Sunday, January 25, 2009

Cooking Activity: Frying Fish





We fried fish with the children on this day.  First the kids cracked open an egg and used a wisk to beat it.  Next they dipped a fish filet in the egg.  They put the fish inside a ziploc bag filled with bread crumbs, and then shook it up.  Next we fried the fish in an electric skillet and then ate it.  It was YUMMY!

Story Book for January 23, 2009

Our story book for January 23rd was Pattern Fish by Trudy Harris.    This is math concept book about patterns.  The fish in this book inhabit an under sea world of patterns.  From the patterns in stripes on the fish to the bubbles that come from the mouths of the fish, patterns are everywhere in this book.

Story Book for January 22, 2009

Our story book for January 22nd was Ten Little Fish by Audrey Wood.  This is a counting and rhyming book that counts down a group of fish from 10 to 1.  On each page one of the fish disappears after an underwater encounter.

Story Book for January 21, 2008

Our story book for January 21st was Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle.  This is the story of a father seahorse that has the job of carrying the baby seahorse eggs in his pouch until they are ready to hatch.  Mister Seahorse travels around the ocean meeting other male sea creatures who also share the task of carrying their young until birth.

Science Activity: Sponges


For this activity, we asked the children to transfer water from one container to the next.  We gave them sponges and funnels to use.  The children figured out that if they used the sponge to soak up the water from the first container they could squeeze the water into the next container.  The kids learned about the concept of absorption with this activity.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Art Activity: Clay & Sea Shells



We gave the children clay and sea shells for this activity.  First the children used a rolling pin to flatten their clay.  Next they used water to smooth out the rough edges of the clay.  After the clay was smooth, they pushed sea shells into the clay to make a collage.  After these dry, they can be used for paper weights, or room decor at home.

Story Book for January 20, 2009

Our story book for January 20th was Senses At The Seashore by Shelley Rotner.  Great photographs help the reader evoke the sights, sounds, smells, looks, and feel of things found at the beach.  The minimal text and great photographs help make this a fantastic book for preschoolers.

Art Activity: Fish Parts


For this art activity the teachers used different patterned paper to cut out the parts of a fish (heads, tails, fins).  The children glued the various parts onto their paper to create a fish.  We got some very diverse looking fish for this activity. 

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Story Book for January 16, 2008

Our story book for January 16th was Big Al by Andrew Clements.  Big Al is a large scary looking fish that wants to make friends, but the other fish are afraid of him.  He tries everything he can think of to make himself more appealing to the other fish, but nothing seems to work.  One day when the other fish get caught in a fisherman's net, Big Al comes to the rescue.

Story Book for January 15, 2008

Our story book for January 15th was "Only Joking!" Laughed the Lobster by Colin West.  In this story a lobster likes to play practical jokes on the other animals in the ocean by saying that they are being followed by a shark.  In the end, it's the lobster who has to look out for the shark.

Language Activity: Ocean Feely Bag


For this activity we placed several ocean related items in a bag.  The items included a sea horse, sea shells, sea sponge, toy fish and octopus.  The children had to reach into the bag to grab one of the items.  The children had to describe what the item felt like before they pulled it out.  Did it feel hard, bumpy, soft, etc....  After describing the object, the children tried to name the object.

Art Activity: Play Dough Ocean Creations



For this activity we gave the children various colors of play dough, along with pipe cleaners, wiggle eyes, toothpicks, and spangles.  The children used the materials to create animals and objects that they might see under the sea.

Story Book for January 14, 2008

Our story book for January 14th was Turtle in the Sea by Jim Arnosky.  This is the story of a mother sea turtle from the time of her birth until she lays her eggs on the sandy beach.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Art Activity: Gyotaku (fish printing)




This fish printing activity is a traditional Japanese form of art called Gyotaku.  The children used real fish for this art activity.  First the children painted the fish, and then with the help of the teacher a piece of paper is pressed down on top of the fish.  When the paper is lifted off of the fish a print is revealed.

Science Activity: Exploring a Fish


For this activity the teachers brought in a real fish for the children to explore.  The teacher pointed out the various parts of the fish including gills, fins, mouth, and tail.  The children were able to touch and explore the fish from up close.

Story Book for January 13, 2008

Our story book for January 13th was Swimmy by Leo Lionni.  This is the story of a little black fish named Swimmy.  After losing his family to a hungry tuna fish, Swimmy explores the wonders of the ocean.  He meets a school of little red fish, and teaches them how to protect themselves from the larger fish.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Math Activity: Whale Seriation


For this activity we gave the children 5 whale toys in various sizes.  The children arranged the whales from largest to smallest.

Art Activity: Giant Octopus



For this art activity the teachers first cut long strips of paper to use for the octopus' legs and a round-ish shaped piece of paper to use for the octopus' head.  The children painted all of the octopus' parts.  After the paint was dry, the teachers assembled the octopus in the hallway for display.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Story Book for January 12, 2009

Our story book for January 12th was The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister.  In this book the Rainbow Fish finds out about the joys of sharing with others.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Music Activity: Jelly Fish Dance


We used the jelly fish that the children made for an art activity earlier in the week for this music activity.  We played some soft classical music and asked the children to move their jelly fish as if they were swimming in the ocean.

Art Activity: Fish Bowls



There were a few steps to this art activity.  First we gave the children a piece of laminating film cut into the shape of a fish bowl.  Next the children glued various ocean related cut outs to the laminating film.  Next the children painted over the cut outs with a mixture of blue paint and school glue.  Sprinkle a little glitter over the paint to get the desired effect above.

Story Book for January 9, 2008

Our story book for January 9th was Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert.  This is a counting book where the children can count the different varieties of fish that live in the ocean.

Fish Scale Rubbings




For this art activity we placed rubbing plates on the table.  The children placed their fish papers on top of the rubbing plates and then rubbed crayons across the paper.  The rubbing plates gave the fish papers the appearance of textures to represent fish scales.

Story Book for January 8, 2009

Our story book for January 8th was Don't Eat the Teacher! by Nick Ward.  In this story Sammy the Shark is going to school for the first time.  He is very excited about going to school.  The only problem is that when he gets excited he tends to bite the things around him.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Math Activity: Sea Horse Counting


For this activity we gave the children plastic sea horse counters and silver buckets with numbers on them.  The buckets were numbered 1-10, and 15, 20, 25, 30.  The children placed 5 sea horses in the #5 bucket, 8 sea horses in the #8 bucket, etc....

Art Activity: Water Color Ocean Scene



For this art activity we used fish stickers and water color paints.  First the children applied their fish stickers to their paper.  Next they used the water colors to paint the ocean around the fish, including coral, sea plants and of course the water.

Science Activity: Sink or Float?



For this activity we gave the children a variety of materials and a clear container of water.  We asked the children to make predictions about which items would float on the water and which would sink to the bottom of the container.  After making their predictions, the children dropped their items into the water to see what would happen.


Story Book for January 7, 2009

Our story book for January 7th was Shark Mad Stanley by Andrew Griffin.  In this story, a little boy names Stanley loves sharks and wonders if he could have one as a pet.  He has to do some research to find out what it would take to have a shark for a pet.

Story Book for January 6, 2009

Our story book for January 6th was Fish Faces by Norbert Wu.  Fantastic photo graphs of ocean creatures and simple text make this a great book for preschoolers.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Art Activity: Jelly Fish


For this art activity, we gave the children paper, strips of tissue paper, glue and glitter.  The children spread glue all over their paper, sprinkled glitter over the glue, and then added the tissue paper strips to make tentacles for their jellyfish.  We will be using the jelly fish later in the week to do a Jelly Fish Dance music activity.

Bulletin Boards for Under the Sea



These are the classroom bulletin boards that are displayed for the "Under the Sea" theme.  The first two pictures show the children's art work bulletin board.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Art Activity: Fish Painting


For this art activity we gave the children fish shaped paper in various colors, sponges, and various colors of paint.  The children used the sponges to paint their fish.