Very Quiet Crickets.

This week we began to look for similarities among insects.
Morah Katie: How many legs does a cricket have? 
Efraim: 6
Morah Katie: How many legs does your dragonfly have Mimi?
Mimi: 6
Morah Katie: Gracie, how many legs does your beetle have?
Gracie:  6 Legs.

 We also noticed that insects have 3 parts to their bodies.

Sroli: Head thorax abdomen.

We read The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle.  

As we were listening to the story, our classroom crickets began to chirp!

We learned from the story that adult male crickets make the chirp. 

We realized our crickets must be boys!

Morah Katie:  How does a cricket make its chirp?

Efraim: Rub its wings together.

Morah Katie: Let's try something, the boys will be boy crickets and the girls will be girl crickets.

If you are a cricket who chirps please chirp now (Efraim/Sroli/Judah/Natan).

Gracie, why aren't you chirping?

Gracie: I'm a GIRL cricket!

We played a listening game.  One friend took our small music box and hid. 

That child was the quiet cricket, until they played the music box. 

The seeker had to follow the music and find the cricket.

 

We made "bugs on a stump" for snack. When asked what bugs they might be eating, we heard a variety of answers:
Gracie: ladybug
Scout: bees
Efraim: crickets
Abigail: grasshoppers
Sroli: butterflies
Jack: cock roaches
Zim: butterflies

The children have had 16 days of school.

During these 16 days, Morah Amanda and I have demonstrated what the "leader/host of the day" does.
Morah Katie: What can I expect from my friend who is the leader of the day?
Gracie: They help put out the snack tables.
Jack: They help change the calendar.
Abigail: Help their friends if they have a boo boo.
Zim: They put the shapes out to walk to play.
Efraim: Collect tzedaka.
Abigail: Sing songs.
Each child will be a leader as we rotate through our name cards.
This allows each child the opportunity to have this special and responsible role.

 

The children are recognizing the routines of the classroom which allows for a lot of activity, play, and discussion. 

Please send your child with a cloth napkin as a place mat for lunch.  

It is one small thing we can do to reduce our use of paper. Paper is important for cutting/painting/coloring/collage. We use quite a bit as we create and learn through art and crafts.

Replacing a paper towel with cloth is one way the children at The Gan can be stewards of our planet.