Achievement Day

We've been working so hard on preparing for Achievement Day in Classroom 5A, we can't wait for you to see what we've been working on!

Check out the pictures of our students working very hard on everything they'll need for Achievement Day.

Achievement Day is WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12th!

UPDATE 8.13.2015

Achievement day was awesome! Our superheroes did an amazing job, they worked so hard are really showed how much they've learned and grown over this year. We are so proud of each and every one of their accomplishments.

See the pictures from our classroom from the weeks leading up to and the night of Achievement Day!

You can see more pictures from the whole school on the Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center Facebook page! They will be uploaded over the next few days, so keep checking back!

Updates for the week of 7/20 and 7/27

Lots of updates for today!
Last week we studied light and shadow. We were able to play with flashlights, light tables, translucent objects, an overhead projector, a black light and a pretend campfire!

Students learned that "to make your shadow bigger, you have to move close to where the light comes from, and to make it smaller you have to get far away."
Students also learned what translucent means, they searched the room for items to test in the light.

For pictures from the week of light and shadow, click here.


Friday was Pirate day! We dressed like pirates, build pirate ships and had a visit from the Picaroon Pirates with a treasure hunt!

 

For pictures from Pirate day, click here.



Today we took our field trip to Sessions Woods. We saw lots of different trees, heard lots of birds and felt a fox and bobcat pelt.

For all of our Sessions Woods Pictures, click here.

Blueberry Farm

We took our school field trip to Litchfield Hills Blueberry Farm to pick some delicious blueberries.We've read the book, Blueberries for Sal.
Next week we will be making blueberry smoothies for a healthy snack!

Update 7.21.2015
We made our blueberry-strawberry yogurt smoothies today and everyone tried one! We've updated the album with new pictures, check them out here.

 

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's.... SUPERHEROES!

Superheroes are such an interest to children these days, there's no way around it. Rather than ban superhero activity in our classroom, we decided to embrace it. Not the fighting, not shooting bad guys, but with a focus on how Superheroes help.

Our Superheroes have a few rules to follow, the biggest is that Superheroes HELP, not hurt.
In addition, our Superheroes follow these rules:
1. There is never any fighting, shooting or unwanted chasing of others. This goes against the not hurting rule, and unwanted chasing leads to "GET HIM!" and can be scary for the child being chased.
2. There are absolutely no weapons (toys or imaginary) allowed. Again, against the not hurting rule.
3. More than one person can be the same Superhero, just as no one is to be forced to play a role that they do not wish to have. This stops people form being excluded, especially since they all love the same Superheroes. We like to create new colors; for example, the red Ironman and the yellow Ironman.

Here is a link to the letter we sent home for our families.

When we play outside, students are encouraged to find ways to help others. Today Madisyn (aka Supergirl) asked teachers and peers how she could help them; she was able to find Mrs. Scapellati's lost car and fix it, get Ms. Perkowski and much needed strawberry blueberry chocolate ice cream, and sweep all of the sand back into the sandbox for safety.


We began our unit with a discussion about who helps our community of Bristol. Firefighters, police officers and nurses were a few; then we talked about how they help the community and what they look like. We've been building cities and using our community helper figures to role play helping in the community.

Next we began talking about Superheroes; who are they and what do they look like. Tomorrow we will add to our web by posing the question, "What does a Superhero do to help his or her community?"

Next we will talk about how Superheroes help their communities, how WE can help our community and what it really means to be a hero.

Update 7.13.2015
We really love to talk about Superheroes! We're discovering what it really means to be a hero and using it in our every day language. Here are some updates since the last post.

We had group discussions about Superheroes and how they help the community, what problems we have in our community and what we can do to help.

This morning teachers posed the question, "What is a hero?" and "How can we be heroes?" Students brainstormed answers; this is a chart we will be adding to over a long period of time!

Students looked at what Superheroes wore and they symbols on their clothing. Superman has his S, Batman has a bat and Spiderman has a spider. Each students imagined and described what they symbol would be, then created it on paper. They dictated to a teacher what made them a HERO.


But we're not finished just yet! Next week we may be exploring a different topic, but our discuss and learning about heroes and helping has just begun!



To see all of the pictures up to this point, click here!
Check back regularly for additional photos, information and ideas!

Butterflies

All of the classrooms at INELC grew butterflies again this year. Our classroom received our tub of baby caterpillars about two weeks ago and watched them form their chrysalises, hatch from the chrysalises and stretch their wings in our butterfly pavilions.

Earlier this week, we moved our butterflies outside to the butterfly tent to share the outdoor space with the butterflies of the other classrooms.

Check out our pictures here!

Motion

One thing we talked a lot about was motion. The pendulums fascinated them, but they were making observations about how all sorts of things moved. We needed to look at all the ways things could move and what better way than some messy art? This is an activity that you can easily do at home with a few simple materials. For the activity print out, click here.

Motion painting is such a simple concept; we decided to spice things up each day this week.

Monday: We just explored how it all worked. Students selected any color paint and either a golf ball or marble (for some interesting patterns).

Tuesday: We used only the primary colors. How did this change the paintings? What colors did they see that they didn't add in the beginning and why?

Wednesday: We talked about how objects can change direction when they collide with something. In our motion painting, we use another ball to demonstrate how things can bounce off each other.

Thursday: We explored using a golf ball and a marble together, one being larger than the other. Unfortunately I forgot the pictures for that one!

Friday: We used a much larger tray; students had to work together to get the ball to roll through the paint. This proved difficult for many. We reminded them that working together can mean talking to each other about what to do.

The next problem to solve was what to do with the paper. There were two artists and only one paper. Who took it home? What if they both wanted to take it home?


See all of the pictures from the activity this week here.


This activity was so popular, we decided to extend it even farther. We will be using non-round objects; what would happen if we put a square in the box? We will paint a picture instead of just dots; how will this change what the paint does and change your picture?
Check back for more pictures!

Pendulums

After a rousing success with our single, wrecking-ball type pendulum in the block center (See the previous post titled "Energy, Light and Motion" for more information and photos), we looked into a pendulum set.

We made observations and predictions about this picture of the pendulums before we watched the video.
"I notice that all the balls are white and they all have strings."
"I notice they're hanging from a thing."
"I notice that some strings are small and some are long."
"I think the balls will hit each other."

Here is a link to the video we watched on pendulum waves. This video was very interesting to the kids and got them thinking; can we make one of those? What would we need? How would we make it?

We looked a little closer at the picture.

We started a list.

We had some interesting answers when Mrs. Scapellati asked, "How are we going to get these things?"
It's a good thing we have string, tape, glue and tools in the classrooms already; I'm not sure what store to go to to buy money.


Update 6.22.2015
We began looking at and touching the materials to build the frame and pendulums. We discussed ways to construct it and how to keep it all together. We are continuing this over the week, check back on Friday for more!

Update 6.25.2015
We started construction of the pendulum set today. Over the last three days, students planned and experimented with how to put the materials together to create the pendulum set. Today we measured, sawed, drilled and glued. We learned how to use a power drill and what hook eyes were.

Some thing the students noticed and said about our materials:
"We have to make the frame first, or the balls won't hang."
"The screws have a twisty bottom to go into the balls"
"The pendulums won't be tall enough if we use the wood like this."
"The wood has a crack here, we should put glue in it."

Update 6.26.2015
We finished our construction today; gluing, hammering, measuring, tying, and drilling. After waiting all day for the glue to (mostly) dry, we were able to tie the strings on the balls and hang them.

The consensus: the pendulum doesn't work exactly like it did in the video, but it's crazy fun to play with and make! And THAT is all that matters to us!

To find all of our pictures, click here. (Newest pictures added at the bottom)




Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards in focus for this project:

Cognition: Curiosity and Initiative; Engagement with Environment, People and Objects; Eagerness to Learn; Cooperation with Peers in Learning Experiences; Cause and Effect; Problem Solving; Choosing and Planning; Cognitive Flexibility;

Personal and Social Development: Adult Relationships; Play/Friendship; Conflict Resolution

Physical Development and Health: Visual Motor Integration; Small Muscle Movement and Coordination

Early Language, Communication, and Literacy: Word Comprehension; Language Comprehension; Vocabulary; Expression of Ideas, Feelings and Needs; Conventions of Conversation; Language for Interaction; Drawing and Writing

Early Scientific Inquiry: Questioning and Defining Problems; Using Evidence; Design Cycle; Energy, Force and Motion; Matter and Its Properties

Social Studies: Individuals, Groups and Institutions; Production, Distribution and Consumption