Hello Pre-1 Families and Friends,
As we close on another month of learning in our classroom we have so much to share with you about the children’s learning and development in our classroom.
Recycling Study
For the first few weeks in March, we have spent time learning about recycling. We have discussed what it means to recycle as we have had many in-depth conversations about the recycling process. We have incorporated multiple books during our read-aloud to introduce the recycling topic. Such books include: “I Stink”, “Sam helps recycle”, and “Something from nothing”. During our read-aloud, we would review the concepts, plot, and characters in each book together as a large group. We would also introduce new vocabulary words such as reduce and reuse. We incorporated many hands-on learning activities as our science area had bins to allow the children to sort many recycled items. We had a recycling bin for paper, plastic, and metal. During the choice time, we talked about the different materials that could be assorted by type of material. We also created recycled crayons by peeling old crayons, breaking them into pieces, and melting them into muffin tins. The children were excited to use the recycled crayons in our art area.
Small Groups
For our small groups, we spent time creating 3-D artwork using recycled materials. We created a recycled material collage using large butcher paper, recycled materials, and glue. The children glued down plastic and paper straws and milk caps. Each child was able to tell us with their own words what it means to recycle. We wrote each child’s word onto the butcher paper. We also created robots using various boxes, tubes, and art collage materials. Thank you to all of our families that participated in providing materials for our recycling study. Our final 3-D art project was creating paper mache bowls. The children followed multi-step directions as they dipped strips of paper into a mixture of flour and water and wrapped it over a plastic bowl. The children repeated this process twice to completely cover their bowl. Our 3-D art experiences allowed the children to create processed art rather than product art. Process art is child-directed and celebrates the experience of discovery. During process art the final product is always unique and the focus lies in the creation of the work, not the outcome.
Read- Alouds
Our read-aloud stories this month focused on the concept of recycling as we introduced new concepts and vocabulary. The book “Sam Helps Recycle” focuses on the main character Sam who is a Golden Retriever. His owner places his red food bowl into their homes recycling bin. This makes Sam feel sad, but he is able to go through the process of how his bowl is recycled and remade into a new bowl. The book visits the recycling center and walks you through the process. At the end of the book Sam is happy as he recieves his new red bowl. Some of the new vocabulary words learned in this book were: reused, reduce and recycle.
Reminders
We wanted to remind everyone that we will be celebrating The Week of the Young Child at our center from April 12-16th. We will be celebrating by having a spirit week. Each day will have a different theme: Monday is favorite outfit day, Tuesday is wear your pajamas, Wednesday is wear you workout or sports outfit, Thursday is Wacky outfit/crazy hair day, and Friday is Spirit NIU outfit day. Please join us in our spirit week as we celebrate the young children at our center!
We look forward to working with you the remainder of the semester with you and your child! As always, please reach out with any questions or needs that you might have.
Your Pre-1 Team,
Jen, Sarah and Abby
