Applesauce, Books & Children

Here are some of the books we've read over the past few weeks. 

The student have enjoyed retelling "Mr. Bears Apple Tree". 

The two young scientists are enjoying the recently opened science table.

Using magnifying glasses to observe the branches & leaves of an apple tree.

Tuesday was applesauce tasting day!

Many students were very eager to taste the apple sauce.

Thumbs up for our sauce!

Check out the survey we did about applesauce on the hallway bulletin board.

Team 5 did a sequencing activity about how apple trees grow.

Taking a car trip in dramatic play.

Captaining the pirate ship.
***************************************************************************

Apples

Last Friday Team 5 and I made a list of facts they knew about apples:

Apples have seeds.  First the trees grow, then the apples grow. G.A.

They are so juicy! S.B.

They are so yummy. A.K.

They are red. E.L.C

They are green too. ELB

Apples grow on trees. E.V.

You need a basket. S.P.

You can make apple pie & apple sauce. M.C.

Team 3 students got to pick apples from our own apple tree here at the Dover School!
They learned: lift, twist and pluck so we wouldn't damage the tree.
We used them for our apple sauce.

Together we sliced and cored the apples.

We call it "apple splash" for a reason.

We collected seeds for the apples for our upcoming art project & our science table.
Thanks to the many families who also brought in seeds.

This student did some great apple seed harvesting.

"The apple slices go in the bowl, the cores go in there."
Team 5 members explain how to sort apple pieces to a team 3 student just joining the activity.

Students put the apple pieces in the crock pot with water, some lime juice & zest,
a bit of cinnamon and several tablespoons of brown sugar.  They got to observe the apples cook throughout the day and could see how the apples changed as they heated up.
The apples also smelled terrific!

The food mill pushes the soft parts of the apples through small holes creating a smooth consistency.
We discussed how this was similar to sifting our sand at the sand table.
We could just shake the apples to separate them because they are so moist and juicy.

We turned and turned the crank .

Team 3 members enjoying applesauce at snack time.

We'll eat the applesauce we made on Tuesday 9/24.

Here are the other fun things we've been up for the past two weeks:

"I built a wall!"

Exploring cause & effect & a little physics in the block area.

Nice team work creates an imaginative structure.

Taking care of the babies.

One student is a very good dad  the dramatic play area.

We cut play-dough as an introduction to scissor skills. It is great fine motor exercise.

"Our snacks match! We both have grapes"

These students are writing shopping lists & checks in our dramatic play area.
This is a good example of how I work early literacy & writing opportunities
into our center time activities.

We had our first group literacy time last Friday.  We started with an easier pre-writing activity so I could go over the routine of what we do as a group and how to work on your own.  The whole was focused, respectful of their friends (a.k.a. quiet) and tried their best.
I was incredibly proud of them and this week went just as well.  

 Head outdoors for some stump jumping,

Peek-a-boo!

Enjoying our sand boat & looking for "treasure" on Talk Like a Pirate Day.

We caught a beautiful grasshopper.

I added rakes to our outdoor active play activities.
One student is seen here doing a bit of "zen gardening"

*************************************************

Our First Weeks...

We're off to a great start in the Pre-K room.  Team 5 is remembering what they learned from last year and are working on understanding their new expectations and responsibilities.  Team 3 has been absolutely great, from separating from parents to learning the rules & routines of their new classroom.  Right now we're focus on these basics and coming together as a cohesive unit.
Our first thematic unit will be coming up soon... Apples!

The first thing we learn about is the book area;
Where the books go and how to treat them respectfully.
Here Team 3 students demonstrate excellent paired reading & book sharing.

Some of the books we've read so far...

Making a layer cake with play-dough.

This student show his silly putty creation.

The silly putty is really popular this year.
It is a great work out for little fingers.

New!! We have a now have a separate water table thanks to Mrs. Baker.

The new Team 5 students really, really love having their own desks.

We talked a lot about building safely in the block area.
This student is carefully stacking up a structure.
The Dover Pre-k building code requires that construction be chest height at most.  

At times our sand table is also a bakery.
It is very high quality operation, they even sift the flour.
Some excellent teamwork produced a four tiered cake & a delicious trio of cupcakes.

Enjoying our climber.

We love...

....the tricycles!!

A little creative use of our ball basket.

***********