March 2011 Archives

Week 1
Elizabeth Lead Teaching

Overview

Our main goals this first week of spring session are to 1) settle back into a routine with the children after spring break and 2) introduce our new student teachers to the children and to our daily routine. Knowing that some of the children have traveled by airplane this break, we are providing airport play in the block area, while firefighter themes will provide some continuity with last session.

Expressive Arts

In the art area this week, we will continue to make our classroom gift for the Spring Soiree. 
**Materials: LPs, small found objects, glue.
Rationale: To provide a collaborative art experience. To promote social interaction and creative expression. To practice the process of gluing, collage-making, and three-dimensional art.
 Skills: Fine motor, creative expression, collaboration, social interaction, cause and effect, visual-spatial awareness

Sensory

**Materials: play dough, cooking utensils, cut-outs, ingredients 
Rationale: To provide a simple open ended setting for children and new student teachers to "check each other out." 

**Materials: water, scoops, large bottles and buckets
Rationale: To provide children the opportunity to play in a parallel fashion with water, while setting the stage for some cooperative projects (filling the large bottles with water.) 
Skills: Fine motor, problem solving, turn-taking, comparison, collaboration -shape vocabulary (round container, square container and hexagon container)

Science

**Materials: Variety of magnets of different sizes and strengths, clipboard and pen. 
Rationale: To allow exploration of the distinctive force of magnetism. To continue to promote recording of comments and observations. To explore making hypothesis and predictions. 
Skills: hypothesis, predictions, recording, observation, exploration, communication. Awareness that magnets attract on one side but repulse on opposite side. Trial and error (determining which objects connect with magnets and which don't.)

Dramatic Play

**Materials: Fire trucks, fire coats, hats and boots, cell phones, blocks, kitchen
Rationale: To continue to engage in firefighter play - and extend the dramas into the firehouse. Building on the children's increasing familiarity with the Ivan Ulz song/book, "Firetruck" we will have photos of some of the foods eaten at the fire station in that song. 
Skills: Communication, collaboration, role-play, symbolic representation 

**Materials: Airplanes, Airport, loose parts for runways, small symbolic play characters, Rationale: To connect with the experience of children who have traveled recently, to encourage information and play scenarios around travel and airports. 
Skills: Communication, collaboration, role-play, symbolic representation

Science/Dramatic Play
**Materials: woodland animals, natural materials. Rationale: provide the raw material for exploration of the themes of animal habitats as winter comes to a close. Skills: vocabulary (woodland animals, bears, beavers, hibernation, lair) awareness of change of seasons, storytelling, and creative symbolic representation (cave building materials)

Math and Manipulatives

**Materials: Rulers, height chart, large and small cutouts, different sized pieces of paper
Rationale: To promote awareness of size and measurement. 
Skills: rational thinking, number awareness, size awareness, communication

**Materials: cones labeled 1-4 with numbers and place holders, small wooden blocks to place on the appropriate squares. Rationale: To promote the mathematical concept of number correspondence with amount, one to one correspondence, ordering.
**Materials: large and small "pill shaped" tubes Rationale: Fine motor work, sorting and color matching. Skills: shape awareness, classification, fine motor
**Materials: Puzzles of airplanes, woodland animals, birds. Rationale: encourage part-whole thinking, visual discrimination and fine motor control while relating to classroom themes.
**Materials: Seriation Blocks, Skills: seriation, balance.
**Materials: Peg builders. Rationale: provide an early small material construction experience with pegs and boards which are easily connected. Skills: persistence, fine motor, hand strength, motor planning, creativity as well as following model and directions.

Language and Literacy

**Materials: Name cards, Books on spring, wind, magnets, new babies, toileting, alphabet, firefighters, and story books. 
Rationale: encourage pre-literacy skills, development of vocabulary relative to classroom theme areas and create awareness of letters by making new name cards for the student teachers and comparing them to our name cards. Skills: letter and name awareness. To facilitate discussion of print and word meanings. 
Skills: Literacy, communication, letter awareness, listening, turn-taking

Blocks

**Materials: large red brick blocks, small red brick blocks, unit blocks, fire trucks, airplanes, fire helmets, ladders
Rationale: To continue to promote the exploration and inquiry of fire fighters and airports. To provide opportunities to connect fireplay into the airport. 
Skills: Inquiry, symbolic representation, large and fine motor, creative expression

Large Motor

**Materials: climbing ladders, monkey bars, notch blocks, climber with donut slide, A-frame with ladder bridge Rationale: To provide more climbing challenges along with opportunities for risk taking. The notch blocks will allow the children to creatively build their own designs for motor challenges. Skills: climbing, upper and lower body strength, balance, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, depth perception, physical risk taking, construction skills

Large Group

**Materials: Books about spring, where animals sleep, airplane song, name cards with Bingo song ("There is a girl in our class and "Janie" is her name-O") Rationale: To begin discussing one of the central topics of the session, the change in seasons, to continue a familiar song from last session but support the connection to reading by visually charting some of the elements from the song. Letter and name awareness. Skills: Sequencing, turn-taking, follow directions, communication, listening, attention span

Music/Movement

**Materials: new drums, maracas, piano, sandpaper blocks, movement ribbons and scarves
Rationale: To promote sound experimentation by exploring different instruments. To experiment with volume and tone. To connect sound to the sense of hearing. To encourage movement to music and promote dance as a form of creative expression. 
Skills: imitation, communication, sense awareness, creative expression, beat and tone awareness

Snacks: Spring break has challenged our communication systems - trust us that there will be something yummy and healthy served!

We would love to see a photo or two of any adventures you and your child had over spring break - travel related, or just hanging around the house. Bringing in a photo can help a child ease the transition to coming back after break - if your camera wasn't part of your adventure - please feel free to draw a simple "picture" of something that was special to your child during the break - it will provide a nice "ice breaker" for your child and the new student teachers.

Please help us fill the Soiree baskets from the 2-3 year old classrooms - the baby shower basket and the "tea drinkers" basket could both use a little help. And don't forget to get a babysitter for April 9th- it's a wonderful event to build community and support our family scholarship program.

We had a large number of corks used during the winter session (and if you come to the Spring Soiree, you will see the results of one of the projects.) As a result, we are OUT OF CORKS! These versatile little objects are very popular for many things - so if you are saving corks at home, please bring them in, or start a little cup in your kitchen and start saving them. Many thanks for your help.

Our Spring Music Together Class will begin shortly. Two classes are scheduled to start the week of April 4th and new families are welcome to try the class for a week or two before making a decision. The days will continue to be Monday afternoon and Thursday mornings. Monday's afternoon class is set up to work for families who attend the morning 5 day session (Ross or Amy's classes) children in either of Ayuko's classes, or younger siblings of children who are in the pm program (Dalia or Lisa's classes) The class runs from 12:45pm to 1:30pm which is enough time to pick up your morning program child at 11:30am and either have a lunch at a Dinkytown restaurant or bring a picnic lunch to the gathering space at the Newman Center, a few blocks away in Dinkytown. There is ample free parking in the Newman Center parking lot. Meanwhile, parents who drop a child off at the afternoon Lab School session at 12:30pm could easily arrive with a younger sibling, enjoy the Music Class and still have a little time to have a snack in the gathering space (or a trip to the Dinkytown Library) before picking up your child at 3:30pm.

Thursday's morning class from 10:00am to 10:45am is geared for children who attend the pm Lab School class (Dalia and Lisa) or the children in Ayuko's two day class. Parents with older siblings in Ross's or Amy's class have also made the class work by dropping off their older child at Lab School and then making their way over to the Newman Center with the younger brother/sister at 10:00am. Families in Dalia's and Lisa's class currently bring a picnic lunch and eat in the comfortable gathering space (where there are tables, a microwave and sink) and then make their way to the Lab School by 12:30pm.

Frances singing with 4th grade children in Santa Cruz, Brazil, Sept/10

The music is fun and structured in a way that allows children to interact at their developmental level. Parents have commented that they have witnessed their children use the music in a variety of ways at home. Parents (or grandparents or a care giver) have also participated regularly in the class.

Families who are considering the class and curious to see if the timing and "picnicking" works for them are encouraged to try a class during the first two weeks to see if it fits into their schedule. I hope you'll check it out! Sometimes the only way to know if an additional activity during the day is right for you and your family is to give it a try. Likewise, you may wish to see how your child responds to the experience of the class before making a commitment. I'd be happy to talk with you about your questions or concerns about the experience or connect you with some families who are currently in the class. Musical learning supports all learning for children and also provides a wonderful connection point for families. For more information on the Music Together program and philosophy, see the Music Together website.

See the following link to see a copy of the flyer and signup form for the class. Happy Spring!

MT-2.spring.maracas.flyer.doc

Weekly Lesson Plan For Ross' Class
Week of: 3/28/11 -- 4/1/11
Lead Teaching This Week: Ross

Overview: Welcome back everyone! Spring is here (well, it was for a little bit but it will be back soon, I know it!), and I hope you enjoyed some of the beautiful days we had over break. We will be picking up where we left off before break: supporting elaborate and collaborative child-directed socio-dramatic play as well as inviting children to join in more teacher-directed (academically focused) games and activities. Intentional, thought-provoking questions will be asked to challenge the children's thinking and require them to critically synthesize ways to answer the questions posed by the teachers. This will support their ever-growing creativity as well as promote a strong, intentional focus on learning/exploring as we work towards the end of the school year.

Expressive Art (paint, collage, clay)
• Materials: Art table: pencils, pens, ultra-fine tip markers, various natural/ "beautiful" materials for collage (acorns, seedpods, twigs, etc.), beads, tiles, boxes, markers, crayons, glue, tape
Clay table: clay, thick wire, tools for carving/sculpting, wet sponges, sculpting "accessories" (e.g. wood beads, glass gems, bottle caps)
• Rationale: New and intriguing materials will be available at the art table to re-inspire the children as they visit the area and begin creating new "masterpieces." As the children (and new student teachers) get back into the rhythm of the daily schedule, we will begin a deeper exploration of line(s) and representational drawing. Many of the children were excited to create representation art during the winter session, and we will begin exploring how to draw specific figures; fostering the intentionality/planning that comes with more representational art. At the clay table, we will continue our exploration of using the wire as a "skeleton" to help larger sculptures hold their intended shape. Towards the end of the winter session, the children became very interested in figuring out how to utilize the wire with their sculptures. To support/revisit their thinking, the teachers will lead sculpting "classes;" scaffolding the children's understanding of how to using the wire and tools with greater intention.
• Skills: fine motor strength/coordination, creative/artistic expression, critical thinking/planning skills, social skills, artistic concepts/vocabulary related to drawing (i.e. thick vs. thin lines, straight vs. wavy lines, etc.)

Sensory (water/bubble table)
• Materials: water, bubbles, whisks, rotary egg beaters, measuring cups/pitchers, mixing bowls
• Rationale: On the final day before break, we invited the children to help wash the paint-covered drying racks and paint cups - turns out they loved it! They were most thrilled with have the soap/bubbles in the water table. To start the spring session we will have a "bubble table" in the sensory area, and explore/compare the properties of soapy water to "regular" water. We will also invite the children to investigate and try to figure out the best way(s) to make the most/biggest/roundest/tiniest bubbles possible!
• Skills: knowledge/understanding related to the physical properties of water/bubbles, scientific thinking, hypothesis creating/testing, negotiation, cooperative/collaborative conversations, problem solving, sensory experience

Math and Manipulatives
• Materials: shape matching game Perfection, pre-/early-literacy game Boggle Jr., shape/spatial awareness game Blokus, new puzzles
• Rationale: Before break, we introduced the Memory game at the math table and it was an instant hit for many! Not only was it a fun game, it led to a great introduction to playing games with rules; which will be part of our focus at the math table this session. We will challenge the children's conceptual knowledge related to shapes, patterning, counting, numeral recognition, and 1-to-1 correspondence by using various games with rules which will add an additional level of executive function support. We want to help support the development of self regulation/self control, and these games will be great for that! They will create many opportunities to practice waiting and/or taking turns with a peer as well as allow for many chances to talk directly with one another about how to play the game!
• Skills: shape recognition/matching, spatial awareness, 1-to-1 correspondence, counting, numeral awareness, social skills, executive functioning (i.e. waiting of a turn/impulse control)

Science
• Materials: at the table: various seeds, tweezers, sorting try
in the cave: multi link cubes for plant/flower making
• Rationale: With spring almost here, our primary investigation/exploration at the science table will be related to plants and their life cycles. We will look at how plants grow, what plants need in order to survive, as well as learn about the responsibilities of taking care of plants as we begin growing our own plants. This will take place over the course of the session, however to build the awareness of plants and growing, we will first investigate seeds and talk about how plants come from seeds. We will also head outside and search for any signs of growing plants to fuel our discussions.
• Skills: fostering knowledge of plants and life cycles, scientific thinking/reasoning, social skills, hypothesis creating/testing, focusing/exploring the transitional changes that accompany the changing of the seasons

The "Nook" (the room behind the art area)
• Materials: Projector, wire of various thickness, objects that cast an interestingly shaped shadow
• Rationale: We are stepping away from the exploration of color and light and exploring the world of light and shadow in the Nook. With the addition of the book Shadow (where a child begins to see her world change as her shadows came "alive"), we will invite the children to look at the shadows that different objects cast and begin thinking about how the shadow may be able to "transform" into something different!
• Skills: Creativity/imagination, concepts related to light and shadow, symbolic representation, storytelling

Language and Literacy
• Materials: writing supplies (lined/unlined paper, markers, pencils, pens), envelops, alphabet book, alphabet stamps, mailboxes, tape, stamps, stickers
• Rationale: We will continue focusing on how to write letters (being sure to include the "to" and "from" portions on all letters and packages), as well as look at rekindling the interest in writing messages/letters to Amy's class. We will focus heavily on the learning/recognizing the letters of the alphabet as the children write their names/responses for the "Question of the Day," as well as when labeling art/writing messages throughout the classroom.
• Skills: letter recognition and awareness, pre-/early-literacy skills, awareness of writing/concepts of print, fine-motor strength/coordination

Dramatic Play
• Materials: post office props and writing supplies, mail carrying bags/shirts/hats, boxes, package/envelop hampers, stamps, shipping envelopes
• Rationale: The post office will continue to be open for business as it was a very popular spot last session. We will continue to remind children about the process of sending letters and packages - specifically thinking about who the letter/package is TO: and who it is FROM:, and being sure to add the correct labels (names and/or pictures). If you having any interesting mail-related stories from break (i.e. interesting packages delivered to the home, conversations with any postal carriers, or anything else), please send them along as they may make great extensions for our post office! The real-life experiences of the children are the best catalysts for new/exciting ideas.
• Skills: connections to real-life experience ("making sense of the world"), strengthening home-school connection, creativity/imagination, numerous social skills (e.g. negotiation, compromise, conflict resolution, collaboration, etc.)

Blocks
• Materials: large hollow blocks, unit blocks, peg people, long/short planks, wood cubes
• Rationale: The hollow blocks continue to be a integral prop for many of the dramatic play stories taking place in the back of the room. However, for the beginning of the spring session, we will highlight the smaller unit blocks by adding some new blocks and props to pique the interests of the children. We are hoping the new additions will inspire new, elaborate creations using the smaller blocks, and lead to involved stories related to the structures. Teachers will be in the area to help facilitate the stories as well as grab any additional props.
• Skills: large-motor strength and coordination, fine-motor skills, social skills (including collaboration, communicating, and negotiating), creativity, symbolic representation, concepts of balance and stability

Large Motor
• Materials: in the gym: climbing ladders, monkey bars, notch blocks, climber with donut slide, A-frame with ladder bridge
on the playground: SNOW, buckets, snow shovels, scoops, and the sledding hill (possibly reopening the "penguin slide" where children
can slide on their tummies with the assistance of a teacher)
• Rationale: We will be going back to a simpler gym set up for the first week as everyone gets acclimated to the daily schedule. The climbing wall, ladders, and A-frame bridge will be available to provide more climbing challenges along with opportunities for safe risk taking. The notch blocks will allow the children to creatively build their own designs for motor challenges.
• Skills: climbing, upper and lower body strength, balance, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, depth perception, physical risk taking, construction skills

Special Interest/Announcements
- Please stop in and say hello to our new student teachers when you get a chance! Cara, Jessica, and Jocelyn are very excited to start their experience as well as meet all of you.
-The playground is going to be mucky and wet for a while - PLEASE be sure to send your child's winter weather gear every day. It will also be vital to have a change of clothes in your child's cubby. We will do our best to not over-work your washer and drier, however the thaw between the seasons makes it pretty wet out there!
- With the growing interest of parents coming in/helping out in the class room, I am initiating a "parent volunteer" sign-up sheet that will be posted on the door. Every Friday, we will invite a family to join us in the room to do something special. Now, that can be as little as reading a favorite book from home at large group or could be more involved by leading an activity with the children (i.e. cooking experience, art activity related to something happening in the room, playing an instrument/singing some songs during group, sharing a hobby interest...connect with Ross to discuss/brainstorm ideas if you're interested). This is entirely volunteer and meant to be fun...not stressful! If you do sign up on the sheet, please talk with Ross before coming into the room to discuss what you would like to do with the children. As always, parents are always welcome to join us for large group and sing along with the class!
- We've still got one week to add to our "Night on the Town" soiree basket. Please drop off on contributions in the basket located outside our classroom. They are due by April 1st so we can have the basket ready for the soiree on Saturday, April 9. Don't forget to schedule the babysitter so you can make it to the soiree!

Snack
Monday: Pretzels
Tuesday: Granola bits
Wednesday: Animal crackers and carrots
Thursday: Wheat crackers and apples
Friday: Birthday snack (from Andreas)
* All snacks served with milk and water unless otherwise noted *

Overview
Welcome back to school! The main focus for the first week back will be on building relationships with the new student teachers Kaila, Brianne, and Kim.

We will also begin the process of teaching the children the elements of art by starting with drawing lines. We will encourage the children not only to draw a variety of lines but also search for them in the environment and in the artwork of others. From there we will progress to combining lines to make shapes and symbols.

The Rock Group from last session sparked the curiosity of many other children in the class. Since this topic has such potential and depth, the Rock Group and I have decided to bring it into the classroom science center. The "experts" will help teach the other children what they know about rocks and new questions will also be explored.

With spring in the air, our life cycle curriculum and focus on transformation will really come alive. Over the next ten weeks we will develop the topics of seasonal cycles, plant, and insect life cycles.

The mathematical concept of symmetry will be addressed throughout the classroom with particular focus in the block area.

Expressive Arts
-Materials: thin and thick markers, crayons, colored pencils, tape, staplers, glue sticks, paper punchers and construction paper
-Rationale: To enhance the children's understanding of the artistic element of line by drawing thin, thick, straight, curved and zig-zag lines.
-Skills: self-expression, creative expression, fine motor strength and control in hand and finger muscles.

Sensory
-Materials: fine sand, small scoops, bottles, cups and funnels
-Rationale: To explore conservation concepts and contribute to the children's understanding of measuring volume.
-Skills: sensory stimulation, knowledge of physical properties, volume, conservation, fine motor coordination, pouring skills

Science
-Materials: a variety of rocks with sorting trays, tadpole, fish, mealworms, magnifying glasses, data collection clipboards
-Rationale: To give the children an opportunity to focus on the properties of rocks by studying size, shape, color, and texture as they sort them.
-Skills: scientific inquiry, observation, comparison, first-hand exploration, physical science, conceptual knowledge-knowledge of the natural world, descriptive language.

Language and Literacy
-Materials: letter tiles, mailboxes, envelopes, organizer with children's names, an assortment of writing materials such as pens, pencils, markers, paper, tape, stickers, staplers, letter of the week "R" materials, a variety of fiction and non-fiction books.
-Rationale: We will incorporate the concept of symmetry by encouraging the children to search for letters that are symmetrical using the letter tiles. We will also discuss the letter R, the sound it makes, words that begin with this letter, and practice writing.
-Skills: fine motor, communication through writing/dictation, awareness of symbol systems, expansion of vocabulary, expression of thought, effective social interaction, letter recognition

Math and Manipulatives
-Materials: magnet board with geometric shapes and axis line, mosaic pattern blocks, symmetrical interlocking puzzles, mirrors, Construx builders, legos , light table and gems on top of the loft.
-Rationale: The geometric shapes and mosaic pattern blocks are conducive to teaching/learning symmetry and also allow for hands-on exploration of this concept. We will also support creative expression and construction skills through the building materials provided.
-Skills: geometry, spatial skills, patterns, symmetry, reasoning, problem solving, logical thinking, fine motor, construction skills.

Dramatic Play
-Materials: kitchen table and props, small plastic animals and woodland cave.
-Rationale: The symbolic cave is available with small plastic animals, fabric, and wood pieces for the children to use as they represent the changes they see in the outdoor environment and animal behavior.
-Skills: Role-play, symbolic play, peer interactions, social skills, social problem solving, sharing, symbolic representation, receptive language, listening skills, cooperation.

Blocks
-Materials: Unit blocks, hollow blocks, thin boards, cove molding, clipboards, variety of small wood shapes.
-Rationale: We will use the blocks to model symmetrical structures and encourage the children to find the line of symmetry. We will also support them as they create their own symmetrical structures.
-Skills: creative building, problem-solving, spatial skills, geometry, symmetry, symbolic representation, manual dexterity, upper body strength, group cooperation, listening skills.

Large Motor
Gym
-Materials: climbing ladders, monkey bars, notch blocks, climber with donut slide, A-frame with ladder bridge
-Rationale: To provide more climbing challenges along with opportunities for risk taking. The notch blocks will allow the children to creatively build their own designs for motor challenges.
-Skills: climbing, upper and lower body strength, balance, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, depth perception, physical risk taking, construction skills
Playground
-Materials: shovels, buckets, bikes (hopefully!)
-Rationale: The children will enjoy exploring the playground free of most of the deep snow.
-Skills: cardio vascular endurance, upper and lower body strength, social skills, balance, movement through space.

Snack
Monday - Animal crackers & milk
Tuesday - Granola bars & milk
Wednesday - Apples & graham crackers
Thursday - Pretzels & carrots
Friday- Popcorn & milk

Overview
 Our main goals this first week of spring session are 1) settle back into a routine with the children after spring break and 2) introduce our new student teachers to the children and to our daily routine. Knowing that some of the children have traveled by airplane this break, we are providing airport play in the block area, while firefighter themes will provide some continuity with last session.

Expressive Arts 
In the art area this week, we will continue to make our classroom gift for the Spring Soiree. 
**Materials: LPs, small found objects, glue.
Rationale: To provide a collaborative art experience. To promote social interaction and creative expression. To practice the process of gluing, collage-making, and three-dimensional art.
 Skills: Fine motor, creative expression, collaboration, social interaction, cause and effect, visual-spatial awareness

Sensory
**Materials: play dough, cooking utensils, cut-outs, ingredients 
Rationale: To provide a simple open ended setting for children and new student teachers to "check each other out." 
**Materials: water, scoops, large bottles and buckets
Rationale: To provide children the opportunity to play in a parallel fashion with water, while setting the stage for some cooperative projects (filling the large bottles with water.) 
Skills: Fine motor, problem solving, turn-taking, comparison, collaboration -shape vocabulary (round container, square container and hexagon container)

Science
**Materials: Variety of magnets of different sizes and strengths, clipboard and pen. 
Rationale: To allow exploration of the distinctive force of magnetism. To continue to promote recording of comments and observations. To explore making hypothesis and predictions. 
Skills: hypothesis, predictions, recording, observation, exploration, communication. Awareness that magnets attract on one side but repulse on opposite side. Trail and error (determining which objects connect with magnets and which don't.)

Dramatic Play
**Materials: Fire trucks, fire coats, hats and boots, cell phones, blocks, kitchen
Rationale: To continue to engage in firefighter play - and extend the dramas into the firehouse. Building on the children's increasing familiarity with the Ivan Ulz song/book, "Firetruck" we will have photos of some of the foods eaten at the fire station in that song. 
Skills: Communication, collaboration, role-play, symbolic representation

**Materials: Airplanes, Airport, loose parts for runways, small symbolic play characters, Rationale: To connect with the experience of children who have traveled recently, to encourage information and play scenarios around travel and airports. 
Skills: Communication, collaboration, role-play, symbolic representation

Science/Dramatic Play **Materials: woodland animals, natural materials. Rationale: provide the raw material for exploration of the themes of animal habitats as winter comes to a close. Skills: vocabulary (woodland animals, bears, beavers, hibernation, lair) awareness of change of seasons, storytelling, and creative symbolic representation (cave building materials)

Math and Manipulatives
**Materials: Rulers, height chart, large and small cutouts, different sized pieces of paper
Rationale: To promote awareness of size and measurement. 
Skills: rational thinking, number awareness, size awareness, communication


**Materials: cones labeled 1-4 with numbers and place holders, small wooden blocks to place on the appropriate squares. Rationale: To promote the mathematical concept of number correspondence with amount, one to one correspondence, ordering. Materials: large and small "pill shaped" Rationale: Fine motor work, sorting and color matching. Skills: shape awareness, classification, fine motor

**Materials: Puzzles of airplanes, woodland animals, birds. Rationale: encourage part whole thinking, visual discrimination and fine motor control while relating to classroom themes. **Materials: Seriation Blocks, Skills: seriation, balance.

**Materials: Peg builders. Rationale: provide an early small material construction experience with pegs and boards which are easily connected. Skills: persistence, fine motor, hand strength, motor planning, creativity as well as following model and directions.

Language and Literacy
**Materials: Name cards, Books on spring, wind, magnets, new babies, toileting, alphabet, firefighters, and story books. 
Rationale: encourage pre-literacy skills, development of vocabulary relative to classroom theme areas and create awareness of letters by making new name cards for the student teachers and comparing them to our namecards. Skills: letter and name awareness. To facilitate discussion of print and word meanings. 
Skills: Literacy, communication, letter awareness, listening, turn-taking

Blocks
**Materials: large red brick blocks, small red brick blocks, unit blocks, fire trucks, airplanes, fire helmets, ladders
Rationale: To continue to promote the exploration and inquiry of fire fighters and airports. To provide opportunities to connect fireplay into the airport. 
Skills: Inquiry, symbolic representation, large and fine motor, creative expression

Large Motor
**Materials: New gym arrangement being developed by Lisa's class - watch for more info.

Large Group
**Materials: Books about spring, where animals sleep, Firetruck song and chart with symbols of fire related tools and food from song, name cards with Bingo song ("There is a girl in our class and "Janie" is her name-O") Rationale: To begin discussing one of the central topics of the session, the change in seasons, to continue a familiar song from last session but support the connection to reading by visually charting some of the elements from the song. Letter and name awareness. Skills: Sequencing, turn-taking, follow directions, communication, listening, attention span

Music/Movement
**Materials: new drums, maracas, piano, sandpaper blocks, movement ribbons and scarves
Rationale: To promote sound experimentation by exploring different instruments. To experiment with volume and tone. To connect sound to the sense of hearing. To encourage movement to music and promote dance as a form of creative expression. 
Skills: imitation, communication, sense awareness, creative expression, beat and tone awareness

Snacks: Spring break has challenged our communication systems - trust us that there will be something yummy and healthy served!

Miscellaneous:

We would love to see a photo or two of any adventures you and your child had over spring break - travel related, or just hanging around the house. Bringing in a photo can help a child ease the transition to coming back after break - if your camera wasn't part of your adventure - please feel free to draw a simple "picture" of something that was special to your child during the break - it will provide a nice "ice breaker" for your child and the new student teachers.

Please help us fill the Soiree baskets from the 2-3 year old classrooms - the baby shower basket and the "tea drinkers" basket could both use a little help. And don't forget to get a babysitter for April 9th- it's a wonderful event to build community and support our family scholarship program.

*This schedule does not include Small Groups, which will start during week 4 or 5 of this session.

11:45-12:30 Teacher Preparation of Environment and Discussion
12:30-12:55 Children's Arrival and Discovery Time
As children arrive at school they are greeted by a teacher and accompanied to the classroom where they put their belongings away and wash their hands. The children are then able to freely explore the front half of the classroom, which includes the art center, sensory table, science center, library, writing center, dramatic play, caves, clay, and manipulatives.
12:55-1:10 Large Group
The whole class comes together to share music, movement, literature, and puppets. We will also discuss any new information pertaining to classroom interests, activities, or projects.
1:10-2:05 Activity Time and Clean Up
Children are free to play in the learning centers throughout the room, engage in specific activities, and interact with peers. Teachers observe, facilitate, and support children's play and development during this time.
2:05-2:20 Gym Time/Large Motor Time
Children participate in both self- and teacher-directed activities that challenge their muscle strength, balance, coordination, and risk taking abilities.
2:20-2:40 Handwashing and Whole Group Snack
Children talk with each other and with teachers while enjoying a small snack. Teachers will take notice of interests, and will also facilitate conversations about current topics/themes and upcoming events.
2:40-3:15 Dress for Outdoor Play and Outdoor Play on the Playground
Children are encouraged to freely explore the playground and participate in group games and activities. The outdoor environment is intentionally set up to incorporate the children's play preferences while providing motor challenges.
3:15-3:30 Pick-up and End of Day Story Reading
Children from both afternoon classes with gather on the courtyard to play teacher-facilitated games, read stories, and sing songs until parents/families arrive. On rainy days, the children will assemble in the hallway just outside the classroom and will be brought to their cars for departure.
3:30-5:00 Teacher Clean Up and Discussion

Overview: Welcome back to school families! And Happy Spring! I hope you all enjoyed the break with your families. This first week back to school we will focus on building relationships with our new student teachers Brittany, Elizabeth, and Hamdi. Now that spring is here, we will introduce plant cycles and re-examine the concepts of life and seasonal cycles. As we investigate plants and grow our own, we will discover how plants grow and what they need to survive. The student teachers are excited get started on these and other new topics and activities in the classroom.

Expressive Arts (paint, collage, clay)
•Materials: primary colors (blue, red, yellow) at the easel, natural materials for collage, markers, crayons, colored pencils, scissors
•Rationale: to explore with hands and tools to promote sensory awareness, increase fine motor skills, and foster social relationships as children observe and work together with their peers
•Skills: fine motor development (strength, coordination), creativity, symbolic representation, sensory input, color recognition
•Materials: clay, hammers, clay knives, toothpicks, craft sticks
•Rationale: to promote sensory awareness and provide both a creative and social opportunity for children as they increase their fine motor skills. Children can also save their clay creations and work on them over a period of several days to create a permanent art object.
•Skills: sensory input, symbolic representation, observation, sharing materials, and fine motor development (strength, coordination)
Sensory (water, bubbles)
•Materials: water, soap/bubbles, rotary egg beaters, whisks, measuring pitchers, mixing bowls
•Rationale: the children were very interested in adding soap to the water table that was introduced last session. We will expand on this interest as we explore the properties of soapy water...and find many ways to make bubbles of all shapes and sizes!
•Skills: making predictions, knowledge of physical properties, sensory input, creative thinking, dramatic play, building social relationships, sharing materials
Science
•Materials: at the table: assorted seeds, pictures of plants and flowers, tweezers, sorting tray, books on seeds and plants
in the cave: multi-link cubes for plant and flower making
•Rationale: to build awareness of plants and growing by introducing seed investigation and discovery. We will examine the properties of seeds, focusing on size, color, texture, and shape.
•Skills: observation, scientific investigation and inquiry, comparison, sorting, descriptive language, exploring transitional changes, investigation of the natural world
•Materials: overhead projector: solid shapes (geometrical shapes, wire of varying thicknesses) for shadow making, a large white sheet for projecting, books on shadows and light
•Rationale: to deepen our exploration of shadow shapes to shadow transformation, and to extend our learning about the different shadows that objects cast
•Skills: observing size and shapes, critical thinking skills, observation of the properties of light, creativity, symbolic representation
Dramatic Play
•Materials: post office station props (large mailbox, mailbags, postal service uniforms, packages and letters to deliver, stamps), writing supplies (paper, envelopes, alphabet stampers, markers, pictures of students), housekeeping materials (furniture, dishes, food), dress-up fabric, shoes, accessories such as keys and cell phones, baby care items
•Rationale: to continue supporting the children's interest in the mail delivery process (especially after our field trip to the post office) while promoting social interaction and the expression of inventive ideas
•Skills: creative role-play, making connections to real-life experiences, strengthening home-school connections, peer interaction, social problem solving, symbolic representation, literacy
Math and Manipulatives
•Materials: Blokus, Boggle Jr., Perfection, interlocking puzzles
•Rationale: to introduce children to games with rules that are related to print awareness, numeral recognition, and knowledge of shapes, while continuing to provide puzzles to increase skills of one-to-one correspondence
•Skills: print awareness, numeral awareness, shape recognition and matching, spatial awareness, one-to-one correspondence, turn-taking, social skills
Language and Literacy
Writing Center
•Materials: a large mailbox, individual mail "slots" for each child, pictures of children in the classroom, picture/name cards, alphabet stamps, a variety of writing utensils, paper, envelopes, stickers, staplers, tape
•Rationale: we will focus on print awareness as we involve and encourage children in the letter writing process; we will provide children with the tools needed to draw and write their own letters to deliver throughout the classroom
•Skills: awareness of print, connecting speech to print and print to speech, letter recognition, pre-writing, receptive language, fine motor, creative expression, social interaction, awareness of others, community building
Library
•Materials: familiar favorites along with new books about seeds, spring, and mail delivery
•Rationale: to support pre-literacy skills, to familiarize children with new books, and to allow for quiet time in the classroom. We will also begin discussions on using books as informational resources.
•Skills: receptive language, early literacy, awareness of print, listening, community building
Blocks
•Materials: large hollow blocks, unit blocks, multi-colored blocks, steering wheels, paper and pencils, books about mail delivery, post office/mail delivery props such as packages and delivery mail bins
•Rationale: to foster current dramatic play themes, to encourage planful and purposeful approaches to building, to support children's creative and problem solving skills, and to allow for opportunities for social interaction as children collaborate and build together
•Skills: large motor development, dramatic play, creating imaginary scenarios, symbolic representation, cooperative play, problem solving, mathematical
Large Motor
Gym
•Materials: climbing ladders, monkey bars, notch blocks, climber with donut slide, A-frame with ladder bridge
•Rationale: to provide more climbing challenges along with opportunities for risk taking. The notch blocks will allow the children to creatively build their own designs for motor challenges.
•Skills: climbing, upper and lower body strength, balance, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, depth perception, physical risk taking, construction skills
Playground
•Materials: shovels, scoops, buckets, dishes for dramatic play
•Rationale: to support basic motor skills, and to promote social interaction and role play as children use dishes and tools for scooping and manipulation
•Skills: upper and lower body development, physical fitness, perceptual motor skills (spatial, temporal, directional, and body awareness), social skills
Special Interest
Large Group Meeting--we will welcome everyone back from break and share some of the things that we have done. This time together will emphasize togetherness and foster the building of classroom community as we get acquainted with our new student teachers, Brittany, Elizabeth, and Hamdi.
Snack
Monday: Pretzels
Wednesday: Granola bits
Thursday: Mandarin oranges & wheat crackers
**All snacks are served with milk and water unless otherwise noted

Mondays
11:45-12:30 teachers meeting, environment preparation
12:30-1:50 gym
1:00-1:25 explore time
1:25-1:40 large group
1:40-2:25 choice time
2:25-2:35 clean up and washing hands
2:35-2:50 snack
2:50-3:15 get ready and outdoors
3:15-3:30 pick up and good byes
3:30-5:00 teachers clean up, reflections and discussion

Wednesdays
11:45-12:30 teachers meeting, environment preparation
12:30-1:00 explore time
1:00-1:20 large group
1:20-2:20 choice time
2:20-2:30 clean up and washing hands
2:30-2:45 snack
2:45-3:15 get ready and outdoors
3:15-3:30 pick up and good byes
3:30-5:00 teachers clean up, reflections and discussion-planning meeting

Thursdays
11:45-12:30 teachers meeting, environment preparation
12:30-1:20 explore/ cooking activity
1:20-1:40 large group
1:40-2:20 choice time
2:20-2:30 clean up and wash hands
2:30-2:45 snack
2:45-3:15 get ready and outdoors
3:15-3:30 pick up and good byes
3:30-5:30 teachers clean up, reflections and discussion-classroom set up

Overview
Welcome back to school everyone and Happy Spring! I hope you all had a relaxing break.
We will start this session by getting acquainted with our new student teachers, Amanda, Courtney, and Heather. Although there are several wonderful activities and topics to explore in the classroom there are three major themes that are threaded through all of them. This session we will explore the artistic concepts of lines and shapes; we will investigate the qualities of symmetry and will observe and witness the renewal that spring brings with it!

Expressive Arts
-Materials: thin and thick markers, crayons, colored pencils, tape, staplers, glue sticks, construction paper, paper punchers.
-Rationale: To spark children's awareness of the artistic element of line; thin and thick lines, zigzag lines, curvy lines, etc.
-Skills: awareness and beginning exploring of lines and shapes, observation, fine motor strength and control, self-expression.
Sensory
-Materials: sensory table filled with fine sand, small scoops and spoons, bottles and funnels.
-Rationale: To build awareness of the concept of conservation and volume.
-Skills: sensory stimulation, free exploration of sand, conservation, volume, fine motor coordination, social interactions.
Science
-Materials: rocks, magnifying glasses, books about rocks, sorting trays, clipboards, pencils, mealworms, tadpole, fish.
-Rationale: To encourage children's observation and examination of the properties of rocks, such as size, color, texture, and shape.
-Skills: scientific inquiry, observation, comparison, reasoning, investigation of the natural world and exploration, peer interactions, sorting, descriptive language, self-expression (journal entries).
Language and Literacy

-Materials: books about owls, spring, birds, and plants. Letter tiles, pens, pencils, markers, staplers, tape, paper, envelopes, and stencils.
-Rationale: we will focus on print awareness and incorporation of the concept of symmetry by exploring alphabet letters that show symmetry as well as words that display this quality. We will continue to encourage talking, writing, and using books as informational resources. 

-Skills: awareness of print, awareness of print that displays symmetry, self-expression through talking, writing, drawing, awareness of the purpose of print and letter recognition, phonemic awareness, and connecting speech to print and print to speech, fine motor, vocabulary, social interactions.
Math and Manipulatives

Our focus the next several weeks will be on symmetry.
-Materials: variety of interlocking puzzles, mosaic pattern blocks, magnet board and geometric shapes, mirrors, light table and gems on top of the loft. Legos and Cosntrux builders.
-Rationale: To provide opportunities to become aware and explore the quality of symmetry. To offer opportunities for creative expression through building.
-Skills: geometry, symmetry, patterns, reasoning, observation, classification, sorting, comparison, matching, logical thinking. Creative building, creative expression, fine motor strength and dexterity.
Dramatic Play
- Materials: kitchen furniture, vegetables, fruit.
-Rationale: To begin to explore spring and the changes it brings through symbolic play. Offer opportunities for creative play and expression as well as social play and cooperation.
-Skills: role-play, peer interactions, social problem solving, cooperation, symbolic representation.
Blocks 

-Materials: hollow blocks, unit blocks, thin boards, clipboards, and additional wood shapes.
-Rationale: To provide opportunities for creative play in general and creative building in particular. Our focus these next weeks will be on symmetry. 


-Skills: creative building, spatial awareness, symmetry, large motor skills, balance, directional awareness, symbolic representation, and social interaction skills.
Large Motor
Gym- new basic gym set-up for the first week back to school.
Playground-
Explore our snow free playground!
Become reacquainted with our snow free playground. Depending on its conditions we will be able to use some of our equipment on the sidewalks. Monkey bars, tricycles, cars, wagons, shovels and buckets.
-Skills: upper and lower body strength, cardiovascular endurance, coordination.
Special interest
Large Group


Welcoming everyone back from spring break and sharing some of the things we've done.
Build classroom awareness of lines and shapes: different kinds and uses.
Classroom awareness of symmetry.
Field trip
We will visit the Como Conservatory on Wednesday, April 13th. More details on the way.

See you all very soon,

Dalia

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3.1 blocks.ppt

Overview
This week we will be focusing on our goodbyes and the transition to our two week break! We have begun to discuss Kari and Sarah moving on to new schools and have started making our goodbye present for them. The children have expressed that they will miss our student teachers but are looking forward to meeting the new teachers who have been dropping by. We will have our goodbye snacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, and invite parents to join us in thanking our student teachers at snack time, around 10:15. Our curriculum will stay very similar this week in order to ease the transition into break.

Expressive Arts
In the art area this week, we will be making our gifts for our student teachers and our classroom gift for the Spring Soiree.
**Materials: LPs, small found objects, glue
Rationale: To provide a collaborative art experience. To promote social interaction and creative expression. To practice the process of gluing, collage-making, and three dimensional art.
Skills: Fine motor, creative expression, collaboration, social interaction, cause and effect, visual-spatial awareness.
**Materials: Markers, tote bags
Rationale: To create a gift for our student teachers. To demonstrate our thanks for them.
Skills: Fine motor, writing grasp, creative expression, emotional expression

Sensory
**Materials: playdough, oven, refrigerator, cooking utensils, cut-outs, ingredients
Rationale: To provide opportunities to practice self-help skills and real life scenarios. To continue to provide a realistic setting for "cooking" with playdough. Mortar and Pestle to crush rose petals for "ingredients." Skills: fine motor, creative thinking, comparison, cause and effect, symbolic representation
**Materials: sand, water, molds, scoops, buckets
Rationale: To continue to provide children the opportunity to play with a mud-like substance. To practice sculpting and building with sand.
Skills: Fine motor, problem solving, turn-taking, comparison, collaboration

Science
**Materials: Oranges, lemons, soaps, markers, carrots, roses, mint, coffee grinds, vanilla extract, molasses. To keep our smelling station fresh, please bring in an object or foodstuff from your home which has a smell. Thanks!
Rationale: To practice using the sense of smell. To continue to promote recording. To explore making hypothesis and predictions.
Skills: hypothesis, predictions, recording, observation, exploration, communication

Dramatic Play
**Materials: Stethoscopes, bandages, syringes, medication bottles, babies, cot, telephone, height chart, scale, rulers
Rationale: To continue to explore the process of going to the doctor. To connect the idea of emergency vehicles and people that need help to hospitals and doctors.
Skills: Communication, collaboration, role-play, symbolic representation

Math and Manipulatives
**Materials: Rulers, height chart, large and small cut-outs, different sized pieces of paper
Rationale: To promote awareness of size and measurement.
Skills: rational thinking, number awareness, size awareness, communication
**Materials: Shape sort, shape puzzles, seriation puzzles, Unifix cubes
Rationale: To promote the mathematical concept of geometric shapes. To practice shape awareness and classification. To continue to promote sorting and grouping.
Skills: shape awareness, classification, fine motor, seriation
**We successfully had "shape hunts" while walking to the gym. It's amazing how many things you can see that are square/rectangle or circle shaped. Less so triangle. Do a shape hunt in your home or while driving to reinforce this activity. And if you can bring in an object which has one of these shapes we would appreciate that too! If the object is too large to bring (like a door or cabinet) take a photo and send it to us digitally and we'll print it.

Language and Literacy
**Materials: Word cards, name cards, markers, crayons, books
Rationale: To continue to encourage pre-literacy skills and help children to see new words like Hot and Cold which appear often in daily life. To continue to practice letter and name awareness. To facilitate discussion of print and word meanings.
Skills: Literacy, communication, letter awareness, listening, turn-taking

Blocks
**Materials: large red brick blocks, small red brick blocks, unit blocks, fire trucks, cement mixers, ambulances, fire helmets, ladders
Rationale: To continue to promote the exploration and inquiry of fire fighters and emergency vehicles as well as other community helpers. To provide opportunities to connect hospitals and helping people to firefighters and ambulances.
Skills: Inquiry, symbolic representation, large and fine motor, creative expression

Large Motor
**Materials: rope ladder, hopscotch painted on the tile floor, ball jump station, trampoline, climber, pitch back, soccer kick. 

Rationale: to give opportunities to swing, climb, balance, and throw. This set up will also promote the practice of negotiating space as well as taking turns as children move throughout the gym. 

Skills: rope ladder: core strength, coordination, balance, climbing, grasping; new hopscotch: dynamic/static balance; ball jump station: risk taking, spatial, temporal and body awareness, depth perception; trampoline: endurance, flexibility and lower body strength, turn taking; pitch back: over hand throw and catching skills; soccer kick: social interaction, kicking, eye-foot coordination.
**Materials: carrots, shovels, buckets, dump trucks, front loaders, molds
Rationale: To promote collaboration and cooperation building snowmen. To encourage experimentation and problem solving.
Skills: Fine and gross motor, collaboration, cooperation, problem solving, creative thinking

Large Group
**Materials: Calendar, multilingual hello song, days of the week song, books about time
Rationale: To begin discussing the near end of term and changing student teachers. To learn about days of the week and months.
Skills: Number awareness, time exploration, turn-taking, follow directions, communication, listening, attention span

Music
**Materials: Accordians, drums, maracas, piano
Rationale: To promote sound experimentation by exploring different instruments. To experiment with volume and tone. To connect sound to the sense of hearing.
Skills: imitation, communication, sense awareness, creative expression
**Materials: ribbons, scarves, musical powerpoint slideshow
Rationale: To connect music to creative movement. To promote dance as a form of creative expression. To continue to explore dance as a form of exercise.
Skills: Creative movement, creative expression, social interaction, collaboration

Snacks
Tuesday: Apples and Sunbutter
Friday: Bananas and Graham Crackers

click for video
Games with rules in the gym-Mobile.m4v

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Winter Lesson Plan 3.7-3.11
Co-Lead Teaching

Overview
This week we will be focusing on our goodbyes and the transition to our two week break! We have begun to discuss Kari and Sarah moving on to new schools and have started making our goodbye present for them. The children have expressed that they will miss our student teachers but are looking forward to meeting the new teachers who have been dropping by. We will have our goodbye snacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, and invite parents to join us in thanking our student teachers at snack time, around 10:15. Our curriculum will stay very similar this week in order to ease the transition into break.

Expressive Arts
In the art area this week, we will be making our gifts for our student teachers and our classroom gift for the Spring Soiree.
**Materials: LPs, small found objects, glue
Rationale: To provide a collaborative art experience. To promote social interaction and creative expression. To practice the process of gluing, collage-making, and three dimensional art.
Skills: Fine motor, creative expression, collaboration, social interaction, cause and effect, visual-spatial awareness.
**Materials: Markers, tote bags
Rationale: To create a gift for our student teachers and to demonstrate our thanks for them.
Skills: Fine motor, writing grasp, creative expression, emotional expression

Sensory
**Materials: playdough, oven, refrigerator, cooking utensils, cut-outs, ingredients
Rationale: To provide opportunities to practice self-help skills and real life scenarios. To continue to provide a realistic setting for "cooking" with playdough. Mortar and Pestle to crush rose petals for "ingredients." Skills: fine motor, creative thinking, comparison, cause and effect, symbolic representation
**Materials: sand, water, molds, scoops, buckets, vehicles
Rationale: To continue to provide children the opportunity to play with a mud-like substance. To practice sculpting and building with sand. To provide an opportunity for dramatic play.
Skills: Fine motor, problem solving, turn-taking, comparison, collaboration, creative expression.

Science
**Materials: Oranges, lemons, soaps, markers, carrots, roses, mint, coffee grinds, vanilla extract, molasses. To keep our smelling station fresh, please bring in an object or foodstuff from your home which has a smell. Thanks!
Rationale: To practice using the sense of smell. To continue to promote recording. To explore making hypothesis and predictions.
Skills: hypothesis, predictions, recording, observation, exploration, communication

Dramatic Play
**Materials: Stethoscopes, bandages, syringes, medication bottles, babies, cot, telephone, height chart, scale, rulers
Rationale: To continue to explore the process of going to the doctor. To connect the idea of emergency vehicles and people that need help to hospitals and doctors.
Skills: Communication, collaboration, role-play, symbolic representation

Math and Manipulatives
**Materials: Rulers, height chart, large and small cut-outs, different sized pieces of paper
Rationale: To promote awareness of size and measurement.
Skills: rational thinking, number awareness, size awareness, communication
**Materials: Shape sort, shape puzzles, seriation puzzles, Unifix cubes
Rationale: To promote the mathematical concept of geometric shapes. To practice shape awareness and classification. To continue to promote sorting and grouping.
Skills: shape awareness, classification, fine motor, seriation
**We successfully had "shape hunts" while walking to the gym. It's amazing how many things you can see that are square/rectangle or circle shaped. Less so triangle. Do a shape hunt in your home or while driving to reinforce this activity. And if you can bring in an object which has one of these shapes we would appreciate that too! If the object is too large to bring (like a door or cabinet) take a photo and send it to us digitally and we'll print it.

Language and Literacy
**Materials: Word cards, name cards, markers, crayons, books
Rationale: To continue to encourage pre-literacy skills and help children to see new words like Hot and Cold which appear often in daily life. To continue to practice letter and name awareness. To facilitate discussion of print and word meanings.
Skills: Literacy, communication, letter awareness, listening, turn-taking

Blocks
**Materials: large red brick blocks, small red brick blocks, unit blocks, fire trucks, cement mixers, ambulances, fire helmets, ladders
Rationale: To continue to promote the exploration and inquiry of fire fighters and emergency vehicles as well as other community helpers. To provide opportunities to connect hospitals and helping people to firefighters and ambulances.
Skills: Inquiry, symbolic representation, large and fine motor, creative expression

Large Motor
**Materials: rope ladder, hopscotch painted on the tile floor, ball jump station, trampoline, climber, pitch back, soccer kick. 

Rationale: to give opportunities to swing, climb, balance, and throw. This set up will also promote the practice of negotiating space as well as taking turns as children move throughout the gym. 

Skills: rope ladder: core strength, coordination, balance, climbing, grasping; new hopscotch: dynamic/static balance; ball jump station: risk taking, spatial, temporal and body awareness, depth perception; trampoline: endurance, flexibility and lower body strength, turn taking; pitch back: over hand throw and catching skills; soccer kick: social interaction, kicking, eye-foot coordination.
**Materials: carrots, shovels, buckets, dump trucks, front loaders, molds
Rationale: To promote collaboration and cooperation building snowmen. To encourage experimentation and problem solving.
Skills: Fine and gross motor, collaboration, cooperation, problem solving, creative thinking

Large Group
**Materials: Calendar, multilingual hello song, days of the week song, books about time
Rationale: To begin discussing the near end of term and changing student teachers. To learn about days of the week and months.
Skills: Number awareness, time exploration, turn-taking, follow directions, communication, listening, attention span

Music
**Materials: Accordions, drums, maracas, piano
Rationale: To promote sound experimentation by exploring different instruments. To experiment with volume and tone. To connect sound to the sense of hearing.
Skills: imitation, communication, sense awareness, creative expression
**Materials: ribbons, scarves, musical powerpoint slideshow
Rationale: To connect music to creative movement. To promote dance as a form of creative expression. To continue to explore dance as a form of exercise.
Skills: Creative movement, creative expression, social interaction, collaboration

Snacks
Monday: Birthday Snack
Wednesday: Birthday Snack
Thursday: Veggie Sticks and Orange Slices

Sink and float in the science area. Please click to watch video clip of Q and As
Quinn and Asher sink and float-Mobile.m4v

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