Week of 4/8

Dear Yellow Room Families,,

We had another exciting week! Below is an update on what the Yellow Room children learned this week in school.  
 
Themes this week:

• We continued our in depth study on Life Cycles. This week we focused on the four stages of butterflies:  the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and then finally the butterfly.

Classroom Activities:

• For math, we discussed symmetry; when one shape becomes exactly like another if you flip or turn it.  We first observed the symmetry in shapes such as a circle, square and heart. Then, we observed a variety of butterfly wings and learned that they have two wings that are symmetrical. The children then had a turn to make their own symmetrical wings with markers and tissue paper. 
• As a follow up math activity, the children sequenced circles to form a caterpillar. We then practiced writing our numbers from 1 to 10 on each circle. We have been working so hard this year on writing our numbers!
• We recreated the four stages of a butterfly by sequencing them in a one-of-a-kind art project. First, the children glued down ripped strips of brown paper as tree branches. Then, they glued down four leaves, placed a model magic ball as an egg on one and a caterpillar on the second. Next, they glued brown craft paper as a chrysalis on the third and lastly a butterfly on the fourth! These colorful constructions are hanging outside the classroom for all to enjoy.  
• For science, we sequenced the life cycle of a butterfly. First we placed colorful pictures in order and then wrote each stage down. As a follow up, we used stamps to recreate the four stages.
• In Science, we conducted another groovy experiment. We began by pouring milk in a dish. We then added a few drops of food coloring a saw the color begin to mix in. We then questioned, what would happen if we "mixed" in different liquids? We gently dabbed the milk with a q-tip with water and saw no reaction, then dabbed a the milk with a q-tip with vinegar and again so no reaction. Lastly, we dabbed the milk with liquid soap and magically saw the colors spread away from the soap, finally a chemical reaction.
• THANK YOU to everyone who came in and joined us for our Writopia film screenings. 

 
 
Books we read:

• Charlie Caterpillar, by Dom DeLuise
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
• Becoming Butterflies, by Anne Rockwell
• Caterpillars on the Move, by Abby Klein
• Born to be a Butterfly, by Karen Wallace

 
 
Songs we sang:

• In Music, we sang Simple Gifts.

Places we visited:

• In PE, we worked on crossing a balance beam.
• In library Lindsay continued reading Season of the Sandstorms (A Magic Tree House Book) by, Mary Pope Osborne. 

Enjoy the photos and have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

The Yellow Room Teachers

Reminders:
 

• Friday, April 19th: No School 
• Monday, April 22nd: Earth Day Celebration (Kids and Teachers Only)
• Thurs. & Fri., April 25th-26th:  Parent Teacher Conferences (Parents only, ha ha!)
• Thursday, May 16th: Brooklyn Bridge (Kids MUST have an adult chaperone.)
• Friday, May 31st:Field Day (Kids MUST have an adult chaperone.)
• Friday, June 7th: Last Day of School Breakfast 8:30-9 am (Kids MUST have an adult attend.)
• Monday, June 10th:Graduation