Good Afternoon!
Our three kindergartners were asked to write down three things that they see in their neighborhoods. While most answers were similar, there were a few that stuck out—like a river!
Social Studies: K.3.6 Identify and compare similarities and differences in families, classmates, neighbors and neighborhoods, and ethnic and cultural groups.
This theme extended into K/PREK1 group where we read one of my favorite books: Here and There by Kane Miller. If you enjoy talking about other cultures in your household, this is a must have book! A few other topics within the book are buying groceries, chores, and nature and how they differ from culture to culture, country to country.
We specifically focused on a few pages about how kids in other cultures get to school. K/PREK1 group members were shocked that some kids have to walk hours to get to school or take a cable car or even a canoe to get to school!
Once we were done reading, we took a pole focusing on six things that we may or may not see in our neighborhood. Once we were done, we came to the conclusion that our neighborhoods, for the most part, have tons of trees and grass while offering up chances to see animals as well as people and kids. I posed the following question:
“What would you do if your neighborhood didn’t have any grass? How would that make you feel?”
….I got stunned looks followed by, “Real bad!”
We talked about how some neighborhoods, like in New York City for example, don’t have any grass because it’s all big buildings with mostly streets surrounding it. This was quite eye opening!
Social Studies: K.3.6 Identify and compare similarities and differences in families, classmates, neighbors and neighborhoods, and ethnic and cultural groups.
Our welcome activity excited several children as they sat down to use tongs and colorful puff balls to fill in a wooden rainbow. It attracted Bo’s attention right as he walked in the door! A few children sorted by color while others extensively working on their fine motor skills as they placed the puff balls on the rainbow.
We finally got out our new playdough that we made last Friday! A few children commented, “Oh it’s so soft!”.
Tools were used to manipulate the playdough. A few of our favorites are the garlic press, rolling pin, and cookie dough cutouts.
Breakfast– Toasted oatmeal squares with fresh pineapple.
Lunch– Peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat bread, fresh oranges, and fresh cucumber/broccoli.
PM snack– Whole wheat toast with butter and cinnamon along with cheddar cheese.
Wee Sprout– Fresh broccoli/cucumber.
Have a wonderful evening!
-Mindy
Link to pictures: WF 8/16