In the classroom

I can’t believe we are moving into the middle of October! So far this month we have learned about fall, apples, Christopher Columbus, fire safety, and animal habitats.

Fall unit

Some of the books we read during our fall unit were The Leaves on the Trees, We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt, Autumn Leaves, and The Biggest Leaf Pile.

We have done fun, fall art.

Painting Halloween spiders and exploring with rice and Halloween erasers

Apple unit

Some fun things we did for our apple unit were apple volcanoes in science class, apple art, and an investigation of an apple.

All week we read apple stories and discussed the parts of an apple.

Columbus Day

For Columbus Day we talked about Christopher Columbus during circle time, listened to a song, read a poem, and colored booklets.

Fire Safety

Because October is fire safety month, I wanted to talk to the kiddos about how to stay safe in case of a fire. We talked about staying low to the ground where smoke rises, how important it is that we don’t worry about collecting our toys or valuables, how to stop, drop, and roll, and how to call 911. I’m going to be honest with y’all. I was really surprised at how many kids didn’t know what 911 meant. Many of them didn’t even know what a smoke detector was or what they were to do if it ever made a noise. That made my lesson so much more important because they all were eager to learn and had so many questions. How will 911 know where we live? If there’s a fire, what about our pets? What do firemen use to get into our houses? What if the firetruck runs out of water?

We read lots of books about firefighters. It was very important to me that I help the children understand that if they are ever in a situation where they need help, that a fireman may come off as a little scary with his big coat, facemask, and hat. We discussed what a fireman might be wearing and why he would be wearing it. By the end of the week we learned that each item of clothing from the hat to the boots is to protect his or her own body so they can rescue us! We even watched a fun movie about firemen and their important roles in the community.

Animal Habitats

We had so much fun learning about different habitats. Each day we learned about a different habitat and what animals need to survive.

Journal entries for the week

Literacy

We have been working on letters D, E, and F.

If you have read some of my previous posts, you know that I have been teaching a different sight word each week. I post it on our calendar board/focus wall and we talk about it all week. I have a few kids that can already read, so the sight words are great for them. For the kiddos that aren’t ready for them yet, we just discuss how those letters paired together make a word. Along with our sight words, I have been sending home emergent reader books for the kids (that are interested in reading) to practice at home. We also work on the stories in class throughout the week, discussing how the pictures in a story could help us determine what the text is saying. As we read stories, we search for sight words and the letter of the week. We call ourselves letter detectives.

Science

Our science teacher, Mrs. Karen, always plans the coolest activities! Last week the kids added different colors of food coloring to whole milk, then dipped in a qtip of dish soap and were fascinated when the colors moved and swirled around!

Here is another fun experiment! The kids investigated “rain clouds” made with shaving cream, syringes and water with blue food coloring.

Halloween potion

Misc

It’s finally feeling like fall outside and inside our classroom!

A parent graciously donated some awesome pumpkins that light up and I scored these super cute window decals at Dollar Tree.

Speaking of fall. This past weekend I bought this mustard colored top at TJ Maxx and I love it!

With the weather finally cooling down and the leaves beginning to change colors, I finally decorated for fall. It isn’t much, but simplicity is my middle name.

Last Friday my husband and I both took the day off from work to spend a day with our kiddos. He brought us biscuits and gravy for breakfast and we took them to the movies to see Small Foot. We ate too much popcorn, had entirely too much candy, and had leftover pizza for dinner. If that isn’t what kid dreams are made of, I don’t know what is.

On Saturday night Kylan had a football game. Once we got home Jordan made homemade chex mix and we watched Goosebumps.

Life has been full of learning, teaching, fun, family, and football. How is your life lately?