In Motion

    If I could choose a theme to encompass the beginning of our summer together, it would include motion. We have had beautiful weather as we have enjoyed walks to the park and our favorite spot for ice cream. Summer temperatures have finally arrived, allowing time spent with the different water toys, which recently included a PVC sprinkler.

    We began our look at motion by reading "All The Water in the World." We really liked the Spanish in this book due to some familiar words that we have encountered in the past. Through this book, we had an introduction to the water cycle, which expanded when we looked at erosion and the power of water when force is involved. Some activities that went along with this book included making our own rivers and lakes in the sensory table, oil and water discovery bottles, tornado tube exploration and also making mud.

   Our look at motion included a few ideas from Steve Spangler as well as Pinterest. We made the drag racing cups, hover craft and also a balloon powered car. We also took time to paint with vehicles and explore the motion of rice and marbles. Our look at marbles included a ready- made marble run along with one we made from foam board and paper towel tubes.

 

 

 

 

 

     Our light table activities included some really fun colored shot glasses. We used dishes and the shot glasses with our water beads and later with our gems.

 

 

 

    Within this unit, we also made a magnet frame with our pictures for dad along with having a "beach party day." For our frames, I opted to use fun foam and card stock. Some of our  "beach" activities included water play, colored salt layered bottles with small shells,  making an orange marshmallow frozen pop and enjoying spaghetti "octopi" made from hot dogs. The salt for our bottles were tinted using a large ziploc bag and adding food coloring along with a small amount of rubbing alcohol. The salt was then dried on trays.

 

 

 

     Other activities included catching bugs, moving magnets and making necklaces.

 



 

     This week, we begin our look at zoos and animals typically found in a zoo. Our latest activity was inspired by a family within our setting  and many PVC pipe sprinkler tutorials are available to choose from. We continue to  stay in motion as we enjoy our summer. Have a great week!

Up, Down and Around

     Our focus for the past two weeks has been on planting, growing and gardens. The book we focused on was Up, Down and Around by Katherine Ayres. The book offers a look at the direction different garden plants grow as well as an introduction to the garden plants. We had an opportunity to eat different vegetables and fruits over the past two weeks and really look at those that are the root of the plant (potato, carrot) as well as those that are the flower or fruit (tomato, cucumber). We also looked at some garden helpers like earthworms, butterflies, bees and lady bugs by exploring the job they do. The apple tree was in full bloom during this time and we were fortunate to see a large number of Cedar Waxwings. We even had the opportunity to get close to one that stayed a little longer on the ground.

     Our table activities for the unit included the following games. These print outs were found at Making Learning Fun.

     Other activities included painting with vegetables, printing with dandelions, creating garden stones and making grass seed caterpillars.

 

 

 

 

     For our look at the root system and how water is transported through the plant, we explored the root system of the dandelion and then watched the food coloring and water travel through celery. This look was followed by an art activity found on Pinterest. We also walked around our neighborhood to look at all of the plants and flowers that were growing and talked about their colors and the different uses for the plants.

 

 

 

     Our sensory activities included bubbles, playing with oats and planting. We completed an activity with sunflower seeds and planted our own in the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

     The light table activities included coloring on the light table and creating with stones, gems and other items.

 

 

     Some of the games we played this week included our Cootie and Don't Break the Ice games along with fun with hula hoops and an egg carton version of Mancala created by my daughter.

 

 

 

     Dramatic play activities not photographed included playing grocery store, community and experiencing a "fashionista flash mob" with the dress-up clothes. We also simulated the growth of a pant by starting out as a seed on the ground, becoming a shoot and rising to our feet as our plant grew. Other highlights of our week included new supplies in our personal pencil boxes, building with Legos and smelly sticker art.

 

 

 

 

 

     I will leave you with a video we enjoyed from The Learning Station during our look at plants and how they grow. Next week, we are exploring items in motion due to the Carnival rides that will be in town. Have a great week!