The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This week we are beginning a new module:   The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.  This story focuses on the life a small caterpillar as he eats his way through one apple on Monday, two pears on Tuesday, three plums on Wednesday, and so on, until he is really fat and has a stomach ache.  He goes into his pupa and emerges as a beautiful butterfly.

Last week our caterpillars arrived and we watched them crawl and eat special food in the bottom of a container.  We will learn about the life cycle of a butterfly.  This story is also good for teaching nutrition and the days of the week.

We will also read non-fiction insect books, and other books such as:  The Very Lonely Firefly, Mr. Bumble, In the Tall, Tall Grass, and Quick as a Cricket.  We plan to make caterpillars, butterflies and other insects during art, sing bug songs and move like insects during circle activities.

          I would also like to mention that we will have a student intern from Darien High School.  She has completed her school work and will be working in our classroom for the next several weeks.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Important Reminders:

June 14 – 17:         Early Dismissal at 11:15

                                    Parent Conferences

June 21                 Early Dismissal at 11:15

                                  Last Day of School

The Rainbow Fish

     Next week we will read The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister (translated by J. Alison James).  This is a story about friendship, giving, differences, and beauty.  Rainbow Fish was the most beautiful fish in the ocean.  His scales were multicolored and among them were shimmering sliver scales.  Rainbow Fish did not play with the other fish, as he was too busy being admired.  One day a little blue fish asked Rainbow Fish if he could have one of his beautiful silver scales.  Rainbow Fish did not want to share his beauty with the little blue fish and so he told min that he could not have one of his special scales.  The little blue fish told the other fish in the ocean how Rainbow Fish would not share.  All of the fish in the ocean ignored Rainbow Fish, and he was sad and lonely.  He sought advice from a variety of ocean creatures.  Finally, on the advice of an octopus, he gave the little blue fish one of his scales.  The act of giving provided him with more pleasure than keeping the scales.  Ultimately he learned what it means to be a friend and was accepted by the other fish.

     Please send in a white T-shirt next week for a tye-dye project

Important Reminders:

Thursday, April 29^th        Book Fair – 9:00 – 9:40 a.m.

Tuesday, May 18th           Spring Fling (Music Performance)

                                                   Refreshments in class following program

June 14 – June 17               Early Dismissal at 11:15 a.m.

                                                    Parent conferences

June 21^st                                 Last Day of School

                                                    Early Dismissal

                                                    ELP Picnic at the beach

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

     This week we will read Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett.   It is the story about two children, Henry, his sister, and their grandfather who tells the best tall-tale about the town of Chewandswallow.  There are no food stores in the town of Chewandswallow since the weather comes three times a day, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner and the sky supplies all the food they could possibly want.  It rains soup and juice, snows mashed potatoes and sometimes storms hamburgers.  When the weather brings storms of giant food, the people in the town decide to leave on boats made of bread.

        We will be discussing weather in conjunction with this unit and plan to make weather graphs and rain sticks.  Later in the month, we will celebrate Earth Day and spend time talking about recycling.

Franklin Has a Sleepover

We are finishing activities related to dental health.  We painted pretend teeth white and practiced brushing teeth (made from plastic bottles) with shaving cream.  We discussed how we can keep our teeth healthy.

          We will be celebrating Dr. Suess’ birthday next week.  We plan on making Dr. Suess hats and puppets.  If you have any Dr. Suess books at home, you may send them with your child.

Next week we will also read Franklin Has a Sleepover, written by Paulette Bourgeois and illustrated by Brenda Clark.  This story provides an avenue for children to understand and cope with what it is like to have a sleepover.  The story begins with Franklin, the turtle, inviting his friend Bear to spend the night.  After much preparation, they decide to spend the night in a tent made from a tablecloth in the living room.  They play, have a campfire outside, sing, roast marshmallows and hot dogs, and then set off to camp in the living room.  After they crawl into their sleeping bags, Bear turns on his flashlight and tells his friend that he misses his room.  They gather their sleeping bags and go into Franklin’s room.  Once again, Bear turns on his flashlight and tells his friend that his mother always tells his bunny good-night.  Franklin hugs the bunny, and they both fall asleep.  The sleepover is a success, and Bear decides he wants to host the next one.

Franklin Has a Sleepover allows children to explore their fears of sleeping away from home within the safe context of a story.  Many children fear the unfamiliar, new people, new situations, and being alone.  The activities and ideas provided in this module begin by focusing mainly on the indoor and outdoor camping aspect of the story.  The activities are organized in this way to help the children become familiar with the story and give them the boundaries needed in order to fact their own fears and work through them.

Franklin Has a Sleepover has few words and many pictures, providing the children with opportunities to create their own dialogue during dramatic play.  The story also encourages cognitive, sensorimotor, and social experiences through play for children of varying abilities.

          Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Chris

P.S.    We will be using flashlights for some activities.  If you would like to send in a flashlight with your child, please make sure your name is on it.

The Snowy Day

Last week we read The Snowy Day, written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats.  This is a simple story of a young African American boy named Peter who wakes up one morning and discovers that everything is covered with snow.  Peter goes outside in the snow.  He makes different kinds of tracks in the snow, hits a tree with a stick and knocks off the snow, watches a snowball fight between older boys, makes a snowman and snow angels, climbs a mountain of snow and slides down it, and puts a snowball in his pocket to save.  His snowball does not last, but the next day there is even more snow, and he goes out with a friend to play again.

          This story offers numerous opportunities for winter theme play.  Even if there is no snow, substitutes can be used so that everyone can have fun with snow activities.  We made puffy snowmen and glitter snowflakes.

          We will exchange valentines and have a special Valentine snack next Thursday, February 11^th.  Please remember to send in a shoe box or tissue box if you have not done so already.  We plan to decorate these boxes and use them as our mailboxes for our Valentines.

 

          Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns

A Porcupine Named Fluffy

     This week we will read A Porcupine Named Fluffy, written by Helen Lester and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger.   This is a delightful tale of a young porcupine who wants to live up to his name.  Fluffy’s parents choose the name Fluffy because it is a pretty name, but Fluffy discovers that he is not at all fluffy and goes about trying various means to become fluffy.  He tries to “be” a cloud and a pillow.  He experiments with a bubble bath, whipped cream, marshmallows, shaving cream and feathers, and even a bunny outfit, but nothing works.  He is very dejected and be comes greatly embarrassed when he runs into a rhinoceros who teases him and laughs at his name.  But after Fluffy discovers that the rhinoceros is named Hippo, he laughs as well, and the two become fast friends.

      This story provides numerous opportunities for sensory experiences as well as the development of descriptive concepts and expression of feelings in dramatic play.  Opportunities abound for cognitive, social-emotional, language and communication, and sensorimotor experiences for children of all ability levels. 

          Last week I introduced the “Surprise Box” during morning circle.  Each child will get a turn to take the surprise box home.  You and your child may choose an item for the box and write down 3 clues on a piece of paper.  The next day in school we will read the clues aloud and see if anyone can guess what is in the box.

          I am also enclosing scholastic book orders.   If you would like to order, please return the form by January 18^th.  I will also set up ordering on the scholastic website:  www.scholastic.com/parentordering.

Class User Name:  ClarkELP

Password:   Tokeneke

          Please contact me if you have any concerns or questions.

If the Dinosuars Came Back

This week we started our unit on dinosaurs and read If the Dinosaurs Came Back by Bernard Most.  This story explores the idea of what would happen if the dinosaurs returned.  They could help carry daddies to work and eat the grass so that we wouldn’t need lawn mowers.  They could also become pets.  We are also learning facts about dinosaurs and some new vocabulary words such as extinct, fossils and paleontologist.  We are digging in our sand table for bones and dinosaurs, making play-doh dinosaurs, and playing games such as dinosaur dominoes and dinosaur lotto.  We made a dinosaur mural that we are using in our block area and we are building caves for our dinosaurs with our blocks.

        We plan on having a Holiday Party on Tuesday, December 22^nd at 10:00 a.m.  Parents are invited to help decorate a gingerbread house with their child.  After we finish our activity we will have a Holiday Snack.

        For those students who order lunch, the menu is now online on the Tokeneke website.  The lunch menus are no longer being sent home.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

This week we will read The Three Billy Goats Gruff, retold and illustrated by Janet Stevens.  This is the familiar story of three brother goats who encounter a troll.  The illustrations have been modernized with details that children will love.  The Three Billy Goats Gruff is also a story about families sticking together and facing fear with courage.   The three billy goats have run out of grass on their side of the valley and must cross a bridge to the other side.  Under the bridge is a mean and scary troll, whom all three goats must face in order to cross the bridge.  As the troll roars his challenge and threatens to eat each of the younger goats, they plead that their older brother is bigger and juicier than they are.  This plea works for each of the younger two goats; when the eldest goat crosses, he meets the troll’s challenge and “kicks, pokes, and scares” him away.  The three billy goats are united on the far side of the bridge where they remain, eating sweet, green grass.

 

This story can be used to help children explore their own fears of things, real or imagined, as well as how other family members can help to cope with fear.  For some children, family structure may be a more important issue to focus on.  The story provides many opportunities to cope with separation from family, nontraditional family structure, and fear and courage in people of all ages.

 

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

This week we will begin our next module and read The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, written by Linda Williams and illustrated by Megan Lloyd.  The story is about a little old lady who sets out to gather herbs, spices, seeds, and nuts from the forest.  It is dark when she starts home.  She soon discovers that she is being followed by a pair of pants, a shirt, two gloves, a hat, and a scary pumpkin head, all of which make frightening noises.  They chase her home and try again to scare her, but she is not to be frightened.  Instead, she recommends that they stay in her garden and scare her crows away.

 

This is a fun book for children because of the repetition of sounds and actions that the various clothes and objects make (CLOMP, CLOMP; WIGGLE, WIGGLE; SHAKE, SHAKE; CLAP, CLAP; NOD, NOD; BOO, BOO) as they follow the old lady.  The children soon begin to remember the associated noises and can cheerfully render them as the story progresses.

 

On Thursday, October 29^th, we plan to trick-or-treat in a few classrooms/offices.  The children will be able to bring their costumes to school and we will have a special treat after lunch.

Picking Apples and Pumpkins

During the next several weeks, we will be reading Picking Apples & Pumpkins, by Amy and Richard Hutchings.  This fall story involves a family that goes out to a farm to pick apples and pumpkins.  While on the farm, they ride on a hay wagon, climb trees, use an apple picker, have a picnic, and buy their apples and pumpkins.  At home, they make an apple pie with Grandma and carve pumpkins with Dad.

 

This story offers us an opportunity to explore the changes that occur in the fall, such as the changing colors of the leaves, the planting and harvesting of apples and pumpkins, the variety of textures and flavors of foods made from apples and pumpkins, and the equipment on a farm.  We will be acting out a trip to a farm to pick apples and pumpkins.  During the coming weeks we plan to taste apples and graph our results.  We will be playing with miniature farms, and a pretend fruit stand.

 

At home, if you have any toys that relate to farms, you could have your child show you what we are playing at school.  When you go to the grocery story, look at all of the different types and colors of apples; look at the different sizes of pumpkins