  Mother Goose provided us with this recipe card, so we headed upstairs to do a cooking project!

The kids always get so excited about cooking projects!

We cut apart seaweed paper and then spread it out on a cookie sheet.  We lightly brushed sesame oil on both sides and sprinkled a little salt over the top.  We baked the seaweed chips at 250 degrees for 20 minutes. 

Once the seaweed was finished baking, I brought it downstairs on a plate for the kids to try.  Some kids dove right in, while others watched their friends for their reaction...

It made me happy to see all of the kids try it at least...

About four out of the 10 kids did not like it at all...

The rest really like it...

There was one silly guy, who ate more than expected.  R made us all laugh!  He just kept eating and eating!  All the while he was saying to us all, "GUYS!  I just can't stop eating it!  It is so YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!"  He is such a cutie!  I hope too much seaweed doesn't affect his tummy, because he ate A LOT!

I asked the kids if they knew why ocean plants live close to the ocean's surface and not deep down at the bottom.  We discussed the basic needs of plants.  I explained that ocean plants live in the top layer (Sunlit) because the sun provides the warmth and light they need for survival.  We created a mural on the wall that represented the 3 ocean light zones.  We used black for the bottom (Midnight), blue for the middle (Twilight), and green for the top (Sunlit).  We labeled each layer and then placed photos of ocean creatures that Mother Goose provided in the correct zone. 

We cut more plants and animals from colored paper and added our own creations to our mural.

Since we are learning about ocean plants, we decided to look for signs of plant life outside.  We could see new growth popping up in different places throughout the backyard!

  We worked on a beginning sounds worksheet in our literacy workbooks...

We colored triangles in our math workbooks...

We also practiced drawing triangles on our own!

This was our book for the day!  It was perfect for what we learned about!

I took out our Melissa and Doug color button match game from our math center...

In the afternoon I also filled a cake pan with kinetic sand and we played with our tangrams in a whole new way!