Ss is for Space

The week of September 22-26, we learned all about Space! We learned that the Sun is a star (in fact our star) and we discussed the 8 planets in our solar system.  We also discussed how Earth rotates around the sun and discovered that most of the students in the classroom have been around the sun 3 or 4 times!  The students also helped demonstrate the reason for night and day on Earth when two of our students simulated the Earth spinning on it's axis to face the sun during the day and away from the sun at night.  We also completed many activities centered on the space theme including making our own planets and making name rockets.

For our planets, the students watercolor painted coffee filters and then glued them on a black piece of paper along with stars.

We also made name rockets.  The students did great writing each letter of their name on each square of their rocket!  Next, they added glitter glue to make rocket boosters!

We also made suns by gluing down a yellow circle and adding orange rays around the sun.  Next, the students counted how many rays were on their sun and then practiced writing that number.

We also played a fun game where the students had to match the number of stacked snap blocks with the number on each star (1-6).

We also talked about the letter Ss.  

We discussed the sound letter Ss makes and also practiced writing it.

untracing the letter Ss

forming the letter S with star stickers

Other fun activities!

Aa is for Apple

This past week, we learned all about apples!  We learned that apples come in different colors (red, green, yellow), about the parts of the apple and which parts are edible, how apples grow, and much more!  We also talked about the letter Aa and practiced both recognizing and writing it.  One day this week, we even made our own mini apple pies using crescent roll dough, apples, and cinnamon,.  The students had fun making their own apple desert and of course enjoyed eating it for snack!

Monday

Morning work on Monday included dominoes and snap blocks (sharpening those fine motor skills).

Our line leader and caboose leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance!

At our apple math center, we measured the height of an apple with cubes and measured the circumference of the apple with a piece of yarn.

At another center, we used homemade apple pie playdough to make apples on an apple tree.

Playing Dress up!

Hunting for green apples in our sensory bin

Tuesday

On Tuesday we continued our apple themed centers with play-doh modeling of the capital and lowercase letter Aa. 

We also played a game where we rolled a die and removed that amount of apples from the apple tree.

Thursday

On Thursday, we read a story about a little red house with no windows or doors and has a star inside.  The students were excited when I cut an apple crosswise and revealed a star inside the apple.

Friday

One of our centers on Friday was making an apple life cycle.  "Eat an apple, Save the core, Plant some seeds, Grown some more!"

At another center, we practiced writing the letter Aa in cornmeal.  The students did a great job and were careful to keep the cornmeal in the tray!

Apple fun with the flannel boards

Our torn paper apple trees we completed on Wednesday on display in the hall. They turned out super cute and the students had fun tearing the red and green paper we used to make our trees.