Submarines...

On Wednesday we learned about submarines!

 During circle time I took out the fish from our "Shipwreck" board game.  I had the kids sort the fish by color...

 Then a few volunteers completed a pattern with the fish.  I left these out for everyone to explore with throughout the day.

Mother Goose provided the following supplies for our submarine porthole craft...

 The kids first explored framing different objects in the room with their paper plate...

 I demonstrated how to complete a submarine window collage, but I also encouraged the kids to complete their project any way they desired.  I encouraged their creativity, by allowing them to choose the supplies they wanted.  The kids took a lot of time on this project.  You could tell they took their project very seriously! Ha!

 Cutting the cellophane paper took some serious time and dedication.  I was impressed!

 I set out paint dobbers, but also allowed for paint, markers, and/or crayons.  All of the kids chose paint dobbers though.  They love using these!

We thought the paint dobber marks looked like the bolts on a porthole!

For our next activity, I asked the kids how they think people in a submarine can see above water?  They didn't have the answer to this, but this question prompted a lot more AWESOME questions...

- How do we get in a submarine?

- How does a submarine get in the water?

- Is it wet in the submarine?

- Do we have to hold our breath when we are in the submarine?

- Does the submarine park at a dock, like a boat?

I am SO IMPRESSED!  I wouldn't have even thought to teach these things.  It just goes to show that a child's natural curiosity is their GREATEST learning tool!  They don't need to know the answer to every question, but asking questions is a LIFE SKILL that will take them much farther than we think! 

I explained that a submarine has a tool called a periscope that sticks out above the water.  It has a system of mirrors inside of it that allows people in the submarine to see above water.  We took out mirrors, our telescope, and a periscope.  We compared a telescope to a periscope.  I also encouraged the kids to look at things behind them in the mirror.

 I took down our circle time display boards, and encouraged the kids to look for letters, shapes, numbers, etc. by facing away from the boards and looking into the mirror.  The kids got a big kick out of this!  They we so amazed that they could see something behind them!

 We also explored with our new periscope!

I took out a new math game provided by Mother Goose Time.  The kids had to move the strip to reveal a number in the window of the submarine.  They counted out that many Bingo chips and placed them on the circles.  They counted the empty circle spaces to see how many more they needed to get to 8.  They chose a number card to complete the math equation.

 This took a bit of time and exploration, but I believe that most of the kids really understood the concept. 

Next, I set out a few learning stations...

First, I filled our sensory table with our Lakeshore magnetic letters and fishing poles.  I also provided a small, medium, and large water bottle.  I encouraged the kids to explore with the bottles.  When they filled the bottles with water, the bottles sank to the bottom like a submarine.  When the bottles were empty, they floated on top of the water like a boat!

 

 I also set out our Lakeshore Geoboards (rubber band boards). 

 Lastly, I set out a treasure chest counting folder game...

Later on, the kids worked on basic subtraction and addition problems in their math workbook. 

 They also cut and pasted submarines according to positional words and directions given in their literacy workbook...

 On the back of their page, they colored a picture of something they would like to see outside of a submarine porthole.

These were our books for the day...

 I also set out our Octonaut toys!!!!

 The kids loved playing with the submarine!