May 4th, 2012

• In language arts, our focus book for the week was about beetles.  With this book, we practiced classifying and categorizing.  We also practiced the skill of asking questions about a book while reading.  In language arts, we also practiced segmenting a word into all of its different sounds. For example, cat would be /c/-/a/-/t/.
• In writing, we finished up poetry writing by publishing our favorite poem and sharing it with the class.
• In math, we started solving frog and toad story problems.  The problems we solved this week involved comparing quantities, grouping, putting together, and subtracting.
• In science, we started learning about caterpillars and butterflies.  We have real caterpillars in the classroom so we can learn about them through exploration.  We also have been reading books to learn about them as well.
• Motivated by our butterfly theme, we decided to turn a section of our classroom into a butterfly garden.  This week, we have created vines, flowers, and caterpillars.
• Our community centers had a variety of caterpillar themed activities.  At our math center, we are making a pattern caterpillar and at our art center, we are painting a caterpillar with our hand prints.  This week, we have real caterpillars in our dramatic play.  We can go there, observe them, and write about them in our butterfly journal.
• Heart word of the week: he, she
• Special theme of the week: Butterflies