Pumpkins

Pumpkins is one of my favorite things to teach all year, and boy did we have fun with this theme!  We measured pumpkins to see how tall they were.

We cut open a pumpkin to discover what was inside.

Then we all got to touch it and discover what the insides felt like.  The kids decided the insides were wet, squishy, slimy, and looked like string cheese!!!

Then we broke the pumpkin in half and the kids worked hard to pick out all the seeds.  They were very excited about the fact that Mrs. Jen was going to cook them for them, and they were going to have them for snack the following day!

Boy were they yummy!  Most of the kids loved them!

We also discovered that pumpkins float!  We all thought that it would sink because it was so heavy, but after we dropped it in the tub it was floating.  Then we remembered that the inside of the pumpkin was hollow and had a lot of air helping it float!  We even read a book that had people sitting inside pumpkins using them as boats!

We worked on the number 5 and it fit perfectly with the poem 5 Little Pumpkins!  The kids loved singing this poem and making their very own 5 Little Pumpkins sitting on a Gate!

 

The kids loved working hard at writing center and earning "Kiss Your Brains" (Hershey kisses and Starburst) for their "All Star Work!"  Look at all these little smarties!  They were so proud of their work, and so was I!

The favorite centers of the week worked their muscles.  The kids absolutely loved using hammers to pound golf tees into the pumpkin and using Mr. Potato Head pieces and styrofoam pumpkins to create silly faced jack-o-lanterns!

It was another GREAT week with an AWESOME group of kids! 

Fire Safety

We had so much fun learning about Fire Safety.  We sang many songs, painted, made books, did puzzles, and even enjoyed a visit from Lafayette Fire Department!

The kids worked hard on a book that taught them the number they need to call if there is an emergency.  911!!!

They also painted the numbers 911.

We did a project about Stop, Drop, and Roll after the kids learned what to do if their clothes catch on fire.

And, they did an awesome job working together to put together a floor puzzle of a HUGE fire truck!

The kids loved the firefighter visit and asked many great questions!  I was very impressed and so proud of them.

The kids got to see what a firefighter looks like in full gear.

We went outside to get a close look at the truck.

 We all got to hold the hose!

 The Jaws of Life!!

 We even got to go inside and check out all the gear inside the truck!

What an AWESOME week with an AWESOME group of kids!  I feel so blessed to get to teach each and every one of them!

Apples

We had an awesome week with our new theme apples!  We learned about weight and measurement while we used a scale to weigh apples with acorns!

We learned about how apples start out as seeds, grow into trees, then start as apples bud, grow bigger and bigger all summer, and are then ready to harvest in the fall.  Then we did an art project to help reinforce the apple's life cycle.

We learned a new pattern this week ABCABC.  We practiced making this pattern many different ways with our bodies and cubes, then the kids made an ABC pattern of their own using apple prints.  They printed red, yellow, green, red, yellow, green!

We had an apple taste test, recorded which apple we liked best, and graphed the results.  Red was the favorite in this class!

We learned all about the parts of an apple and made an apple to label it parts.

We used both our apple taste test sheets and our apple parts craft to make our second class book, that will be coming home with your kiddos soon!

Our sensory tub was full of all things fall and was a big hit with everyone!

It was a GREAT week with a GREAT group of kids.  They work so hard and we are so proud of him.  Here are all your little smarties in action!

Have a wonderful Fall Break!