Winnie Bear Newsletter – May 3, 2010

Dear Winnie Bear Families,

For the past two weeks, we continued our inquiry on “Trees.”

Language: Vocabulary
We reinforced vocabulary that was taught throughout this inquiry. We also spent some time webbing and brainstorming with the children about what can be made from trees. The children listed tables, chairs, toys, baskets, and paper. The teachers introduced other items such as a violin, wooden utensils, a paper sorter, chopsticks, etc.

Reading: Stories
We continued to share stories that children bring from home. We also read a few books on how paper is made and what items are made from trees.

Art: Earth Day
For Earth Day, we went out and picked up trash to make our planet a better place. We also made coffee filter planets. The children used markers to draw on a coffee filter and then sprayed the filter with water and watched the colors spread and mix together.

Math: Bean Sorting
For math, we sorted beans of different color and sizes.

Science: Observational Drawing/ Paper Making
The children were introduced to observational drawing, where you draw exactly what you see as a form of documentation. We used our green bean experiment to have the children draw what the plants looked like under the three growing situations (under the sun, under artificial light, and in a box). We also started making our own recycled paper. The children saw that already used paper can be remade into new paper.

Next week, we will finish making our own recycled paper and go on our trip to Strawberry Creek Park. We will be finishing our unit on “Trees” and moving to our final unit of study, “Transportation.” We will be focusing on the three major modes of transportation: air, land, and water. We would like to know if any families are especially well-versed in a form of transportation and would like to come and share their knowledge with the children.

Best,
Katherine
5/3/10