Fourth grade is studying electricity. Last Wednesday, we did a fun experiment on how electric charges interact. Shocking pictures to follow…
Wednesday, the 18th, during Week of the Young Child was Work Together Wednesday! We have so many opportunities to work together in our classroom and work daily on being good friends. We also use partner work during small groups so we are sharing ideas and helping each other learn.
For our Work Together Wednesday activities, the morning preschool class worked together to create friendship rainbows. Each child was in charge of a color to create a class rainbow and a rainbow for each of their friends. We also created a block town using ABC town blocks. We had to decide where our houses would go and work together to create our community. We then added people and vehicles to our community.
The afternoon class also worked together to create a block community. They were very interested in where their houses were all located and some of them even made sure they had trucks and tractors just like at their real houses! This was great mapping and fit in great with a social studies theme about community. The afternoon class also worked together to clean up our playground and around the school. We decided to reschedule our community clean up day due to the wind so this worked great as a chance to work together as a class. This was another great social studies lesson about keeping our school and community clean and safe! The afternoon class had another chance to work together as they helped me create the poster for Week of the Young Child that is hanging in the lunchroom.
During Week of the Young Child, Tuesday the 17th was Tasty Tuesday! On this day, both morning and afternoon preschool classes made strawberry banana smoothies. During this time, we discussed ways to prepare food safely and with an adult. We talked about washing our hands before getting started, if we needed to wash our fruit (we decided we should wash the strawberries, but the bananas would be okay because they have a peel) and what parts of the fruit we should add to the smoothie. Some children were in charge of cutting up strawberries, some were in charge of cutting up bananas, and some were in charge of the ice and yogurt we added to our smoothies. To add a little science and math, we discussed the solid fruit during into a liquid we could drink while it was in the blender and we measured our ingredients to see if we would have enough smoothie for everyone. The morning class added language arts as they wrote the letter T for Tasty. This was such a fun experience and we love being able to cook in the classroom! The afternoon class also enjoyed a tasty treat during snack time. Elly even brought us some homemade chocolate chip cookies!
We have made tasty treats in our classroom in the past and I wanted to share those pictures as well! We have made gingerbread cookies, snow ice cream, a 100 day snack, and a birthday cake. For each cooking experience we followed a recipe and each child was invited to participate. Cooking can be a great math and science activity, as well as a fine motor experience while the children pour, stir, knead, and roll.
The 2018 Elders’ Wisdom honorees were Lloyd and Mary Ann Hunzeker. You can watch the video of the program below!
Yesterday, April 16th, was Music Monday during Week of the Young Child. Week of the Young Child is a national week created by NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) in order to celebrate and bring recognition to early childhood programs. We try to use music in our classroom daily and are able to go to music once a week with Mrs. Varvel, but had special music activities to celebrate this day.
For Music Monday, the morning class sang their favorite song/finger play Tiny Turtle. We use this song when we are waiting and transitioning to a new activity or to out of the classroom specials. We also picked musical instruments and marched around the classroom as a parade and made our own maracas using materials that we had in our classroom.
Afternoon preschool began their Music Monday by singing along with a song about the letter N. We have found a great letter song for each letter of the alphabet that teaches us whether it is a consonant or vowel, what sound(s) it makes, and words that begin with that letter! This has been a wonderful tool when learning about each letter and the kids enjoying singing along. The kids then made either maracas or a rain stick which we played while we sang different songs and while we talked about rhythm and beat.
Dear parents and families,
This week, April 16th- April 20th, is The Week of the Young Child. The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. NAEYC first established the Week of the Young Child in 1971, recognizing that the early childhood years (birth through age 8) lay the foundation for children’s success in school and later in life. This week allows us to celebrate early learning, young children, their teachers, and families. We will be participating in activities each day in our classroom and I will be sharing these with you through the school website and Facebook page, as well as posting pictures outside of our classroom. Please join in by participating in activities with your child at home!
Music Monday! April 16, 2018
Sing, dance, celebrate, and learn
Through music, children develop math, language, and literacy skills-all while having fun and being active
TRY THIS: Find the beat to connect music, movement, and math. Practice clapping, drumming, or stomping to the beat of the music while counting.
Tasty Tuesday April 17, 2018
Healthy eating and fitness at home and school
This fun, food-themed day is about more than just cheese and crackers. Cooking together connects math with literacy skills, science, and more. With the rise in childhood obesity, you can encourage healthy nutrition and fitness habits at home and in the classroom.
TRY THIS: Measure your ingredients while making your snacks! Ask children if they’d like the same or different amounts of each ingredient.
Work Together Wednesday April 18, 2018
Work together, build together, learn together
When children build together they explore math and science concepts and develop their social and early literacy skills. Children can use any building material—from a fort of branches on the playground to a block city in the classroom, or a hideaway made from couch pillows at home.
TRY THIS: Practice organizing blocks by size! Try building a block tower with large blocks on the bottom and little blocks on top!
Artsy Thursday April 19, 2018
Think, problem solve, create
Children develop creativity, social skills and fine motor skills with open-ended art projects where they can make choices, use their imaginations, and create with their hands. On Artsy Thursday celebrate the joy and learning children experience when engaged in creative art making. Use any materials—from crayons to paint, clay to crafts!
TRY THIS: Bring art outdoors! Offer dark and light paper, chalk and pastels, and suggest children create their own versions of the day and night sky!
Family Friday April 20, 2018
Sharing family stories
Engaging and celebrating families is at the heart of supporting our youngest learners. NAEYC applauds family members’ role as young children’s first and most important teachers. Since we do not have school on Fridays, this would be a great day to plan an activity as a family!
We have had some very exciting Show and Tell times in afternoon preschool this year! It has been great to see the show and tell process grow throughout the year. During show and tell time the listeners practice their listening skills by being quiet and respectful while the student shares and then they ask questions. We first had to learn exactly what a question was, rather than sharing our own stories. We then moved from asking the same questions each time, such as, ‘where and when did you get it’, to more meaningful questions like, “do you keep it in a special spot” and “do you take care of them like give it a bath”. Also, during this time, the speaker is able to strengthen their communication skills, their language, and their confidence as they share about themselves with the class. We have had animals visit for show and tell in the past (some very calm cats, a playful dog, and even a small horse), but this last week was full of them! When children bring animals for show and tell, we work on being quiet and gentle while getting to know the animals. We loved getting to see and pet a “unicorn”, ducklings, chicks, and a small dog. These animals came at a great time as we have been talking about springtime animals being born and learning all about the different baby animals. The children took turns feeding cookies to a very patient “unicorn”. We had learned about ducklings webbed feet and then got to see them in our classroom! The kids have done an amazing job with bringing in show and tells that they enjoy sharing with the class.
Hay Springs Public Schools will be hosting Tom O’Day’s Presentation of “Tales of Wyoming’s Outlaw West” as told by Tom O’Day and Bronco Nell on April 24th, in the Auditorium at 2:00 PM (K-5th grade students and staff) and at 3:00 PM (6th -12th grade students and staff). Visit the Wild West with Tom O’Day and Bronco Nell as they tell stories of cattle rustlin’, train robbin’, ridin’ with Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch and more!
Rescheduled to April 24th!
The Excellence in Teaching Award is sponsored by Security First Bank along with the American Legion. This award seeks to encourage and recognize the professional and leadership excellence of Hay Springs educators essential for quality education, increase awareness of the positive aspects of education in Nebraska, and promote pride in the school and community. Use the form below to nominate a teacher.
The sixth grade class went on a virtual field trip to Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park, to visit the rhino barn. The rhino barn is 17,500 square feet. We learned that there was a volcano in Idaho that spewed ash clear to the Ashfall Fossil Beds. The Fossil Beds were once a water hole that became filled with over ten feet of ash. Some of the 12-million-year-old animals we saw were rhinos, horses, camels, saber tooth deer, turtles, and birds. The smaller animals died first because they had smaller lungs so their fossils were on the bottom. One unique thing about Ashfall Fossil Beds is that the ten feet of ash preserved the 3D fossils. This summer will be their 27th summer of exploring this site. They estimate that they STILL have 10 to 15 more years of digging.
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