On a dreary wet day.....you build forts, put stickers in your journals and do puzzles!

Another sensory bin for our Bugs & Crawly Things theme!

They created a grasshopper using a template by Artsy Momma. They painted the head, legs, added eyes and mouth. Once the paint dried, they added their handprint for the body of the grasshopper. 
We worked on letter Vv today and completed a Vv puzzle. V is for violin, volcano, and vacuum. They searched for all the letter V's and pictures that begin with the /v/ sound. Learning letters and their sounds will help them when ready to read and write! They used a green crayon just like a camouflaged grasshopper in the grass. We read "Three Butterflies" and used story pieces as we read the story. They were encouraged to recreate the story in their journals. 

Spiders are arachnids (not insects) because they only have tow body segments instead of three.  Spiders have 8 legs while insects have 6.  On average, it takes a spider about 60 minutes to spin a web.  They made a spider today using, paper plate, paints sticks, google eyes and paper.  They were encouraged to paint the plate and count out 8 legs.  I showed them how to fold the paper for the legs, they did a great job folding the paper!!
We colored and cut letter Vv and rainbow traced letter V. 

Ladybugs are a type of beetle.  They are also known as lady beetles or ladybird beetles.  Some ladybugs have no spots and others have up to 20 spots.  There are about 5,000 different species of ladybugs in the world.  In many cultures, ladybugs are considered symbols of good luck.  
They made a ladybug headband, using stickers, markers, wiggle eyes, and twist ties.  
For their name, they made a ladybug and the spots were used for their names.  They also, traced their name and on the back of the name plate they placed dots for as many years old they are. I set out a variety of  items, lids, cups, bottle caps, pom-poms and they were encouraged to explore creating circular shapes with paint.  

As children learn more about bugs, they can begin to learn how to appreciate them. Teachers can help foster these ideas by being a role model and demonstrating how they could react when seeing a bug. Learning about bugs in important at a young age because children can learn about how they can help our environment. Bees, butterflies, beetles and even ants are examples of bugs that are good pollinators which help plants continue to grow.  Through observations, discussions, songs and books, children can understand how bugs are beneficial to us.  
Our unit this week is about backyard bugs. Today I introduced this unit with a bugs sensory bin. They also crawled around pretending to be various insects. 
​For fine motor skill practice, we drew lady bugs in our fine motor journals and used pom poms to paint flowers. 

Peacocks are known for their colorful feather displays.  Their long tails, called "trains," can reach up to six feet long.  A male is called a peacock and a female is called a peahen.  Babies are called peachicks.  Peacocks make loud screeching sounds.
The children made a peacock mask, using paper, sequins, glue and scissors.  I reminded them how to make feathers and demonstrated how to curl the paper using a pencil or crayon.  
For fine motor they used stickers and traced lines.  

Ostriches are fascinating birds.  These flightless birds have huge eyes which are actually bigger than their brains! This special feature gives them excellent eyesight. They have sturdy legs and a bulky body covered with feathers. It cannot fly but can run extremely fast. The ostrich is the world's largest bird and they lay the largest eggs in the world.  During this Invitation to Create, children talked about bird body parts while they experimented with how to make feather markings using paint and a fork.  These types of art projects inspire children to teach for common house items then use them as tools or art supplies. Process-based art allow children to think outside the box and become innovators.
They used dot markers on butcher paper to dot letters and sorted letters with stickers. They used magnifiers to investigate different bird feathers and match the bird with the feathers. 

Chickadees are known for their distinctive -dee call.  There is a code to the number of -dees called by a chickadee.  One -dee indicates that there is no threat, but five -dees at the end of the call could indicate there's a predator nearby.  
They drew a line in their journals and were encouraged to dip their finger in the stamp pad and place 6 or 10 fingerprints (birds) on the line!  They created chickadee shape birds on a line.  We have been working letter Xx and they completed Xx puzzle.
We have been reading a book about generosity, Bunny is not feeling well, his Bear, Bee and Bird friends make Bunny some tea to help Bunny feel better.