Mrs. Barabara Graham

PreK-2
stbrendanschoolbronx@gmail.com
(when sending emails please include child's name and grade in subject line)

 

                             The week of March 30 - April 3rd

Hi Everyone,

We have set up your child on a learning website.  It is called Seesaw.  I have sent you information about this website in an email that went out today.  I will be sending individual emails with your individual codes shortly.  We are assigning work on a weekly basis.  You have all week to complete it and we will be able to review your progress.  We will add new projects and activities every week.  I feel this website is very manageable to navigate, however, I'm always available through my email.

During the month of April, we will discuss, observe, and explore the essential question, "How do plants grow and why are they important?"  The first week, our focus question is "What are plants?" 

Our reading material is: 

Up in the Garden Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli
If You Plant a Seed by Kidar Nelson
Green Kid's Guide to Composting by Richard Lay
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons 
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Planting a Rainbow byLois Ehlert


On the website, you will find activities for mathematics, literature and literacy, and science.
  
Math:                  -10 Apples Up on Top
                           -Apple Sort
                           -Number Tracing

Science:             -Plant Parts
                           -From Seed to Flower

Language and Literacy:
                           - Chicka Ckicka Boom Boom Alphabet Order
                           - Letters and Sounds I Know 

Art:

Leaf Rubbing:
Supply leaves and crayons for you child to use in creating leaf rubbings. Remove the paper casing from the crayons, place the leaves under a piece of paper and invite your child to rub the side of the crayon over the paper and watch for the shape of the leaf to emerge. Encourage children to persist until the entire leaf is visible.

Family Activity:
Now would be a nice time to plant either herbs of flowers from seed at home.  You can watch the process and progress, then record it.  Maybe put one seed in a pot, then water.  Experiment with and without sun and see what happens.


During the month of March, we will observe, discuss, and explore WATER in our classroom. The first week we will ask the question "Where can we find water?"  The second week, we will discuss "What happens to water when it changes temperature?"  The third week, we will discuss "What happens when we put things in water?" Finally, we ask "How does water help us?"  It will be a fun and exciting month with many science experiments and plenty of learning.

Things to do at home while we are not in school:

First let me say it's fine with me if you say "Mrs. Graham wants you to..."

 -  Wash your hands with soap and water and count to 20 before you finish washing them.

 -  Write your name every day.  Upper case with the first letter and lower case with the rest.

Movement:  
     It's important to move around as often as possible.  Here are a few ideas: 
            - Daily excercise of jumping jacks, stretching, running in place, and dancing.  Some dance                        music we use in class are which can be found on Youtube:  Koo Koo Kanga Roo,
              Freeze dance, We're Going on a Bear Hunt, and many more.  Have fun!
            - We have started yoga in class and a great website is Cosmic Kids Yoga.
            - Take a walk if possible.
Science:
      Discuss water and how it changes.  For example, we were going to introduce them to thermometers and why they go up and down.  A home experiment would be to put water in a glass with ice and put water in another glass without ice.  Then use the thermometer to see the difference.  Your questions would be:  Why is there a difference?  What caused the difference?  You can also point out when liquids are put in the freezer they change properties (from a liquid to a solid).

      Experiement : Using celery stalks, glasses of water, and food coloring 
                      Put different colored water in different glasses - then trim the bottom of stalks of celery - put one celery stalk in each colored water glass and watch what happens.  Plant leaves get their food and nutrients from their roots.  The leaves will eventually change color to the color of the water.  

Art:  Ice Cube Painting   
      Make colored ice cubes out of water and food coloring.  Create a handle using tooth picks or popcycle sticks.  Before they start painting, ask them "What do you think is going to happen?"  "How is the paint going to work?"  

Literature:  Here is a list of some reading materials that pertain to water:

A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Water by Walter Wick
It Looks Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw
It's Raining by Gail Gibbons
Little Bird Takes a Bath by Marisabina Russo
Save Water Everyday by Mari Schuh
A Cool Drink of Water by Barbara Kerley

When reading books it is a good idea to ask questions like "Who is the main character?"  "What do you think will happen next?" and "What would you do if this happened to you?" to name a few.  

Mathematics:
Counting as many things that are alike around your house is helpful.  For example, count the amount of silverware on the table, count the amount of socks that go into the washing machine and make sure the same amount comes out, or count the floors in you building or steps in your house.  

Having them write the numbers is good practice also.

Important Dates:

Monday March 16th -  April 20th - School Closed 

Link for Pre K Learn At Home instructional Resources from DOE:
https://cdn-blob-prd.azureedge.net/prd-pws/docs/default-source/default-document-library/learn-at-home-2020/early-childhood-family-activities-accessible.pdf


Request:

We are requesting donations of paper towels and tissues for our classroom, thank you in advance.

Please try to send water into school with your child.  We do supply them with drinks in the morning and during lunch, however, it is usually milk or juice.  Water is the best and easiest for you to provide.  

Please go through your child's folder every day to make sure you are not missing any information you need to fill out and return or keep at home.                  

    
                                                                           Thank you,
                                                                           Mrs. Graham, Miss Melissa and Miss Kristina