Pop! Pop! Pop! It's POPCORN!

 Transition Song: Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts:  quiet/loud, slow/fast, popcorn, pop/popping/pops/popped, farm, garden, grow, heat, hot/cold, cook, stove, microwave, make, buy, I have/ I don't have, I like/I don't like, What/Where/Who, snack, pour/pouring/poured, oil, sprinkle, jump/jumping/jumps/jumped, clap/clapping/claps/clapped, lid, turn up, crunchy, salty, good.

This week, Miss Carrie told us that her favorite snack is popcorn.  She loves to make popcorn at home or have popcorn at the movie theater.  Some people make popcorn in the microwave and some make it on top of the stove.  Popcorn seeds are hard.  They have to have heat to pop into popcorn.  We read a book that showed people eating popcorn, what corn looks like when it is growing, and how to make it.

Then Miss Carrie taught us the popcorn song.  We started by singing quietly, then we sang louder. Miss Carrie sang first and we sang it after her.

Pour on the oil

(pour on the oil)

Sprinkle in the popcorn

(sprinkle in the popcorn)

Put on the lid

(put on the lid)

Turn up the heat

(turn up the heat)

sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle

Sizzle, Sizzle, Sizzle, Sizzle

SIZZLE, SIZZLE, SIZZLE,

POP!

Hear the popcorn, watch it pop

Hear the popcorn, watch it pop

Hear the popcorn, watch it pop

Hear the popcorn, watch it pop

POP! POP! POP! POP!

Now we stop!

Let the teachers show you how it is done. 

DO THIS AT HOME:  Let your child lead as much as possible to teach your family the Popcorn song at home.  Make popcorn for a snack.  Talk about what it tastes like and see who likes it.

Science Experiment: Will It Bounce?

Song: Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: experiment, bounce/-ing/-ed, yes/no, do/do not, high/low, 1-2-3, drop,  roll/-ing/-ed, fast/slow, me/my/mine, He/She, His/Hers, Who/What/Where, my turn, predict.

Miss Carrie said we were going to try an experiment.  An experiment is when we try something to see what happens. Last week, we experimented with bouncing balls. But, do other things bounce? 

Hmmmm......

First, we tried stretch strings.  We held them up high, counted together "1-2-3-DROP!" Everyone dropped it at the sane time.  What happened?  Did it bounce? No, they didn't bounce.  They just stayed there on the floor.  We tried it again to be sure. "1-2-3-DROP!"  Hmmm.  Stretchy strings do not bounce.

We tried dinosaurs.  "1-2-3-DROP!" What happened? Did they bounce?  No, they kind of rolled.  Dinosaurs do not bounce. We tried it twice to be sure.

We tried bean bag animals.  "1-2-3-DROP!"  What happened?  Did they bounce?  One child responded that her frog flopped.  We tried twice.  No, bean bag animals do not bounce.

We experimented with blocks.  Some of the kids noted that blocks are square.  Maybe these will bounce?  "1-2-3-DROP!" What happened?  Some said their block bounced a little bit.  Others said their blocks rolled.  We determined that blocks do not bounce.  At least, they don't bounce like balls.

What if we experiment with something round?  These cotton snowballs are round.  They look like balls.  Will these bounce?  "1-2-3-DROP!" They bounced! Not nearly as much as a bouncy ball.  One child said that these were too hard to catch.  So our pretend snow balls do bounce.  At least a little bit.

Last, Miss Carrie reviewed what items we experimented with.  Stretchy strings, dinosaurs, bean bags, blocks, and balls.  There was one more thing we didn't try.

DO KIDS BOUNCE?

As soon as Miss Carrie asked this questions, no one needed more instruction.  Every child started bouncing.  

YES, KIDS DO BOUNCE!

Do this at home:  try your own science experiments.  

During bath time, you could determine DOES IT FLOAT?

During a walk, why not experiment with DOES IT HAVE EYES? (Be on the look out!)

Playing on the floor with your child, pull out some toys to shake or rattle.  DOES IT MAKE NOISE?

During a family meal: DOES IT CRUNCH? (yes, this requires everyone to chew with their mouth open. We try this experiment during Snack Time as well.)

Who Is Behind The Blanket

 Transition Song: Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy

Vocabulary and Basic Concepts: blanket, Who, behind/in front, counting to 5, My turn, Your turn, yes/no, He/She, peer names, greeting peers.

This week, Miss Carrie brought her special blanket.  She taught us how to play Who Is Behind The Blanket. (Note: I know this sounds simplistic, but the kids REALLY love it!).

First she taught us this song:

Who is behind the blanket?

Who is behind the blanket?

Who is behind the blanket?

1-2-3-4-5!

(I recorded this video a few years ago)

Then Miss Carrie showed us how to play the game.  She hid behind the blanket.  We sang the song together.  When we counted to 5, Miss Carrie dropped the blanket and asked "Who is it?"  We had to remember peer names. Then, Miss Carrie said "Say hi to Miss Carrie."  Everyone waved and called out "Hi, Miss Carrie!" (Note: Greeting peers is a huge game changer in making friends.  It is a great skill to learn.)

Everyone got a turn to go behind the blanket.  We could say "My turn!" or remind peers "Your turn!"

DO THIS AT HOME:  This is a simple and fun game to do with the whole family.  Put your child in the lead and have them teach the song (with support from you as needed). Let them hold the blanket if they'd like. Practice family names and greeting by name.  Get extended family members involved over video if possible.

Bouncing Balls

 Transition Song: Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy

Vocabulary and basic concepts: box, guess, ball/s, high/low, big/small, red, yellow, green, blue, purple, orange, bounce/bounces/bouncing/bounced, sitting, standing, turn-taking, My turn, roll/rolls/rolling/rolled, count/counts/counting/counted.

This week, Miss Carrie brought a box.  What is in the box?  It's something that bounces.  Everyone guessed what it could be.  There were balls in the box. How many balls did Carrie have.  She had six balls.  We counted how many kids we have in the class.  Sometimes we had enough balls, and sometimes we had to find more balls.  What can we do with the balls?  We practiced bouncing and catching (this is a skill we mark in the DOT data). We rolled the ball, bounced the ball, and caught the ball.  We talked about what color ball we had.  If we wanted to trade, we could ask a friend.

DO THIS AT HOME:  have a family ball game and talk about high/low, fast/slow, big/small.  Narrate everyone's actions in an 'announcer voice'.

Fun library books about balls:

Froggy Plays Soccer by Jonathon London

Watch Me Throw The Ball by Mo Willems

Rosa Plays Ball by Jessical Spanyol