Extended Day Pre-K

Wednesday... Swimming!

2011-05-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

We had a super-fun day in the pool today!

We first swam laps, practiced jumping in from the side,

swam forwards and backwards and blew bubbles in the water!

We then finished off our time with some free-choice time!

It was a 'splash' of a good time!!!!

Monday... Art

2011-05-04T12:59:00.000-07:00

Mr. C showed us how to draw a '3' on a folded piece of paper and then when

we open it up, it is a butterfly!

We also got to paint butterflies!

... and mold butterflies out of clay!

KidPix was also an option.

DIRT DESSERT!

2011-05-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

Our "cooking activity" today involved making "Dirt Dessert"! We thought this was an appropriate activity given all the rain we've been getting! Children mixed up their own pudding (mud); crushed up Oreo cookies and graham crackers (dirt); and added some gummy worms (worms)! We also read the stories Wonderful Worms and Peanut Butter and Worms.

MORE PLANTING!

2011-05-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, children in the "Elephant Group" planted flowers while the "Cheetah Group" went to computer class.

Planting!

2011-04-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

While the Elephant Group went to Computer Class,

the Cheetah Group planted flowers for spring!

Thumbs up for gardening!

Discovery Day...

2011-04-28T05:08:00.000-07:00

MOLD!

What? Who wants to talk about mold?

Well, WE do!!!

We watched videos on how mold grows on food and how it starts to eat

away at our food!

The video was pretty yucky but fun at the same time!

So, we are growing our own mold on bread and

we are experimenting to see if we can get mold to grow on

cheese, yogurt, and apple slices!

We will keep you updated on our MOLD progress!

WE GOT TO SWIM!

2011-04-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

We were pleasantly surprised this morning when Mr. Yakscoe came to tell us the pool was ready for swimming! So, we didn't miss our swimming class today. Your children are definitely ready for summer swimming. We continue to work on swimming widths of the pool both in the shallow and the deep end. We also work on developing confidence in jumping in the pool. We have quite a few Pre-K fish among us!!

COMPUTER CLASS

2011-04-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

Last week and this week, children enjoyed 2 different activities in the computer lab. One activity involved putting numbers in order. Some children went all the way up to 100! The other activity was a video on the life cycle of a butterfly.

NO SWIMMING ON TUESDAY 4-26-11

2011-04-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

Currently, maintenance work is being done on the pool. Therefore, there will be no swimming class on Tuesday, 4-26-11. We will let you know when the pool reopens for classes.

CHALK!

2011-04-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

Our Discovery activity this week involved making our own chalk! Mrs. Henry shared a beautifully-illustrated, wordless book called Chalk. Next, each child measured his/her own water and plaster of paris into a paper cup and, along with some coloring, mixed it together. Today, we took our homemade chalk outside and enjoyed using it to draw on the sidewalk. Children brought home their piece of homemade chalk!

ART CLASS 4-14-11

2011-04-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

COMPUTER CLASS

2011-04-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

This week in the Computer Lab, Mr. Mitchell found a butterfly life cycle video for us to watch; worked on numerical order; and enjoyed some free play on the computers. When children were not in the computer lab, they worked on numeral writing on the SmartBoard with Mrs. Crain

SWIMMING CLASS-FRIDAY 4-8-11

2011-04-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

The Pre-K children are doing extremely well with their comfort level in the water and learning basic swimming skills. In Friday's swimming class, Mr. Yakscoe had the children jump in the shallow end (either with or without a flotation device for assistance) and swim to the other side. We then did this same activity but in the deep end. Everybody did it! Children who were afraid to go in the deep end of the pool earlier this year, are now gaining confidence in being in the deep end of the pool. We are so proud of their efforts!

HOMEMADE PRETZELS

2011-04-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Last week's cooking activity was making homemade pretzels! We mixed together sugar, salt, flour, water, and yeast. Then we kneaded the dough and shaped it. We brushed them with butter and sprinkled on salt. Then, we baked them and ate them for snack. YUM!

ART CLASS 4-6-11

2011-04-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

In today's art class, children had many opportunities/activities from which to choose, including fingerpainting, working with clay, scratch-art bookmarks, KidPix on the computer, drawing, and painting. The photos below include examples of these activities.

Computer this week...

2011-04-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.create-a-reader.com/basic/_english.html

This is the link to the games that we played in computer class this week!

Have your child show you what he/she did on the game!

Have fun!

DANCING RAISINS!

2011-03-11T13:18:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, we watched raisins "dance"! We dumped baking soda into a container of water. We added some raisins and then white vinegar. The combination of the baking soda and white vinegar created bubbles. The bubbles would cause the raisins to rise and fall (or dance) in the water.

Swimming... Beach Day!

2011-03-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

FABULOUS FRUIT KABOBS!

2011-03-08T14:26:00.000-08:00

Today's "cooking" activity involved making fruit kabobs and fruit dip. The fruits we used included star fruit, papaya, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, kiwi, apples, cantaloupe, and bananas. If they wanted, children could also make a dip to eat with their fruit kabobs. The fruit dip was made with sour cream, vanilla yogurt, and brown sugar. This was a very popular and YUMMY activity!

ART CLASS 3-7-11

2011-03-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

Today's Art Class involved some new activities as well as some old favorites. New activities included stamps and drawing on the dry erase board.

WATER!

2011-03-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

Our Discovery lesson this week involved WATER!! First, we brainstormed the places we find water and ways we use water. Then, we put some celery in water and added food coloring to the water. We will watch the celery closely and carefully over the new few days to see what happens. If the celery turns colors, we know the water has traveled through the celery. Stay tuned!

In the photo below, you can see we split the stalk of celery, putting one part in the blue water and one part in the red water. We can't wait to see what color the top part/leaves of the celery will be once the water travels through the celery. Will it be red? blue? another color?

SLEEPY HEADS!

2011-03-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

Do you think we wore them out?!

SMARTBOARD ACTIVITY

2011-03-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

When part of the class goes to the computer lab, the other part of the class stays in the classroom for activities. This week, we reviewed beginning sounds using the Smart Board. Children would identify the beginning sound/letter of a picture; would find the letter on one of the yellow cars; and would then drag the car beside the picture.

Computer Day!

2011-03-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

We got to pick different stories on-line and the computer read them to us!

The program was called, Capstone Interactive Library!

We really enjoyed being able to pick our own book!

CHEMICAL GARDENS

2011-03-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

Last week Mrs. Henry did a "discovery experiment" called, "Crystal Gardens". Mrs. Henry assisted each student with creating his/her own crystal garden using sponges, water, salt, ammonia, food coloring, and bluing. Over the past week, we have checked to observe the changes to our crystal gardens. Your child will bring home his/her crystal garden to share with you. The children know not to eat or play with their chemical gardens, just observe them.

Cooking!

2011-02-28T17:03:00.000-08:00

Rice Pudding!

We mixed white rice, milk, cream, sugar, and cinnamon

together and then baked our pudding

for 2 hours!

Here is our pudding when it came out of the oven!

It smelled so sweet and yummy and the cinnamon was a perfect touch!

Some of us really liked the rice pudding and some of us didn't think it was as good

as it smelled!

But, we all had fun making it!

SWIMMING CLASS

2011-02-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

Mr. Leach (our P.E. teacher) was our swimming teacher today as Mr. Yakscoe is with the Upper School swim team at a swim meet. During today's swimming class, we did the following...

~made a train and traveled around the perimeter of the pool (either by hanging on to the wall and pulling ourselves or by swimming).

~practiced putting our face in the water and blowing bubbles.

~floated on our fronts and our backs.

~practiced kicking and putting our faces in the water using kickboards; swam the width of the pool this way.

~had some FREE TIME with kickboards, floating barbells, and noodles.

With each swimming class, the children are becoming more comfortable and confident in the water. We are so proud of their efforts!

Thursday... Cooking!

2011-02-17T11:09:00.000-08:00

Cherry Upside Down Cake

We all got to do a job...

cut butter, break eggs, stir, sprinkle, mix.

Every job was important for helping to make our Cherry Upside Down Cake!

Yum!

Monday and Tuesday... Computer Lab

2011-02-15T12:11:00.001-08:00

Mr. Mitchell made us a Valentine's Card to color on KidPix!

Once we finished coloring in our card we had free choice on the computer.

Discovery Day... Ice Magic

2011-02-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

Our experiment for the day was to pick ice out of our cup

without touching the ice with our fingers!

We all picked one ice cube from a bowl and put it in our cup.

We talked about how we could perform this wonderful magic trick...

with salt!

We sprinkled some salt on our ice and added a string to see if we could get the two to stick!

And it did!

We discussed how the salt makes the ice melt and then some will refreeze which

makes the yarn stick to the ice cube.

We talked about the ocean and how it is made up of salt-water

and that is why the majority of the ocean does not freeze!

Very Cool!!!

COOKING CLASS 2-10-11

2011-02-10T18:34:00.000-08:00

Today we made hummus!

NO SWIMMING ON THURSDAY 2-10-11

2011-02-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

There will be no swimming class for EDP on Thursday February 10th. The Middle School (6th grade) needs to use the pool at this time for a special activity/event. We will be doing a cooking activity that we had planned for last week when we ended up having a snow day. Stay tuned!

COOKING CLASS 2-9-11

2011-02-09T16:22:00.000-08:00

In today's cooking class, we discussed how one usually makes cookies--by baking them. The cookies we made today were called, "no-bake cookies". The ingredients for this recipe included oatmeal, sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter. Before we started, we discussed whether each ingredient was a liquid or a solid. When we got to the butter, some children identified it as a solid and some identified it as a liquid. The children then explained how it can be both! These cookies were easy to make and yummy to eat!

PRINTMAKING IN ART

2011-02-08T17:31:00.000-08:00

In today's Art class, Mr. Cicetti demonstrated how to do print-making using the side of a piece of card board. Children were making prints with patterns, letters, and various designs.

Friday!

2011-02-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

Today we had a fun day in computer class! We got to color a picture, on KidPix, of a rocket ship. Then we had free choice on the computer!

It was a blast!!!!

ANIMALS IN WINTER

2011-02-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

Today we read a story about how animals survive in the Winter. The book explained we read explained 4 different ways animals cope with the cold Winter weather. Some animals migrate; some hibernate; some hide; and some change colors. Following the story, we made birdfeeders using bagels, lard, and bird seed. When our birdfeeders were finished, we headed outside to hang them for the birds to enjoy.

Wednesday, Discovery Day

2011-01-27T12:35:00.000-08:00

Ohhhh that's cold!

With all of our recent disucssions about snow and ice, today we decided to have

a discussion about the animals that live in cold Arctic places.

We discussed how cold the water is and how it would feel if we had no protection.

So, we put our hands into ice cold water to see how it felt...

COLD!

We then talked about how animals in the Arctic protect themselves and keep warm.

We learned about blubber and how different animals have sometimes a layer that is 12 inches

thick! This helps the animals to stay warm in the very cold water.

So, our experiment was to make our own blubber layer and see if our hand would still be

really cold in the water or if it would be warm.

We took shortening and made a thick layer in a bag and then put another bag inside that

to protect our hand from getting all yucky.

We then put our hand into the two bags and put it back into the icy, cold water.

To our amazement, our hand didn't get cold! It stayed perfectly warm!

It was a successful experiment!

Jakob, putting his hand in the blubber-bag!

MARSHMALLOW & PRETZEL SNOWFLAKES

2011-01-25T16:34:00.000-08:00

On Monday, we read a non-fiction story about Winter and reviewed facts we've learned about snowflakes--their shapes, their uniqueness, their six sides/points, etc. We then used pretzel sticks and marshmallows to create our own snowflakes. These snowflakes didn't melt and they were yummy to eat!

Swimming Fun!

2011-01-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

We had a really fun time in swimming today!

We practiced jumping into the pool with our kick-boards and we practiced kicking across

from one end of the pool to the other.

After our kicking practice, we had free time in the pool

with the noodles!

It was great!

Wednesday... Computer Lab!

2011-01-19T10:09:00.000-08:00

Mr. Mitchell found us a fun game on the computer where we could "show what you know" with our math-facts with simple adding! Each level got a little harder than the one before! When we were finished we got free choice on the computer. Some of us played KidPix and some played Thinkin' Things!

Discovery Day!

2011-01-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

We did some fun things for discovery day! We planted our avocado pits... "pit-planting" into cups of water! We used toothpicks to poke into the sides and then placed them in a cup. When we asked the kids what they needed to grow a plant, their responses were: water, sun, and love!

We also made Snow-Dough! We got to mix the ingredients and we added glitter to make it sparkle! Make sure to ask me about it... I got to bring a bag home with me today!

GREEN GUACAMOLE

2011-01-13T21:16:00.000-08:00

Today's cooking activity was making guacamole! Everyone participated in making this yummy creation including chopping up tomatoes and red peppers; squeezing the limes for their juice; tearing up fresh cilantro; and mashing the avocado. The best part was eating the guacamole for our afternoon snack. YUMMY!

ART CLASS 1-12-11

2011-01-13T04:35:00.000-08:00

In Art class on Wednesday, Mr. Cicetti discussed and demonstrated how to paint a snow scene. Many children chose to do this activity. Working with clay, drawing with scented markers, and doing Kidpix on the computer were other art activities offered.

RHYME TIME!

2011-01-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

While part of the class went to the Computer Lab today, the other part of the class did a rhyming activity with Mrs. Henry.

LET IT SNOW!

2011-01-11T14:24:00.000-08:00

Today's snowfall provided some slippery fun for recess!

Computer Day!

2011-01-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

Mr. Mitchell showed us more fun things to do on KidPix!

Discovery Day... Ice Experiment!

2011-01-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

Now that it is winter, we are able to do some experiments with ice!

We read a book about winter and then learned that an ice cube will flip itself over as it melts!

We all watched our ice cube very closely as it melted!

Some of us were successful with our ice cube and it flipped

and some of us weren't as successful...

but it was fun anyway!

We learned that as an ice cube melts, it becomes top-heavy so it will flip itself over

in our cup!

FASCINATING!

JAM TARTS!

2011-01-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

To go along with our study of the /J/ sound, we made "Jam Tarts" today! To help us get ready for our cooking activity, we read the story, "Jamberry".

ART CLASS 1-4-11~PRINTMAKING

2011-01-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

Today's Art Class involved a printmaking activity. Onto a piece of plastic/styrofoam, children made/imprinted designs using a pencil. The next step involved rolling ink on to the styrofoam using a brayer. Children then "stamped" their painted design on to a piece of white paper. Their finished products are hanging on the bulletin board outside Pre-K "A". What great artists!!

Monday... Computers!

2011-01-03T11:29:00.000-08:00

Welcome Back!

We enjoyed our day at the computer lab!

Mr. Mitchell showed us how to play 'Thinkin' Things'!

We had a great time picking games to play!

Wednesday and Thursday... Computers

2010-12-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

Mr. Mitchell came up with a really fun dot-to-dot on Kidpix!

We had fun completing the picture and then coloring the inside of the snowman!

When we were finished with the dot-to-dot, we had

free choice on the computer.

Pomegranates

2010-12-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

Today we read The Fruit Bowl, a story about 2 animals who are sharing a bowl of fruit--one of which is a pomegranate. The panda bear in the story demonstrates how to take apart the pomegranate; pick out the seeds; and eat the seeds. Following the story, the children each had their own part of a pomegranate to take apart. This was a great fine motor activity!!!! Even if they didn't eat the seeds, the children enjoyed taking apart the pomegranate and eating the seeds. One of our classmates, Shaia, even told us the word for pomegranate in the Farsi language. Enjoy the photos below. And, if your child came home covered in pomegranate juice, not to worry!! It doesn't stain and easily comes out in the laundry.

SWIMMING CLASS--MONDAY 12/6/1O

2010-12-06T21:25:00.000-08:00

The children are doing a WONDERFUL job in swimming class. With each new class, their comfort level in the water continues to increase. During today's class, children worked on their kicking, swimming the width of the pool (with or without a flotation device), jumping in and swimming to the side, and putting one's face in the water. The children were tired and VERY hungry after today's swimming class. Keep up the great work, Pre-K!

A GENTLE REMINDER: If you are a parent of a girl, please do not send your child to school in tights on swimming days. Thanks!

Tuesday... Computers

2010-11-30T12:22:00.000-08:00

Today for computer class, we played Snakes and Ladders!

We played with a partner and it was a lot of fun!

(this game is very similar to Chutes and Ladders)

Monday... Discovery Day

2010-11-30T12:19:00.000-08:00

This week we discussed the sense of SMELL!

We got to smell different smells and try and guess what the smell was.

Some of us mentioned that when they smelled something, like the pickle juice, they could actually taste

it! We learned in our story, that the sense of smell and the sense of taste are very closely related and

work together!

Some of really liked our smells and some smells... not so much!

Tuesday... 11/23

2010-11-23T16:14:00.000-08:00

Today we had fun swimming!

We had a "beach day" which is a fun, free-for-all swim time!

We got to play water basketball, swim with the noodles, the barbells, and jump off the sides!

For those of us who felt brave, we also swam to the deep end and got to jump of the starting blocks!

COOKING CLASS 11-22-10

2010-11-22T14:24:00.000-08:00

During Extended Day this afternoon we read the book, Cranberry Thanksgiving. It is a story of a man who wants to try to find out the recipe for the cranberry bread a local Grandmother makes and serves at Thanksgiving. The recipe is included at the end of the story. So, we made cranberry muffins today! Before we could get started, the children cut the fresh cranberries (with plastic knives, of course!). These muffins made for a yummy treat at our afternoon snack!

Happy Thanksgiving!

ART CLASS 11-19-10

2010-11-19T13:10:00.000-08:00

In today's Art class, Mr. Cicetti talked to the Pre-K children about clay and how to work with it. He also showed them the kiln in the Art room where he "fires" clay creations so they harden. Children could choose to make a clay pot today in Art, which Mr. Cicetti will "fire" in the kiln.

CORN COB PAINTING

2010-11-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

During Extended Day Pre-K this afternoon, we painted with corn on the cob! The corn cobs produced a unique design on the paper.

Wednesday and Thursday... Computers

2010-11-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

Mr. Mitchell found us a fun puzzle game on the Internet!

We got to choose different Thanksgiving pictures and have them cut into different

size pieces to try and put together!

Here is the link to try it at home!

http://www.jigzone.com/gallery/Thanksgiving

SWIMMING CLASS--MONDAY 11/15/10

2010-11-16T20:11:00.000-08:00

The Pre-K children are making observable progress with every swimming class. They are becoming quite a "school of fish"! Depending on comfort level and ability, skills worked on in our recent swimming class included:

~putting your face in the water

~floating on your stomach

~floating on your back

~using a kickboard to swim the width of the pool

~using a kickboard to swim the length of the pool

Discovery Day! 5 Senses!

2010-11-16T17:13:00.000-08:00

Today we spent our time focusing on the sense of touch! We discussed textures such as rough, smooth, slimy, hard, soft, squishy...

We read another story on the 5 senses and then we got out our mystery feel box!

We each got a turn to feel an object inside the box and then try to guess what the object was.

EVERYONE guessed their objects correctly! I didn't stump anyone!

We must have a really good sense of touch!

Our objects we placed in our mystery feel box!

Feeling the texture of the carpet.

Everyone decided the carpet is rough and hard... not like our carpet at home!

Getting our mystery box ready!

Julius feeling inside of the box!

GREEN EGGS AND HAM!

2010-11-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Since we are studying colors right now in Pre-K, our cooking activity today was making GREEN eggs and ham! After reading this fun story, we cracked some eggs; added some green food coloring; and made green scrambled eggs. As the children watched the eggs cook, one child's comment was, "They look like slime." While his observation was quite accurate, this did not discourage anyone from eating the green eggs and ham!

ART CLASS 11-11-10

2010-11-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

BUSY BUILDERS!

2010-11-11T04:14:00.000-08:00

During our Free Choice yesterday afternoon, we had some busy builders in the construction zone!

Computer Class!

2010-11-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

We played a matching color game during computer class yesterday and today! The game was called

Bloople's Colors!

We had to listen to the directions and match up the colors with the animals.

Once we finished that game, we got to do a similar game but with shapes then numbers!

Discovery Day! 5 Senses!

2010-11-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

We just started a new "unit" for Discovery Day! We will be exploring our 5 Senses!

Today we read a story called My 5 Senses and discussed all our our senses. We then broke into two groups and read our focus story Hear This! (We will focus on a different sense every Discovery Day)

We played a game called 'Eggs Full of Sounds' and used our sense of sound to try and guess what was in the eggs. We discovered that this is a lot harder than it sounds!

CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES!

2010-11-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

ART CLASS 11-3-10

2010-11-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

In today's Art Class, Mr. Cicetti talked about Color. He also introduced oil pastels. These are a type of crayon made of oil. After making a design with oil pastels, Mr. Cicetti demonstrated how to use water colors over the pastels. He explained to the children that oil and water don't mix so the oil tells the water, "Get off my back!".

In the photos below, children are engaged in various art activities.

Thursday... Swimming!

2010-10-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

We had a great day swimming today! We practiced putting our face underwater and floating on our back. Our next swimming day will not be until the 15th of November! Please remember to dress your child in clothes that he/she can take off and put back on independently. Please NO tights for the girls! It makes our dressing and undressing go much faster when the children are able to do it themselves!

Cooking... Monster Mash

2010-10-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

The 'snake slime' and other ingredients!

Adding the 'spider fangs' and 'mummy toes'!

Yummy!

Delicious!

Taste great!

Tuesday... what an extended day!

2010-10-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it's a blurry picture from my phone... but this is how we spent our extended day today!

Everyone did an amazing job during the tornado warning. Some of us even slept through it!

Poor Mrs. B had her "hands full" during the warning too... but she was a trooper!

From all of us here at Academy, we hope you were able to be as safe as we were.

*more pictures to follow soon

MUD PUDDLE COOKIES

2010-10-10T21:17:00.000-07:00

During Extended Day this past Friday, we made "mud puddle cookies". They were simple and fun to make and delicious to eat!

First, we beat an egg...

...and added it in the bigger bowl.

Next, we added Cool Whip into the bowl with the egg.

Then, we added a chocolate cake mix to the bowl.

Time to stir our ingredients!

Next, we take the dough and roll it in a mixture of cocoa and powdered sugar.

Time to put these into the oven!

Ready to eat!

ART DAY!

2010-10-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

We had fun exploring the different areas of the art room today. We had the opportunity to paint, to mold clay, to work on the computer, and to use oil pastels!

Check out how creative we are!

APPLE CRISP

2010-09-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

Our cooking activity today was making apple crisp. Children helped cut up the apples (with plastic knives); add the ingredients; and mix the ingredients.

Before enjoying our yummy apple crisp, Mrs. Spolter shared the story of The Little Red House (A copy of this story will be in your child's folder on Friday.)

Be sure to ask your child how and where the little boy in the story found the "little red house".

Did you know that if you cut an apple in half horizontally, there is a star inside?

BUSY BUILDERS!

2010-09-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

TIKKI TIKKI TEMBO

2010-09-27T19:43:00.001-07:00

Today we read the story, "Tikki Tikki Tembo". There are 3 T's in the title of this book. Be sure to ask your child about this story!

WILL IT MELT?

2010-09-27T19:03:00.001-07:00

Last Friday during EDP, we did a melting experiment using various types of food and the hot weather outside! See the before-and-after photos below. Be sure to ask your child which foods melted and which foods did not melt!

~Butter~

~Ice~

~Cheese~

~Jelly~

~Chocolate Chips~

~Vegetables and Crackers~

Popsicle

Sabrina, Genevieve, and Evan checking out the melting chocolate chips!

SWIMMING DAY!

2010-09-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

MATZOH BALL SOUP

2010-09-22T14:05:00.001-07:00

Today's cooking activity was making matzoh ball soup.

First, the children helped to make the matzoh.

Next, the children enjoyed rolling the matzoh into matzoh balls for the soup.

We added the matzoh balls to the boiling broth on the stove.The photo below shows what the matzoh balls looked like after simmering on the stove for 20 minutes.

Before eating the soup, we compared what the matzoh balls looked like before and after they were cooked. We talked about how they grew or expanded.

And, on to the best part of cooking.....eating the finished product!

In the photo below, the children raising their hands are the ones who loved the matzoh ball soup. Many children asked if they could have the recipe to take home!

ART CLASS

2010-09-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

In today's Art class, students enjoyed choosing from 3 different art activities: painting, clay, and drawing with scented markers.

2010-09-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

BUBBLES!

2010-09-16T04:09:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, we did a "Discovery" activity with bubbles. After reading the story, "Bubble Bubble", we headed outside for some bubble blowing fun! We didn't use any old bubble wands. Check out the slide show to find out what we used to blow our bubbles!

BAKIN' BANANA BREAD

2010-09-14T19:49:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday we made banana bread from scratch!

We mashed the bananas!
We measured and added ingredients.

We mixed....

and mixed

and mixed!!!!!

We saved the best ingredient for last...chocolate chips!And, we mixed some more!!

Mrs. Spolter put the batter in the oven to bake and we will enjoy our banana bread for snack on Thursday......all 8 loaves!!

In addition to making banana bread, children also had the opportunity to choose activities from the "Activity Shelf" and also traveled outside to look at one of our "adopted trees" while listening to the book, "A Tree For All Seasons". Mrs. Henry said the children were quite surprised when they learned (from the book) that the syrup they put on their pancakes and waffles comes from a tree!

YUMMY JELL-O

2010-09-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

On Friday, we took a look at the Jell-O we made last Wednesday. We discussed how it went from a liquid to a solid. We also discussed how we could tell it was now a solid and not a liquid. The best part was eating our Jell-O for snack on Friday!

COMPUTER LAB & SHAVING CREAM

2010-09-12T14:55:00.001-07:00

Friday was the first day to visit the computer lab for the children in the photo below.

The children who did not go to the computer lab, stayed in the classroom and did some "finger writing" with shaving cream. They will get the chance to visit the computer lab next Friday.

ADOPTING TREES

2010-09-11T20:33:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, the EDP class divided into 2 groups (Pre-K A and Pre-K B) and went on a search for a tree to "adopt". Throughout the school year, we will take trips to visit the trees to observe and discuss the changes we see happening.

Pre-K "A" adopted the tree in the photo below and named it, "Mr. Squiggles".

In the photo below is the tree which Pre-K "B" chose to adopt. They named their tree, "Happy, Smiley, Bubbly Tree".

JELL-O!

2010-09-08T18:59:00.001-07:00

During Extended Day today, we did a cooking/science activity using Jell-O....

First, we dumped the Jello-powder into the pan and discussed if the Jell-O was ready to eat. We then talked about what we needed to do to turn this "powder" into Jell-O.

Next, we added water to the powder and then....

we stirred and...

stirred and...

stirred. We discussed that right now the Jell-O is a liquid but after being in the refrigerator for awhile, the Jell-O will turn into a solid. We also the term used when a powdery substance disappears when water is added....it dissolves.
The best part came next, when children worked in small groups to make Jell-O. On Friday, we will enjoy eating our Jell-O as part of our snack. YUM!

VISIT TO THE POOL

2010-09-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

Today we traveled to the Academy pool to meet Mr. Yakscoe and see where we will be doing swimming class. Mr. Yakscoe talked to us about what to expect when we are in swimming class. He also read us the story, "Froggy Learns To Swim". Be sure to ask your child to demonstrate, "Chicken, Airplane, Soldier"!

SUMMER FUN!

2010-09-02T21:02:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday and Thursday, we made watermelon popsicles! Each child chose a cookie cutter shape and used it on a slice of watermelon. We added a popsicle stick and put the watermelon shapes in the freezer. We then enjoyed eating them outside!

ART CLASS

2010-09-02T18:45:00.001-07:00

Today the EDP children met Mr. Cicetti for their first Art class. The children made paper sculptures. Some of the sculptures needed to stay at school in order to dry. Enjoy the photos below of this first Art class!