The children have discovered that dinosaur feet are huge! They learned that a Tyrannosaurus foot is about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide. Next the children traced their own feet and cut them out to compare them with the Tyrannosaurus foot. They also tried to see how many steps a Tyrannosaurus could take walking across our gym and then counted their own steps. The discussion also led to how tall the dinosaur might be. Some guessed it could be as tall as our gym.
Bubba Bear helped the preschoolers to learn the letter "b" and its sound this past week. Many activities were used to reinforce these concepts. The children also enjoyed making blue collages.
The children have been learning about dinosaur fossils and made casts of dinosaur imprints at preschool. Before beginning the project the children watched a video at YouTube - How to make a Dinosaur Fossil. The children mixed sand, dirt, and water together and then pressed a dinosaur into the mud. The imprint was filled with plaster of paris to create the cast.
This week the preschoolers have been learning all about the letter a. They began the week reviewing the letters and their sounds and body movements. They traced puffy paint letter a's with their fingers, drew a's in applesauce and completed pre-writing worksheets. They learned that Allie is one of the hardest workers since she can be found in so many words. The children took their homework folders home including a worksheet to be completed with their parents featuring Allie Alligator wearing a hardhat and holding a shovel. The children looked at words on the bulletin board and all took turns finding Allie and the letter a. All of the children were able to recognize the merged letter a with Allie.
This week the preschoolers learned that dinosaurs hatch from eggs. The children have been singing counting songs and finding dinosaurs in eggs. Today they talked about what dinosaurs eat and found that most were plant eaters. Following this discovery they played the Triceratops Leaf Eating game. Children drew a numbered card from the deck and then had to feed the corresponding number of leaves to the triceratops. They practiced Chinese vocabulary while playing the game.
Today the toddlers painted dinosaurs and then decorated them with colorful sequins and stones. Yueying taught the children Chinese vocabulary related to dinosaurs and painting.
This month the preschoolers are studying dinosaurs and prehistoric habitats. Later in the fall they will learn about deserts and plains environments. In the winter we will study the arctic and then forests. Oceans, rivers, lakes, and ponds will be covered in the spring. Children will also learn about the people and cultures who live in each environment.
Yesterday the children learned about paleontologists and digging for dinosaur bones. To make the concept more concrete dinosaur puzzle pieces were hidden in the sand table. Children had to dig for the puzzle pieces and then take them to the table to figure out how they fit together. This was also a wonderful group activity where the children learned to work together as a team.
