Hello TK!
Day 53- Transition to Ms. Ellen!
I must start by telling you how fortunate I am to return to my favorite classroom- with my favorite kids! Thank you for the warm welcome this morning. It's truly my honor to be here and I look forward to finishing out the year with a bang!
Today was a day full of happy changes and transitions. First, we noticed our classroom was a little bit different. One table and the circle spot were switched, giving us a wall for our new calendar, sound board, friend wall, and schedule. It was as if it had always been that way- no one missed a beat coming to circle. In fact, everyone attended so well- 40 minutes of instruction flew by! I never thought our circle would be so long!!!
To kick off our lesson learning about Firefighters, we experimented with.....FIRE (outside, of course)! We carefully observed a new white candle, discussing and recording our observations in our science journals. We noticed that it was white with white wick on the top. We all predicted what would happen when lit. Then, Ms. Ellen lit the candle and we watched the flame. We noticed that the flame was a a beautiful orange. After a minute, we noticed that part of the candle was melting. After blowing it out we observed the burnt candle, noting that it had changed- the top was black, the middle was liquid. We recorded the changes in our science journals. Ask me to tell you about my drawing and the observations I made before, during, and after the experiment. Tomorrow, we will watch paper burn!
We also made a circle map of prior knowledge about fires and firefighters. The children each knew something to add to the circle map. We love thinking maps that help us organize our thoughts.
We were also able to act out a fire scene. It was impressive how quickly everyone picked up on their parts- with verbal instruction only. Ask your child to tell you the story of the house on fire.
You might notice a small break in the end-of-the-day journals, but we are back on track with day 53- today. Please help your child tell you a few things about the day and help your child write a few words about the day. Return these sheets and we will compile them in a book at the end of the year- a great way to review the year and see the progress your child has made.
We had a great day in TK today and learned many things.
Dress warmly tomorrow- we are going to walk to the park for our science experiment- with more......FIRE!!!
Thank you again for the opportunity to work with and learn from your family. Ellen
