Winnie Bear Newsletter – April 15, 2010

Dear Winnie Bear Families,

In addition, to continuing our “Tree” unit, the past two weeks have been filled with special activities. On Thursday, April 1st, we had a whole school egg hunt. On Tuesday, April 6th, Shu Wen, a docent from the Tilden Botanical Garden came in to speak with us about some native trees and plants. She brought in some leaf samples and growing trees for us to see. On Thursday, April 8th, Chris Lin, the author of “Mandy and Pandy” came in to share his stories with the whole school. The children all seemed to really enjoy all three activities. =)

Language: Vocabulary
Below is a list of theme specific vocabulary words that have been introduced:
1.Easter – 复活节（fu huo jie）
2.Maple Tree – 枫树（feng shu）
3.Squirrel – 松鼠（song shu）
4.Bird – 鸟（niao）
5.Butterfly – 蝴蝶（hu die）
6.Caterpillar – 毛毛虫（mao mao chong）
7.Monkey – 猴子（hou zi）

Reading: Stories
We continued to read a few books on how plants grow and went through the different life stages of a growing seed. We have also been sharing books that children brought in from home that are related to our current theme.

Art: What animals live in trees? / Easter Egg Trees
After we discussed what kinds of animals live in trees, the children each made a tree and drew the animals they liked on their tree. We also made Easter egg trees. The children traced their hand and forearm to make the branches and tree trunk, and then they colored five different eggs and used them as leaves and put one egg on each finger.

Science: Growing Basil
We discussed what a seed needs in order to sprout and grow. The children came up with dirt, sun, and water. After the discussion, each child decorated a styrofoam cup and planted some basil seeds. They put it in front of the window and have been watering their own plant each morning. After the basil started to sprout, each child was given their plant to take home. Please feel free to re-pot and use the basil for any of your cooking needs.

Next week, we will be observing the growth of our green beans and discussing the importance of trees in our daily lives.

Best,
Katherine
4/15/10