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Expressive Arts
-Materials: construction paper, markers, crayons, glue, paper, scissors, collage materials, cardboard squares, oil pastels, watercolor paint, magazines.
-Rationale: We have decided to change up the art table and introduce a new medium. The table will include oil pastels for a few days and as the week progresses the teachers will add watercolor paint for the children to experiment with the effects of combining the two. At the collage table, we will be expanding the children's interest in gluing different collage materials to cardboard bases. The children will have access to magazines and will be able to cut different pictures out of them to make their own collage.
-Skills: Creative exploration, imagination, symbolic representation, self-expression, fine motor control, color recognition, creative risk-taking, and hand/finger strength, manual dexterity.

Sensory
-Materials: water table, water, funnels, measuring cups, strainers, and buckets.
-Rationale: The teachers are replacing the sand table with the water table in the sensory area. This will lead into using water to explore the paper making process. The children have been talking about recycling, and that led to having a paper scrap basket in the class to reuse paper. Now we will take reusing paper a step further and actually make our own paper out of the paper we have collected. This will happen at the end of the week and potentially will lead into the week after.
-Skills: Imaginative and cooperative play, scientific thinking, problem solving, fine motor skills, sensory exploration and stimulation, creative expression, and social interaction.

Light Table
-Materials: Light table, plastic cut out shapes, white board, dry erase markers, and an eraser.
-Rationale: The teachers have changed the light table to include plastic cut out shapes that stick to the white board. The children have been encouraged to create different drawings using a combination of the cut outs and the dry erase markers. The teachers want the children to explore what they can make out of the different shapes and make up stories to go along with their creations.
Skills: Exploration, inquiry, observation, comparing, informative language, descriptive language, fine motor skills, and social interaction, and fine motor skills.

Science
-Materials: Labeled visual pictures of planting a seed, soybean seeds, squirt bottles (with water), clipboards, writing utensils, charts depicting the life cycle of a soybean plant, prompting questions, mealworm beetles, worms, magnifying glasses, and a bug game.
-Rationale: To continue to support the children's interest of growing plants, the teachers have continued the planting station at one of the science tables. The children will continue to watch their soybean plant grow and water it to take care of it. This will continue to foster their interest in how the plant life cycle works. The mealworm beetles have been joined by worms, found on the playground by the children. The children have continued to explore the insect's different roles in our habitat, including the composting jobs of worms to fertilize our soil.
-Skills: Sensory exploration, observation skills, critical thinking, mathematical and logical thinking, pre/early literacy, informative language, and descriptive language, scientific inquiry, drawing conclusions, reasoning, knowledge of the natural world, asking questions, hypothesizing, use of magnifying glasses

Math and Manipulatives
-Materials: Bug-oids, unit cubes, 3-D puzzles, animals and flower puzzles.
-Rationale: This week we will continue to use the math manipulative unit cubes and the bug-oids in the cave. The children have had continued interest in counting the unit cubes and making different number of cubes stacked together. The children have also still been very interested in creating their own bug out of the different parts. They name their own bugs and create detailed descriptions of their bug's behavior based on the type of physical attributes it has.
Skills: Problem solving, cause and effect relationship, early math concepts, number recognition, counting, number operations, symbolic representation, peer negotiation, hand-eye coordination, fine motor control, imagination, creative exploration.

Language and Literacy
-Materials: Paper, various writing utensils (markers, colored pencils), scissors, tape, a variety of books, envelopes, stamps (animals and alphabet letters), and ink pads of various colors.
-Rationale: The literacy table has materials available to encourage the children to write letters to classmates, writing down stories, etc. The children have been busy exploring the new stamps on the table, both making pictures and spelling out words on paper.
-Skills: letter recognition, fine motor control, pre-/early literacy skills, alphabetic principle, phonemic awareness, artistic expression, cause and effect, problem solving, executive function skills (inhibitory control)

Dramatic Play
-Materials:
Loft Area: stove, refrigerator, sink and other assorted wooden kitchen furniture, dishes, different types of food, ponchos, scarves, raincoats, boots, hats, and sunglasses.
School Area: Black board, chalk, notebooks, folders, pencils, and other assorted school supplies.
Dramatic play cave: stuffed animals from different habitats including the jungle, Arctic Ocean and the African Savannah, open-ended fabrics, globe, materials to create habitats (vines, leaves, wood).
-Rationale: Since our year at the lab school is coming to a close, the teachers have decided to change the dramatic play area to a "kindergarten/school" area. It is an area to familiarize the students who are going to kindergarten to some of the things they may see. It is also a place for the younger students to experience what they may see in a year or two. They will be able to practice doing worksheets, draw on the chalkboard, and do other school related activities. In the dramatic play cave, the animals have changed according to the children's interest in different habitats. The cave includes animals found in the African Savannah, Amazon jungle, and the Arctic Ocean. The children will have the opportunity to use the open ended and materials to create habitats for the animals.
-Skills: Role-play, symbolic representation, social interactions, social problem solving, discussions and conversations related to the spring season, self-help, listening, communication, negotiation, and indoor-outdoor connection.

Blocks
-Materials: hollow blocks, unit blocks, ramps, wood boards, big fabric pieces, steering wheels, PCV pipe, maps, plastic building sticks.
-Rationale: The children will continue to have access to the block materials to encourage their ongoing interest in building. They have been building houses for different animals (jaguars, cheetahs, sea otters, etc.). The large plastic builders have provided opportunities for the children to pursue their passion for creating new structures they can fit inside.
-Skills: construction skills, dramatic play, symbolic representation, problem- solving, mathematical concepts such as symmetry and geometry

Large Motor
Materials: monkey bars with connected A-frame ladder and triangle slide, climber with donut slide and regular slide connected, river jump made with mats and bean bags, bean bag toss, and the climbing wall
Rationale: The gym has changed once again! The children will get the opportunity to practice their broad jumping and leaping skills over "the river (bean bags)", increase the "body-in-motion" (proprioceptive) skills as they slide down the donut slide and try to land on two feet, as well as foster their targeting skills as they throw beanbags into smaller cardboard targets. ·
Skills: jumping/landing skills (dynamic balance), upper/lower body muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular endurance, hopping, propulsion skills, static balance (with bending, stretching, and throwing)

Snack
Monday - No School
Tuesday - Crackers & apples
Wednesday - Rice cakes & raisins
Thursday - Pretzels & applesauce
Friday - Popcorn & milk

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Weekly Lesson Plan For Ross' Class

Week of: May 27-31, 2013

Lead Teaching This Week: Laura E.

Overview:
Hello Families, we hope you enjoyed the long weekend! Last week we made the most of the rainy days by digging for worms in the soil and splashing in puddles! With help from Mother Nature the children's hostas marked by their popsicle sticks at the front of the school are in full bloom, much to the excitement of the children! In the classroom the children will continue to expand their dramatic play in the doctor's office through building ambulances and other medical machines with the blocks. The teachers are hoping E1's dad and I1's dad will stop by this week, giving the children an opportunity to learn more about real doctors in our community. We are starting to wrap things up during these last two weeks, and this will be our last week for small groups. The teachers are excited for the pizza party this Tuesday, and we hope to see you all there!

Sensory Table:
• Materials: Various sized rocks, paint, and brushes
• Rationale: Early this week the teachers discovered the soil didn't look as healthy and rich as it had the first day it was placed in the sensory table. The soil was replaced with different sized rocks for the children to paint. The children had the opportunity to mix colors and even put the paint on their hands to explore different ways to paint the rocks. This coming week the table will have a water movement focus. The teachers will supply funnels and PVC pipes and tubes to create new water movement puzzles for the children to solve.
• Skills: Fine motor skills, collaboration with peers, exploration of water movement, problem solving

Expressive Art (art table, easel):
• Materials: Easel: paint, paintbrushes, plastic egg carton halves, paper; Art table: Paper, watercolors, water, egg carton halves, paintbrushes, white crayons
• Rationale: Last week the children explored combining crayons and watercolors, which led to the creation of secret messages! They made the messages by writing with a white crayon and painting over the message with the watercolors. The children remain interested in this art technique that teacher Frances introduced, therefore we will continue this activity and prompt the children to use their new secret messages for their spy kits. This could open doors for some dramatic play opportunities.
• Skills: recognition of colors, making patterns by using different colors, artistic expression, imagination/creativity, fine-motor

Science:
• Materials: soil, herb seeds, water, spray bottle, cartons, journals, pencils
• Rationale: Last week the children were given the opportunity to plant their own seed in a small carton. The children demonstrated great patience waiting for their seeds to sprout and persisted to water their seed everyday. As the seeds sprout the children will continue to nurture their own plant, learning the importance of water, sunlight and soil. They will soon have the opportunity to take home their plant to "transplant" into their own gardens.
• Skills: hypothesizing, making observations, exploring, recording data/information, strengthen understanding of plant life cycle

Math/Manipulatives (including The Nook):
• Materials: Shape puzzles, small build blocks in different shapes such as squares, rectangles, and triangles, geo-boards with rubber bands, number bingo
• Rationale: Last week the children were introduced to the geo-boards and enjoyed creating various shapes with the rubber bands. This week they will continue to explore the geo-boards and teachers will challenge the children to make various shapes and letters with the boards. This week the teachers will also introduce number bingo as an activity time center. The children have been enjoying the executive function games, therefore the teachers might add some more games with rules to our nook, which can become our "game room."
• Skills: shape/shapes recognition, symbolic representation (creating with blocks), fine motor, number recognition

Literature Center:
• Materials: Rubber stamps, markers, pencils, scissors, paper and white boards

• Rationale: This week the children will continue to use our literature center for writing and coloring. Many children are engaged in this center and teachers often use the hand over hand strategy to guide cutting and writing/drawing. Last week L4 and I1 came up with the idea of making "tiny" books with all of our extra scrap paper. The teachers will support this idea by gathering the scrap paper and providing the necessary supplies to create these books.
• Skills: Pre/early literacy skills, letter recognition, fine motor strength, phonemic awareness, creativity skills

Dramatic Play:
• Materials: "Doctors office" props (syringes, rubber gloves, stethoscope, band aids) dress up clothes (scrubs, doctors coat), body charts
• Rationale: This past week the teachers added body charts to the doctor's office which children have been using to figure out what part of their patient hurts. The teachers have taken many pictures of the children exploring the doctor's office, both as patients and as doctors. The teachers will print out these pictures and place them on the walls of doctor's office to prompt and guide more dramatic play. The children will also be given opportunities to make real life connections through meeting E1's and I1's dads, who are real doctors!
• Skills: imaginative/creative play, peer relationships, large motor skills, symbolic representation, connection to surrounding community/real-life experiences

Large Motor: Gym and Playground:
• Materials: Gym: monkey bars with connected A-frame ladder and triangle slide, climber with donut hole and regular slide connected, river jump made with mats and bean bags, bean bag toss, and the climbing wall; Playground: wheelbarrows, shovels, wagons, tricycles, soccer balls, Frisbee, and child built catapult for paper or soft balls
• Rationale: The gym has changed once again! The children will get the opportunity to practice their broad jumping and leaping skills over "the river (bean bags)", increase the "body-in-motion" (proprioceptive) skills as they slide down the donut slide and try to land on two feet, as well as foster their targeting skills as they throw beanbags into smaller cardboard targets. Our teacher's and Jaime's teachers collaborated to create the new gym setup and are excited to introduce the new areas to the children! Last week children were asking about building a catapult, so the teachers will look into a construction activity to throw some soft materials on our playground. As the weather improves the children have been engaging in dramatic play on the playground, and making good use of our stick house. There has also been great interest in riding the tricycles, climbing on the monkey bars, and practicing pumping on the swings.
• Skills: jumping/landing skills (dynamic balance), upper/lower body muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular endurance, hopping, propulsion skills, static balance (with bending, stretching, and throwing), creativity (catapult construction...including safety provisions!)

Additional announcements and reminders:
• We hope you can come to the Pizza Party on Tuesday! If you haven't RSVP'd, please email Amy Pieren and let her know how many members of your family will be coming so we can make sure to have enough pizza for all!
• Small group will be wrapping up this week. It's been exciting watching the group topics unfold and children's learning/discovery blossom.

Snack
Monday - No School
Tuesday - Popsicles for I1's Birthday!
Wednesday - Rice cakes & raisins
Thursday - Pretzels & applesauce
Friday - Popcorn & milk

Overview
It's hard to believe that I am writing the last lesson plan of the school year! For the last two weeks of school we will concentrate on wrapping up many of our ongoing projects and explorations. The small groups will come to a close next week and the children will have a chance to share the information they have learned and games they have invented with their peers as a final culminating activity. We will measure our growing plants, continue our discussions about ways we can care for the earth, and look for bugs hiding in the nooks and crannies of our playground. These last few days of school we will also prepare for the transitions that the end of a school year inevitably brings. We will discuss kindergarten, new teachers, new schools and new friends and will discuss all that we have learned and experienced during our past year together.

Expressive Arts

-Materials: Wood pieces, wood glue, paint, clay, wire, construction paper, natural collage materials, markers, crayons, glue, paper, scissors, loose parts, cardboard squares

-Rationale: Many of the children continue to enjoy using the wood pieces at the art table to create imaginative machines, fairy houses, and other structures. This week we are adding natural materials to the art area to support the children's interest and to inspire them to add more detail tot heir creations. As the children use the loose parts and natural materials to represent mailboxes, doorknobs, windows and other details, they engage their cognitive flexibility skills and strengthen their executive function capabilities.
-Skills: Creative exploration, imagination, symbolic representation, self-expression, fine motor control, color recognition, creative risk-taking, and hand/finger strength.

Sensory 

-Materials: water table, tubes, cups, measuring cups, sieves, funnels, large containers
-Rationale: We have brought the water table back into our classroom for the last two weeks of school! The children will have a chance to incorporate a new element into the funnel and tube contraptions they have been constructing with the marble runs.
-Skills: Imaginative and cooperative play, scientific thinking, problem solving, measurement, beginning math concepts, fine motor skills, sensory exploration and stimulation, creative expression, and social interaction.

Light Table

-Materials: Colorform shapes, white board, erasable markers, prompting questions. 

-Rationale: The materials at the light table encourage the children to exercise their executive function skills in the context of our typical classroom environment. As children look closely at familiar shapes and explore the way these combine to create new figures they engage their working memory and exercise their cognitive flexibility. This week, the teachers have added a white board and erasable markers to the area. The teachers hope that the addition of these flexible and open-ended materials will encourage the children to expand their utilization of the shapes.
-Skills: Cognitive flexibility, shape recognition, fine motor skills, working memory, creative thinking

Science

-Materials: Labeled pictures of the sequence of planting a seed, clipboards, writing utensils, charts depicting the life cycle of a soybean plant, prompting questions, mealworms, magnifying glasses, a grow window, cups, sprouting seeds, rulers. 

-Rationale: Last week the children transplanted their sprouts to cups of soil and continued to discuss what plants need to grow and stay healthy. This week we will add rulers to the science area and will measure our growing plants, exploring numbers and math concepts within the context of our planting activity. 

-Skills: Observation skills, sequencing, critical thinking, mathematical and logical thinking, pre/early literacy, informative language, and descriptive language, scientific inquiry, drawing conclusions, reasoning, knowledge of the natural world, asking questions, hypothesizing, use of magnifying glasses

Math and Manipulatives

-Materials: Insect builders, insect puzzles, unifix cubes, manipulative puzzles, legos
-Rationale: Many of the children continue to enjoy exploring the math and insect materials in the caves. We will continue to have those materials available to support the children's interest and hands-on explorations of numeracy and insects. We will also bring the legos back for the last two weeks of school to support the interest in building and construction that we have seen manifest in the art area.
-Skills: Part to whole relationships, problem solving, early math concepts, number recognition, counting, number operations, symbolic representation, fine motor control

Language and Literacy

-Materials: Name cards, stamps, paper, various writing utensils (markers, colored pencils), scissors, tape, a variety of books, envelopes, pre-made booklets, vocabulary words, story writing prompts, labels and stickers from the post office area, example of money.

-Rationale: The usual materials will continue to be available at the literacy table. In addition, teachers have added books about starting school, kindergarten, and summer transitions to the bookshelves to mirror the changes that are taking place in the children's lives as the school year comes to a close.
-Skills: letter recognition, fine motor control, pre-/early literacy skills, alphabetic principle, phonemic awareness, artistic expression, cause and effect, problem solving, executive function skills (inhibitory control)

Dramatic Play

-Materials: 

Loft Area: stove, refrigerator, sink and other assorted wooden kitchen furniture, dishes, different types of food, ponchos, scarves, raincoats, boots, hats, and sunglasses.
Outside of the loft area: table, chairs, name tags, books about kindergarten, letter and number workbooks and worksheets, pencils, rulers
Dramatic play cave: stuffed animals, open-ended fabrics, a variety of stuffed animals

-Rationale: For the last two weeks of school we have transformed the dramatic play area into a "classroom." As the year draws to a close, the children will have an opportunity to play "school" and discuss the transitions that are coming up as some of our students start kindergarten, move to new classrooms, or simply take some time off for the summer!
-Skills: creative thinking, role-play, symbolic representation, social interactions, social problem solving, mathematical skills, self-help, listening, communication, negotiation

Blocks

-Materials: hollow blocks, unit blocks, ramps, wood boards, pvp pipe, large loose parts
-Rationale: Several children in our class have really enjoyed using the wooden pieces and loose parts in the art area to create elaborate structures and "fairy houses." The teachers have observed the children using uniquely shaped objects to represent a variety of materials (mailboxes, stepping stones, roof tiles, etc.). We want to support the children's cognitive flexibility and burgeoning creativity by bringing similar materials to the block area, where children will be able to interact with their larger creations in new and exciting ways.
-Skills: large motor, peer negotiating skills, dramatic play, symbolic representation, problem-solving, mathematical concepts such as symmetry and geometry, cognitive flexibility, creativity

Large Motor
-Materials: Gym: monkey bars with connected A-frame ladder and triangle slide, climber with donut slide and regular slide connected, river jump made with mats and bean bags, bean bag toss, and the climbing wall Playground: wheelbarrows, shovels, wagons, tricycles, soccer balls, Frisbee, and child built catapult for paper or soft balls
-Rationale: The gym has changed once again! The children will get the opportunity to practice their broad jumping and leaping skills over "the river (bean bags)", increase the "body-in-motion" (proprioceptive) skills as they slide down the donut slide and try to land on two feet, as well as foster their targeting skills as they throw beanbags into smaller cardboard targets. Our teacher's and Jaime's teachers collaborated to create the new gym setup and are excited to introduce the new areas to the children! Last week children were asking about building a catapult, so the teachers will look into a construction activity to throw some soft materials on our playground. We have also seen an explosion of dramatic play taking place outside now that the playground has fully awakened. Princess, fairies, super heroes, cat, dogs, tigers...the playground is filled with imagination every day!
-Skills: jumping/landing skills (dynamic balance), upper/lower body muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular endurance, hopping, propulsion skills, static balance (with bending, stretching, and throwing), creativity (catapult construction...including safety provisions!)

Snack
Wednesday: Apples slices and crackers
Thursday: Pasta and red sauce