Today was the conclusion of our ocean unit. To review some of the ocean animals that we have learned about, the morning session created a journal about their favorite ocean animals. They are doing well with helping to write the beginning sounds of words!
During circle time, we learned all about snorkelers and scuba divers. We learned that a scuba diver goes down deep into the ocean and needs special equipment to stay safe, such as an air tank. A snorkeler does not go very deep and uses a snorkel to help breathe while underwater.
The morning session listened to the story Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea. It is about a boy snorkeler who sees many different ocean animals while swimming in the sea. Then we worked on vocabulary words, such as snorkel, face mask, and swim fins, while playing a "What's Missing? Snorkeler" game.
In the afternoon, Audrie's mom and dad came to school. They are certified scuba divers! During their visit, we saw some of the special equipment that they use for scuba diving. We also got to see some pictures. Thank you for coming in! The children truly enjoyed your visit! :)
Instead of centers, we worked on a large group project together today to make our own snorkelers! While working on this project, we practiced how to be a big kindergarten student by listening to and following multiple step directions, as well as working independently. Each snorkeler turned out to be very unique! In the afternoon, we ran out of time so the snorkeler project was an optional playtime activity that some children chose to do.
Playtime was different in each class today. In the morning, most of the children chose to dance to beach music on their beach towels. They were also pretending to surf! Other children chose to read stories on their beach towels.
In the afternoon, Vince had a special present for our classroom! He gave our classroom an Olivia pirate ship to play with! Several children in the afternoon chose to spend time playing with the pirate ship. Thank you for the new toy, Vince! :)
In the morning, we started our beach party at snack time. We worked together to make a sand cup snack. First we had to mix some vanilla pudding.
Then we crushed graham crackers to create sand.
We filled our cups with pudding and then put graham crackers on top. The children also were able to add some fruit snack sea creatures to the top of their sand cups before eating. Yum! We even got to eat snack on our beach towels!
We also got out some beach balls to play with. It was a fun beach party!
The afternoon session read a manatee story that Audrie brought to school. A manatee is Audrie's favorite animal. Several children were not sure what a manatee was. The story and pictures from Audrie's parents helped us to learn more about manatees.
Miss McCabe has also gone scuba diving and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. We looked at some pictures of Miss McCabe scuba diving and snorkeling on the SMART Board.
The afternoon class earned 3 class BEAK awards today! Wow! They worked very hard and have now earned enough for a classroom party! We brainstormed a list of possible party ideas and then voted. The winner was a Frozen classroom party. The next few weeks are very busy with special dress-up days and substitute teachers so we talked about how we may have to wait until later in the month for the party. I am so proud of them for working hard - and being patient about waiting to hold a party! A note will come home when the time for the party comes nearer!
Next week we will be learning about Dr. Seuss and reading several of his stories in honor of his birthday. There will be a special dress-up day each day next week. On Monday, please wear red and white to school!
Have a great weekend! :)
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