Shipwreck...

On Monday we learned about shipwrecks...

 We started our circle time reviewing our colors and shapes.  I made 8 sailboats and drew a shape on the back of each one.  The kids sat in a circle and took turns choosing a sailboat.  They were asked to identify the color of their boat and the shape on the back...

 We acted out the song:

"Look, the ship is sinking down,

sinking down, sinking down.

Look the ship is sinking down, 

lie on the ground.

Bubbles floating up, up, up,

up, up, up,

up, up, up.

Bubbles floating up, up, up,

Reach up to the sky."

(Sung to the tune of "London Bridges.")

 "Bubbles floating up, up, up..."

We discussed what we might find in a shipwreck.  I explained that small fish will sometimes hide in a shipwreck to avoid danger.  Mother Goose Time provided us with a new fish board game!  The kids and I loved playing this together!  They had to draw a colored fish card and move their fish to the matching color on the colored bubble path.  There were two obstacles on the board game that could potentially send them back a few spaces.  The first one to reach the sunken ship won, but we gave everyone a chance to finish the game.

 The kids L-O-V-E-D the pop-up fish we received for the game pieces...

For our next activity, I asked the kids what types of treasures they would like to find at the bottom of the ocean.  I read the book, "Hidden Treasures."  It is a book about fish sharing their most valuable treasure with their class.  The fish in the story learn that what is valuable to one individual, may not be valuable to another, but they still need to respect their friends feelings.

 The kids searched around the room for something they thought is very valuable.  These four cuties chose the new pop-up fish from our board game...

 We placed our valuables in our treasure chest, and took turns sharing why we treasure that item.  We also shared things we treasure that are not material things (love, friends, family, summer days, etc.)

 I explained to the kids that treasures such as gold, jewels, and expensive art have been recovered from shipwrecks.  The kids were each given their own postcard.  They drew a picture of what they would like to see at the bottom of the ocean.  Then I helped each child write a message on the back to the person they would like to send their postcard to.

 I prompted the kids to write about something we learned about this month, but sometimes they have their own writing ideas.  I thought this was the sweetest message...

For our next activity, we discussed what we think a shipwreck looks like on the inside and outside.  I gave the kids permission to dump out ALL of our blocks!  They were so excited to make a big mess!

 Then I explained that some shipwrecks still look like boats and some are broken into many pieces.  Some have been recovered and are on display in museums.  I encouraged the kids to pretend to be divers retrieving shipwreck pieces.  They collected blocks and rebuilt their own ship.  They spent a good amount of quality time in our block center.  I love times like these.  Their ideas feed off of each others!

While outside, the kids used the teeter totters, hula-hoops, and life jackets to play "Shipwreck!"  They had a BLAST! 

 Oh no!  They are floating out to sea!  Someone needs to save them!

 Oh no!  The boat capsized!

 HERE COMES THE SHARK!!!

 The coastguard came to the rescue!  The kids imagined the picnic tables were a dock.  They parked the boats at the dock when they saved everyone!

 She saved her friend...

The kids worked on the back page of their journal, and a page that prompted them to write what they would like to see in the ocean...

 The kids answered questions pertaining to a picture shown in their literacy workbook...

 They also cut apart pictures of treasures from their math workbook.  They turned their pictures face down on the floor, and flipped over one at a time.  They tried to get all the treasure pieces before flipping over their shark picture card.  If they got the shark, the game ended and they had to start over again.

Our book for the day...

Deep Sea Divers...

I want to start by saying just how much I LOVE MOTHER GOOSE TIME!  I really don't say it enough!  As this week comes to a close we were presented with a dreary rainy day, and it didn't matter one bit here at Sweet Smiles Preschool!  Thanks to Mother Goose Time our days are filled with exploration, imagination, and creativity!!!  Our ocean theme is almost over and we have learned so much!  Today we learned about divers!

 We started our morning reviewing the letter X in our journals.  The kids traced their hands, and then drew details and bones to make it look like an x-ray fish.  They completed the sentence, "I see ____ in the ocean."

 Next, they worked in their literacy workbook.  They traced their hand again, but this time they turned it into any sea creature they desired.  Check out this cool shark...

For circle time I placed all of our Mother Goose hands-on letters in a big blue pillowcase.  We passed it around and sang:

"Dive, dive, dive down deep.

Dive, dive, dive down deep.

Dive, dive, dive down deep.

(Name) found the letter ___."

(Sung to the tune of "Skip To My Lou.")

Each child took turns reaching into the pillowcase and pulling out a letter (W, O, or X).  They identified the name and sound of the letter they chose.

 Next, we worked on a letter X book from our literacy workbook.  We read the book together and then the kids practiced reading to a friend.  They underlined all the letter X's in their book and colored the pages...

Mother Goose provided the following supplies for our craft.  The kids made a diver's mask and flippers!  These were so much fun for the kids to play with!

 Everything looks different when you look through a piece of blue cellophane!

 They're all set and ready to go deep sea diving!

The kids learned that scuba divers must wear gear such as a mask, flippers, an oxygen tank and a wet suit to protect them and help them see, swim and breathe in the ocean.

For our next activity, I introduced the kids to six new Spanish words...

 I set out a blue sheet that we pretended was the ocean.  The kids lifted the sheet up and down to make imaginary waves!

 I called one child at a time to go deep sea diving.  I gave them one Spanish word, and they had to try and find the matching picture card.  It was a super fun way of learning our Spanish words!!!!

For our next activity, I asked the kids what they thought would be dangerous about diving in the ocean.  They all replied with, "You could be eaten by sharks!"  Lol!  I explained that divers have to rise to the surface very slowly so they don't get sick from the extreme pressure change.  They also have to watch out for boats nearby.  I spread the seashells that Mother Goose provided us all around the floor of the room.  I encouraged the kids to crawl or wiggle around the floor to collect them.  I told them to listen for me to call out the word "Oxygen."  When they heard it, they stood up very slowly as we counted to 18 together (8 & 18 are the numbers we are learning about this month).

  The kids had to rise very slowly (much like a deep sea diver does) while we counted to 18.  We repeated this a few times, so that we could practice our counting skills!

 Mother Goose provided us with the book "Ocean Animals A to Z" this month.  This book is AWESOME!  The photos are realistic and each page has a letter of the alphabet large enough for children to trace with their finger.  This book also has the perfect amount of content to keep the kids engaged throughout the whole story.  I read this book to the kids and then set it out with a matching storytelling set.  I laminated the set and applied magnets to the back of the pieces so that the kids could play on a magnetic whiteboard.

 Two kids at a time could play at the storytelling board.  They had fun retelling the story with their own words and matching up the pictures to the pictures in the storybook.

Just after lunch the kids worked on the color blue page in their journal.  I encouraged them to draw a deep sea diver, and then use all the shades of blue they could find in our crayon box to make the ocean around the diver.  They completed the sentence, "The ocean is _____."

 

This was the book I read before nap time.  It is a fun one!  It has repetitive text that encourages the children to interact with the reader.  It is a story about a boy imagining his bathtub is the deep blue ocean!

After nap time, the kids worked on a page in their math workbook.  They drew the correct number of diver bubbles next to each number on the bottom of their page.

 The kids had so much fun looking through their blue cellophane on their diver masks, so I decided to set out our Lakeshore set of color paddles and picture cards at our light table.

 This is a pretty cool set of learning supplies that encourages the kids to mix colors and make new colors. 

 Each picture card has directions on the back that shows the kids how to make each picture.

 The kids loved playing with the supplies, and of course they loved looking at each other through different colors!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!