Bb is for Balloons

When I talk about balloons, preschoolers tend to get very excited, especially when they get to take one home.  When they tell me that their balloon popped, they are sad.  There are a few that don't like balloons, because the *pop* of a balloon is scary. 

This week, I played a song from the movie "Up" and it helped transport their mind to the movie and the many balloons inflated by Mr. Fredricksen.

For centers, on the first day, the children practiced throwing a beanbag, underhand at a low target.  Then they practiced throwing it high with an overhand throw.  The reason why they practiced hitting a target with a beanbag was because on the second day, they threw a balloon at a target.  They had to compare the balloon to the beanbag and figure out different ways to throw the balloon to hit the target.

Before I blew up the balloons, I talked to them about the differences between balloons that float, because of helium, balloons that we blow up with our own breath, and hot air balloons.

Here are some pictures of the children throwing balloons and bean bags:

 

For art, we made a balloon scene using Wikki Stix.  I love this material! We use it when we build letters. It's basically yarn dipped in colorful wax.  It's pliable and can stick to paper.  Although it does stick to paper, it can still be peeled off, so after the children shaped their balloons, they peeled them off and glued them down.  Then they took markers to decorate their balloon scene.  Here's a tip for parents: when you get your child's art work, say, "Tell me about this."  Try to get them to explain what they did, what it was like to make the art piece, and what their art is about.  It is important for children to practice using their words to explain, because with the new common core standards, they'll need to use their words a lot more.  Here are pictures of their art:

Working with Wikki Stix, glue bottles, and markers are great fine motor activities.

Besides working on the phonics and writing the letter Bb, we also reviewed the letter Ee.  When the children work on their writing, I dug out my (ugly) handmade dividers.  I used these when I was a new teacher.  I couldn't afford to buy the dividers from a teacher supply store and needed to create personal spaces for my students to concentrate on their own work.  Well, my preschoolers who have trouble focusing love these.  In fact almost all of the preschoolers wanted one and called them their office.  They pretended they were in a cubical at work and when they finished their writing, they say, "I'll see you after work" or "I'm going on my lunch break".  I might have to tone down the dividers, because now instead of writing they are fascinated with being in their "office".  We'll see if the novelty wears off.  Here are some photos of our letter practice:

Here are some photos of the children having a chance to play for a little bit:

Each class has their own way of playing outside.  Here is this group trying out something new as a group: baseball!!!

Next blog up: Vv is for Vets and Pets :).