April 10, 2018
April 10, 2018
Hello!
Here is some info for you about today, and about some of the activities the kids have said they enjoyed recently.
Thanks for reading and have a great night!
Anine : )
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Praying Mantises & Ladybugs…
Our praying mantis egg case and our ladybug larvae arrived late Monday afternoon! Today we moved the praying mantis egg case into it’s pretend tree inside a net house, we moved the ladybug larvae and their food into their Ladybug Land, we shared models representing the life cycle of a praying mantis, models representing the life cycle of a ladybug, and models of the butterfly and frog life cycle, too.
Science Activity: Magnification…
We have a fun science kit I got for us from Lakeshore Learning – a kit with supplies for six activities having to do with Magnification. The kids loved that. We looked through assorted magnifying tools at a mulberry leaf, a penny, a pinecone, our hands, a wasp, and a flower. I thought that would be a fun kit for this week, and we will likely want to use magnifying glasses again soon - while we observe our tiny ladybug larvae as they grow and change into adult ladybugs.
Fairy Garden…
We had our Fairy Garden supplies out one more time today. One friend was not here yesterday and we wanted to make sure that friend had a nice long turn to enjoy the supplies. Several other friends were excited about playing with the supplies again today so they got to do that, too. Today we added “alphabet” rocks to the mix, as well as “alphabet” beans!
Seeds & Plants…
We checked on our “forced” seed sprouts again, and today there are six of them that the kids got to see up close! We also brought our trays of seed cups over to the kitchen table after lunch and gave everyone a spray bottle to use to mist the seed cups. The kids loved that!
Thursday, Friday, Monday & Tuesday Favorite Activities…
Some of the things the kids have said they really liked these last few days were:
* Playing with cars and with the toy kitchen * painting with dot paints * working on our “What Plants Need” craft * playing with the Batman castles * playing with the “Reptiles” Toys * using our life-cycle-models of a praying mantises, butterflies and ladybugs * Dramatic Play – made up games called “Puppies”, “Farm”, “Babies”, “Rock Star”, “House”, “Princesses” * playing with the pirate ship toys * playing with Shark toys * When we moved the ladybug larvae and their food from their tiny shipping tube into their “Ladybug Land” * story time * watering seeds with spray bottles * playing “Seed, Seed Sprout!” * Pretending with all of the Fairy Garden supplies * playing a made-up game called ‘Package’ - one child said “Where you wrap up a package with the magnets!” (One friend created box-like structures out of small magnetic panels, and then filled them up with things like tiny princess figures and ‘Hello, Kitty’ figures) * playing with a sticker book * playing Ring Around the Rosie
Tuesday Meals…
Breakfast was Oikos vanilla Greek yogurt, fresh raspberries, whole wheat cinnamon-raisin toast/butter, diced Hormel maple sausage links, and milk.
Lunch was homemade goulash (seasoned ground beef, Barilla whole grain rotini pasta, Prego Three Cheese spaghetti sauce), steamed peas, fresh sliced strawberries, and milk.
Snack was animal crackers and apple juice.
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Links…
Praying Mantises:
https://www.insectlore.com/collections/insects-and-more-praying-mantises/products/pop-up-port-a-bug
Ladybugs:
Praying Mantis Life Cycle Models:
Ladybug Life Cycle Models:
Butterfly Life Cycle Models:
Frog Life Cycle Models:
Science Activity – Magnification:
Fairy Garden:
https://www.dollartree.com/enchanted-fairy-garden-collection/324209
https://www.dollartree.com/get-trendy-host-your-own-fairy-garden-party/idea-20170226
Alphabet Rocks:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/197384396150888098/
Alphabet Beans:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/197384396143542753/
Sharpie Paint Pens:
Sharpie Markers:
Toy Kitchen:
Dot Paints Rainbow Colors:
Dot Paints Brilliant Colors:
What Plants Need Activity: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ARh5PmF_dWjiiw0FmeGRvC7MJ9LUZwVZPLLgymQhEf3NzM15exoYW2o/
Spray Bottles:
Batman Castles:
This particular Batman castle may be discontinued, but you can likely find something comparable either secondhand, or new if you search for Fisher Price Imaginext Batcave. We’ve had good experiences with the Imaginext line of toys. They are sturdy, fun, and my preschoolers love them.
Reptile Toys:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094ZLZ6S2/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A2RNOIARUCRCKC&psc=1
Pirate Ship Toys:
This particular Pirate ship may be discontinued, but you can likely find something comparable either second hand, or new if you search for Fisher Price Imaginext Pirate Ship. We’ve had good experiences with this line of toys. They are sturdy, fun and my preschoolers love them. (*note – for classroom use I remove any tiny accessories as needed – any accessories that could pose a choking hazard, or any swords, etc that I might not want used during “school” time. The kids love the toys, even if a few of the tiny accessories have been set aside out of their sight.)
Shark Toys:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H3CFHR4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s02?ie=UTF8&th=1
Magna Tiles:
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