Before I begin the update, let me please remind you of a few things for the trip on Wednesday December 8.
- Please send lunch, snack, and water bottle as usual. This trip is in the afternoon and will not affect our eating or break times.
- Please be sure to wear your school uniform.
- Please remember to pack an extra change of clothes and a towel in case of a mess at the cafe.
And now, the update!
In Maths we began looking at measurement. We looked at comparing sizes using bigger/smaller and longer/shorter. We also worked on ordering length. The students had a great time comparing different objects in the class. We compared objects to each other, objects to our shoes, and objects to different lengths of string. We also did some hands-on sorting in our worksheets to demonstrate our learning by gluing paper in the right order
We did a deep dive in Phonics this week and really looked in depth at the letters Z, C, and E. As a result we spent less time than usual on our Writer’s Workshop although we did do some. We learned that we can write stories about Things We Know.
In IEYC we continued looking at elements of play in our unit, Loose Parts. We built houses with bins, cushions, and blankets. We also went to the gym with the help of Mr. Green and explored different kinds of kicking and throwing activities. We used or “rhythmic gymnastics” ribbons to make shapes in the air. We threw “comet balls” into a hoop. We played a little bowling. We tossed a beach ball back and forth in pairs. Finally, we saw how far we could kick a soccer ball. Additionally, we explored some water play. Mr. Choi filled our water tank and we used a variety of scooping and pouring toys to explore the water. Then, Ms. M added some ice and we learned that since the water (and our hands) was warmer than the ice, it melted and turned back into water!
We’re well on our way into our new Morning Meeting unit on Mindfulness. We’ve been exploring and learning about the brain. Last week we learned that information is stored in our hippocampus. This week we learned that our prefrontal cortex helps us make good choices, but, sometimes our amygdala takes over. When our amygdala takes over, it’s almost impossible for us to control our emotions. We’ll be working in the coming weeks on ways we can calm our amygdala and get our prefrontal cortex back in charge.
