Mouse Paint and Mouse Shapes

This week we began our look at Mouse Paint and Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Our main focus for the majority of the week was looking at primary and secondary colors through color recognition and mixing. I used an Animoto from a classmate that I cannot post here for copyright reasons. I will share a fun video from Sesame Street instead:

We began our week with a look at Mouse Paint with the help of magnetic characters from Ashley Stewart from Teachers Pay Teachers:

We also worked with folder games including color matching cards from Homeschool Creations and Cookie Colors from file folder farm. We also sorted colors with our bear counters. I used my resources from Funshine Express and Mother Goose Time along with the Mondo books to introduce the letters and numbers of the unit. I apologize for the sideways view of the picture as it would not load correctly.

We had a great time at the sensory table working with primary color rice, a mixture of rice colors and oats and shapes.

Our art experiences included squish art color mixing, marble art painting, coloring with melting crayons as inspired by Lisa Murphy and a fun color mixing worksheet from Jeananne Turner at TpT. We ended our week painting with household items as we looked at shapes.

For our light box activities, we focused on colors and color mixing with the paddles and transparent counters. The worksheet is from Making Learning Fun.

I also took time this week to rearrange the playroom and add a simple reading tent made out of clearance sheets as inspired by 2 Little Hooligans. My goal is to add a flannel board to this area as well to complement the books and puppets/ stage.

We will continue to spend time with Ellen Stoll Walsh books next week as we continue to look at shapes followed by numbers 1 - 10. We will "see" you next week!

A Look at the North and South Poles

We used quite a few books and folder games along with videos to experience wild life at the two poles. We also took a look at magnificent glaciers and the steps it takes to build an igloo. Some of the books we used this week included Building an Igloo by Ulli Steltzer, Glaciers: Nature's Icy Caps by David L. Harrison, Mama Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joose and Kumak's House: A Tale of the Far North by Michael Bania. We also spent some time watching an actual igloo being built:

We also explored the animals that inhabit the polar regions through folder games, toys, books and other activities. Icy "glaciers" found their way into the sensory table. We also had a great time building an igloo with marshmallows and using packaging materials as icebergs and "shoes." The igloos we made to go home were made from cotton balls and styrofoam bowls.

Our look at the polar regions also included the following activities:

Ice fishing with fish printables from this link.

Bubble wrap print fish.

 A fishy Jello treat from this link.

Matching the polar bear pictures from this link.

 Abstract Penguin art from Teach Preschool.

Painting the snow outside with water colors in our nancy bottles.

Catching "slippery" fish in our water table.

Playing with cake mix, ice and polar region animals.

We also explored our new light box, inspired by Teach Preschool. Here are some of our creations:

We took time this week to also make some mini "volcanic" explosions with vinegar and baking soda just for fun.

Some of our letter and number work included the following along with our toddler activities. The polar bear number activity is located here.

As you can tell, we had another full week of exploring and fun. Next week, we will begin our two week look at colors, numbers and shapes with assistance from Ellen Stoll Walsh. I will leave you with our favorite penguin video.

The North Pole

We began our look at the Arctic with one of my favorite books that uses predictable text and rhyme,

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

Some of the items I used to help with sequencing within the story included Zoo pal plates and images from a curriculum website.

We spent time reading about snow and exploring melting ice. We added warm water to our ice and also explored snow in our sensory table. We started the week with a cloud dough, ice, shaving cream combination.

One of the highlights of this week was playing "melt the ice." The book we used is It's Snowing! by Gail Gibbons. We also explored how a cloud works by adding food coloring to shaving cream until the "cloud" couldn't hold any more and "rained/ snowed" into the water below.

Some of the art we made this week included marker "snowflakes" that we added water to. We then placed the snow flake on a white paper bag to dry, leaving behind a print.

We also completed a book about polar bears and painted with watercolors. The children love working with the Do A Dot markers, so I included a letter Ss worksheet and snowman this week.

 I have collected some items from the Mother Goose Time curriculum I have used in the past. Here are the weather puppets we use to answer ¿Qué tiempo hace hoy?- (What is the weather like today). I also use a combination of wooden letters/ numbers and manipulatives to assist in introducing letters. Our alphabet books from Mondo also include real photos of words that begin with the letter showcased in each book.

I am also introducing the use of Cuisenaire Rods. For now, we are using the manipulatives to create pictures or letters. I will continue to research and learn about the manipulative throughout this next semester as well.

As you can tell, we stayed busy and had fun exploring snow and ice. Next week, we will continue our look at the North Pole and end our week in the South Pole. I will leave you with a video of a polar bear swimming that we used during circle time. I will see you next week!