Dear Parents,
This week we went on an amazing "journey" to Antarctica to visit the penguins. The children learned several facts about penguins such as: Penguins can't fly but can swim under water. There are 17 different species of penguins. The largest penguins is 4 feet tall (emperor penguin) and the smallest is 16 inches tall (the little blue penguin, or fairy). Some of the stories the children enjoyed listening to were: About Penguins, by Cathryn Sill, Without You, by Sarah Weeks and "Where is Home, Little Pip?, by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman.
When we asked the children what they learned about penguins, this is what they said:
After reading about penguins, the children created their own rockhopper penguins. They painted black tubes with white bellies and then they added eyes, feet, a beak, and hair. They came out so adorable!
Penelope the Penguin
The children also made made a display for the penguins. First they painted a cardboard stand white, and then they painted the top of it with a mixture of blue food coloring, water, corn syrup and even added some fish stickers.
Ms Mallari had a wonderful discussion with the children about what we see in winter, such as snow, snowman, icicles, snowflakes:
~ Winter is the season that comes after fall. In many places around the world, it is the coldest time of the year.
~ An icicle is made of ice. When water that is dripping, it freezes and turns into an icicle.
~ Snow - In the cold winter, water freezes and falls as snow. Snow is made of tiny flakes called snowflakes.
~ Snowflakes are really just little drops of water that have frozen into crystals.
~ Snowman - Wet, sticky snow is the best kind of snow for making snow-men and snow-women.
This week we practiced writing and sounding out the letter "A." Some of the words that the children came up with were: Apple, alligator, ant, Avi, Audrey, and Avery. A is for apple, shiny and red. A is for ape with a big, furry head.
Ms. Drago read a great story called Penguin Problems, by Jory John. This story is about a penguin who isn't very happy about many things such as: the ocean smells too salty, the sun is too bright, the ocean is too dark, he is hungry, he looks silly when he waddles, and he can't fly, etc. The story takes a positive turn when he meets a wise walrus who reminds him that life might be challenging at times, but never forget the beauty of life.
She also sang the "Penguin Song" with them, while they danced.
Other fun activities in class:
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| Sliding penguins on their bellies in the snow (salt) |
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Love, Ms. Bonne and Ms. Mallari
Taking a rest after a hard day's work
Great to see winter lessons in full swing. We heard so many happy stories about penguins this week at home
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