Cedar and Salmon

This week we had the opportunity to learn more about First Nation Coastal Indians.  The program was full of stories, legends, dance and music.  There were many things to see, touch and smell.  We learned about respecting animals and our environment.  The culmination of these 2 jam-packed days was a potlatch where the kids demonstrated their dancing skills.

Back to school! Yay!

The mentors are back!  After a break from mentoring
during swim lessons, we are back on track!

This week's challenge:  build a bridge using gumdrops,
toothpicks and craft sticks.

We had some fabulous structures.

It was a fun morning!

Working on tangrams, it's trickier than it looks!

Lots of different kinds of building happening in
the Ladybug room this week.

We're all glad to be back at school with our friends.  We jumped right in to our study of Australian animals, tangrams, estimation and making sentences.  We were so glad to be back with our mentors.

Baking soda plus vinegar

Everyone had their own style,

some covered the paper with paint,

some picked a more random approach,

some needed to stand while painting,

some needed two hands,

but every one of the paintings turned out beautiful!

What's happening here?  It looks like painting but it's so much more!  It's taking turns, being patient, it's being thoughtful, it's painting and it's science.  The paint is mixed with baking soda and the pipettes are adding vinegar to the finished painting.  The paint bubbles up and the colors mix-it's a chemical reaction and it's fun!

The Rainforest

Blue Morpho Butterfly-did you know they aren't really blue?

Our rainforest mural complete with 4 layers

The Aye-aye, a type of lemur, has an extra long finger to
scoop bugs out of trees.

Howler monkeys live in the canopy and
make a lot of noise!

Snakes, red-eyed tree frogs and toucans; some of the
very interesting animals in the rainforest.

Tigers, residents of the forest floor.

Snakes, the boa constrictor is one type found
in the rainforest.

We love the colorful toucans!

Why investigate rainforest animals in our early learning program?  On the surface, it's because kids love animals and these are very interesting animals.  On a deeper level, we are using this area of study as a vehicle for teaching observation skills, critical thinking and comparing and contrasting skills.  When kids and teachers are learning about new things together, it creates an exciting environment for learning.  Sometimes, it's hard to keep up with all the hands in the air waiting to give a fact or opinion.  When learning is fun it makes an impression on our young learners, they remember what they are studying and on a bigger scale, they are able to transfer what they learned in one unit of study and apply it to other areas.  It's a win for all of us!

Science Fair!

At Seabury, we love science fair!  Every year we are amazed at the questions the kids want answers to.  Again this year, the projects were spectacular!  The best part was listening to the kids explain their projects to their visitors.

Welcome to the rainforest!

The Ladybugs have been busy these
last couple of week learning about the rainforest.

We are learning about the layers of the rainforest
and some of the animals that live there.  This
is the Blue Morpho Butterfly.  Turns out they aren't
really blue-they just look that way!
 

Everyday we add another animal to our rainforest
mural.  Today we added the aye aye. 

If you haven't checked out our rainforest wall yet, come in and see what we've been working on.  Everyday we add a new animal to one of the layers of the rainforest.  The kids are learning about the habits, diet, predators and the quirky nature of these animals.

Dr. Seuss and Read Across America

It takes a lot of cooperation and patience to
build these towers.

Success!

Dr. Seuss day, we had a room full of
Hortons and Thing Ones.

Read Across America today, the Supernovas joined
us for some reading time