Bugs
This week we talked all about bugs! We made bugs for our craft projects, sorted bugs, and searched for bugs outside on the play ground!
Art Projects:
Lady bugs- The children made lady bugs out of paper plates, pre cut paper, and tissue paper. First, they spread liquid glue over the paper plate then placed red tissue paper all over it. Next, the children added the dots, legs, head, antennas, and eyes.
Worms- The children made worms out of clay. First, they took the clay in between their hands and moved their hands up and down to begin to shape the worm. Next, they laid the clay down on the plate and rolled it back and forth with their hands to make it skinnier and longer. The children then made little lines on the worm using a tooth pick and holding it horizontal against the clay. The next day, the children painted the dried clay worms.
Ants- The final project was fingerprint ants! The children dipped their finger into black paint and made three dots in a row to look like ants. Once dried, we added legs and antennas with a black marker.
While outside on the playground, the children searched for bugs. They found a lady bug to match the ones we made in the classroom and read about during circle time. The children also found lots of ants. We pointed out the ant hills. In the book we read about ants, it showed us what the ant hills looked like under ground. They are very elaborate with many rooms and tunnels, but all we could see outside was the little hills with the hole on top. The children enjoyed searching for the bugs. I brought out a bug catcher and we caught an ant so that we could observe it up close. Then at the end of outside time, we released the ant back to its home.
Back in the classroom at the tables, the children sorted different types of bugs into the corresponding cups. They also used small tongs to manipulate small plastic bees. The bees, cups, and tubes were presented to the children, and they decided how to use them and figured out that it was fun to drop the bees through the tubes into cups.
In the sensory table, there was sand with lots of life-like bug toys. The children enjoyed exploring all the different types of bugs and lifted them up to ask a teacher or peer what type of bug it was. Some of the children buried the bugs and others enjoyed identifying the bugs.
At the easel, the children created beautiful pictures using tempura paint sticks. On the other side, they played with suction cup bug toys.
Up on the loft, the children sorted colorful bug shaped counters into the corresponding colored cups.
Under the loft, the dramatic play this week was tools and construction materials. The children enjoyed “fixing” the loft and discovering what each to is used for.
On the rugs, the children played and explored with monster trucks and wooden arches. The children were very creative with building different structures and finding different ways to roll the trucks on the arches.
This week on our cooking day, we made chocolate chip cookies. The children added pre measured ingredients and helped mix the dough. They also rolled the dough into balls to be placed on the baking sheet then put into the oven to bake. The children really enjoy rolling dough to make cookies. It is their favorite part of baking, other than eating the goodies!
