Monarch Butterflies/Back to School Unit
Our first unit of study is rearing Monarch Butterflies. The children will a have hands-on experience in caring and observing Monarch caterpillars as they go through metamorphosis. We explore the topic through books, experiments, songs, and art. During the beginning of the school year, we also focus on the school rules of being safe, being respectful, and being responsible. We love to read stories from our favorite character Pete the Cat during this unit of study!
Harvest/Pumpkins Unit
The Bright Stars will begin the harvest unit. We will be discussing how the seasons change, what types of food are grown, and how the farmers protect their crops using scarecrows. We will explore the theme through songs, stories, crafts and hands-on activities.
We will also be exploring the bark through bark rubbing and the leaves through leaf poundings. The students will be matching, sorting and classifying leaves.
Some of our favorite books during this unit are Red Leaf Yellow Leaf and Big Pumpkin!
We also develop math, science, and literacy skills by measuring pumpkins, rolling pumpkins for distance, predicting if pumpkins will float or sink, and investigating the contents of a pumpkin.
Owl Unit
The Bright Stars will be investigating owls and the animals that make homes in trees. We will be learning about owl behaviors, food sources, and habitats through research, experiments, and role playing. We will dissect owl pellets and make nests. We will discuss nocturnal and diurnal animals too! We continue to practice our letter recognition and letter sounds.
We will be learning all about owls as we read and act out one of our favorite story Owl Babies!
Bear Unit
The Bright Stars will investigate the bear unit. We will be discussing how bears and other animals hibernate for the winter. We will investigate patterning, sequencing, and sorting and classifying as well. We will be continuing to practice our letter recognition and letter sounds.
The students will read and act out our favorite bear story called Goldilocks and the Three Bears as well as other classic stories involving bears. We will explore the theme through stories, songs, crafts, and hands-on activities.
Water Unit
The Bright Stars will be exploring the water unit. We will be discussing how objects sink and float, how water freezes, and how snow is a form of water. We will be reading books with the water and winter theme as well as singing songs, and making crafts. The students love to engage in the water experiments! We also continue to practice letter writing using shaving cream! We will explore sea animals and oceans more during our trip to the aquarium!
Farm Unit
The Bright Stars will end the school year with the farm unit. We will be discussing how food is grown and what types of animals live on a farm. We will explore the theme through songs, stories, crafts and hands-on activities. We plant pole beans and incorporate math skills by predicting and using non-standard measurement. We love to read stories like Little Red Hen, Old McDonald, and Chicken Little during this unit of study. We als0 have a special farmer come to deliver chick eggs to our classroom! We watch them hatch and learn to care for the baby chicks 😊