C is for Cap, and that is what we read about today!
Morning work began with Ms. Newman working in the hallway with small groups of children. She worked on measuring and patterning with the children, using hats as the theme. Ms. Newman introduced the unifix cubes to the children as a one inch unit of measure. Then each child was given a group of cubes and asked to measure several different stacks of hats with the cubes. They counted the cubes, stated the number of inches/cubes each stack was, and then copied, traced or wrote the number in the appropriate box. Each child then worked on patterning with the hats. They completed long rotations of both AB and AAB patterns, using red, grey, brown or blue hats.
During classroom centers/rotations, Mrs. Lozano worked on writing strokes and “cents” math. The children were shown pennies and told the value is one cent. They they had to count (1:1 correspondence) the same number of pennies out as was shown in boxes on a paper. Once they counted out the correct number of pennies, they circles the correct answer (eight pennies is 8 cents). This was our first exposure to money, and the children seemed to grasp it well.
Large group activities included singing some old and some new songs (taking turns using props to sing/act out 5 monkeys swinging from a tree and 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed) and reading the story. Prior to reading) the book, CAPS FOR SALE, Ms. Newman showed the children the cover of the story which depicted a man climbing a tree. She told the children that this man was a peddler. She then asked the children to describe what they thought a peddler did. The children listed many answers, and although most were based upon their observations of what he was doing (tree climber, fruit picker) they were all surprised to find that a peddler was a person who sold things. As Ms. Newman read the story, the children were encouraged to answer WH question about the story line (where, why, what) and to make predictions about what was going to happen next. Upon concluding the story, the children took turns acting like the peddler, balancing a stack of caps on their heads and calling out “Caps, caps for sale. Fifty cents a cap!”
As 2 separate groups, the children worked on a rhyming activity, rhyming words/concepts from the story. They cut, colored and glued adorable monkey/hat masks that they so enjoyed creating. What a pleasure it was observing how quickly the children have increased their skills……coloring, cutting, assembling a craft and even a desire to push their abilities!
What a great day for all!
