PKFA- 3 | Ms. Andrea and Ms. Kim

Aloha Parents, 

During this time of "distance learning" I have attached documents below to help keep your "littles" learning and educationally engaged during this very interesting time . 

I have posted educational websites, as well as reading websites that you and your child can access from home. 

Please check back often, as I will try to add new content daily.

Ms. Andrea and Ms. Kim

Practice washing your hands. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJD9zPv2NmM for a handwashing song.

New Unit of Study: Plants

In Unit 8, "Plants", children move from exploring the properties and uses of water to observing and learning about different kinds of plants. This unit, like all Pre-K for All units, provides opportunities for children to observe objects and phenomena in their environment with increasing complexity, and apply knowledge and skills learned in previous units. Activities throughout the unit prompt children to learn about plants through hands-on explorations and provide opportunities to observe plants in their immediate environment. Consider how different kinds of plants are a part of your child’s daily life. Additionally, discuss and observe how plants grow and change over time. For example, you may have a tree in your neighborhood that you can observe throughout the unit and into later units as it changes with the seasons. In the first week, children consider the question, “What are plants?” and observe and identify the different parts of plants. In the second and third weeks, children have increased opportunities to observe plants in their environment and learn about different kinds of plants. In the final week of the unit, children will carefully consider and explore the different uses of plants and why different kinds of plants are important. As children discuss the role of water and light in plant growth and health, help them make connections to their prior knowledge about light and water.

Monday:

Morning Meeting:  discuss with you what they know about plants. Encourage them to make connections back to our water unit – why plants need water. Where do we see them?

In small group, the children can look at different parts of plants – they can either research them on the computer, or they can go outside (in front of your house or backyard) and look to see what they see. Maybe they can draw a picture of what they saw.

• Activities: 

  • Ask your child to share what they know about plants. "What do you know about plants?" Write what they tell you and save it until the end of the unit. Plants are living things. Help your child make the connection to Friday's activities and how plants need water and grow.

  • Write out a recipe and have your child draw some pictures for a salad that includes many different plant parts such as leaves (lettuce or spinach), roots (carrots), stems (celery) and fruit (apple). Look at items you have in the fridge, or pictures, to help your child draw the items.

  • Invite children to read through the recipe with you and follow the recipe directions to create their own salad. (Real or imaginary).

  • Building Blocks math activity: Choose and hide a counting card from 1-10. Ask your child to guess the number. If they guess correctly excitedly show them the number. If not, give hints saying it is more or less than the secret number. Keep going until they get it. (If your child is having difficulty, display all the cards in order before hiding one. If they can not guess, tell them it is less than the one they say and remove all the cards that are higher, then count the cards that are left and have them say the next counting number).

Songs:
The Farmer Plants the Seeds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRhGOdqWIIo
The Banana Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFmr_TZLpS0

Move:
Cosmic Kids, Betsy the Banana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40SZl84Lr7A&t=7

Tuesday:

Morning Meeting, we will be discussing what types of animals/insects live on plants and trees. Encourage them to think about bees, ladybugs, spiders, earthworms, birds, centipedes, caterpillar, praying mantis, grasshoppers, bats, ants and skunks.

In small group, the children will be measuring the different types of plants.  Use small items around the house to measure how long each plant is (paper clips, small cubes, cotton balls, etc.)

Today is the last day of March. Can you count out loud to 31? 
Today we will learn about how plants, insects and animals work together. 
Remember to continue work on your handwriting and letters. There is a new Building Blocks computer game. Try some of these ideas:

Read Aloud: Plant a Tiny Seed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYMgUvqs-D4

• How Animals and Trees Help Each Other

• How Plants and Animals Depend on Each Other

• Like Fruit? Thank a Bee!

• Have your child measure the different types of plants you might have in your home or around your home. ( Don’t forget: fruits and vegetables are parts of plants.) Use small items around the house to measure how long each plant is (paper clips, small cubes, cotton balls, etc.) We would love to see pictures of what you used.
• Make an art project of an animal and plant working together. You could draw, paint, collage, use dough or any other medium. Let your imagination run wild!
• Learn to draw some things you would find in a garden. Look carefully at the types of lines the artist used; straight, curvy, spiral, diagonal.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFWXPmUg_IQ

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCA9sDaq2NQ

Wednesday:

 Morning Meeting, we will be discussing the parts of a plant. Encourage the children to name: the roots, stem, leaves and flower.

In small group, they can draw the parts of a plant and label what they drew. You can use the parts of a plant picture for reference.

It is April Fool’s Day. Here's a poem for you today.

April Fools!
There’s a tack upon your chair,
There’s a spider in your hair,
 April Fools!
A bee is sitting on your nose,
An alligator just ate your toes,
April Fools!
Your hair has turned a snowy white,
Watch out! My brother likes to bite!
April Fools!

Hope you enjoyed it!
Today we will be talking about the parts of a plant. We start with the seed. First the seed softens. Then the roots grow down in the soil. It is the part that gets the water and nutrients from the ground for the plant. Then the stem grows and brings the nutrients and water to the leaves and supports the plant. The leaves are where the plant collects the sunlight and uses the sunlight to make food for the plant. It is called photosynthesis. What a great word! The flower grows and its petals attract insects and birds to pollinate it. 

Parents
Thank you for all the pictures and good wishes you have been sending. As always you are in our thoughts every day. If there is any way we can be of help to you, please let Kim and I  know.

Informational Videos:

• What Are the Parts of a Plant?
• https://www.generationgenius.com/videolessons/plant-parts-video-for-kids/ 
• Parts of the Plant for Kids
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP5jnuvMqxQ 
• Parts of a Plant
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6TLFZUC9gI 

Posters

Read A Loud: The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_A_e6h-DhU
Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0x6_AtV4UE

Activities: 

• Complete the worksheet: See Documents Section below-Parts of a plant
• Find a daffodil. There are many growing wild. Examine the parts. See Documents Section below- dissecting daffodils
• Draw a plant that you can see in your home or out of your window.
• Building Blocks Math: I Spy Shapes. I see something that is a....(name a shape)

Songs: 

• Parts of a Plant 
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql6OL7_qFgU&t=3s
• The Plant Song 
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-l-gsWOKzk
• The Farmer plants the seed  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRhGOdqWIIo 

Movement: Plant a Bean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCKEdDEr82k

Thursday:

In our morning meeting, we will be discussing what the jobs of the roots and stems are on a plant. The roots are like straws. They absorb the water and minerals from the soil. The roots help to keep the plant in the soil so it does not fall over. The stem supports the flower and carries nutrients and water to the leaves.

In small group, the children can use themake leaves to create different patterns. Ask your child to pick two colors to color the leaves. With your child, cut the leaves out and assist them in creating an AB pattern. For example, green red.
 

Thursday, April 2.
Keep reading, writing and being curious! Please send in your work for us to see. It brightens up Ms. Kim's and my day!
Today we are thinking about the parts of some really big plants. Trees!

Read aloud: The Giving Tree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFQZfeHq9wo

Informational Videos:

• Curious George: Curious about Trees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqWnno9bmLQ
• Science Trek: Tree Video Short: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEfhofqob7o
• The Color-Changing Celery Experiment: https://youtu.be/KIug9Foou3s

• Go outside with a piece of paper and a crayon. Put the paper on the trunk of the tree and color the paper. You will see the beautiful bark appearing. (You could use it for the collage).
• Collage: Make a collage of a tree with the tiny pieces of scrap paper from your recycling. Tear or cut the paper.
• Plant stems and roots are like straws: Cut Straws! Cut up a few straws then use their pieces to make letters/words. If you don’t have straws, you can roll up paper.
• Watch and try the color changing celery experiment (video above). If you don’t have celery, you can try other things (see the end of the video). You can even put one end of a paper towel in the colored water. Remember, most paper is made from trees
• BB Math: Go on a shape walk either inside or outside. Find a shape, say what shape it is, and describe the shape. We have been learning about circles, squares, rectangles, trapezoids.

• Learn About Trees! Roots and Trunks and Leaves!  https://youtu.be/D7dKRBZVLvI
• If I Were a Tree https://youtu.be/7mt79JW9u18
• The Green Grass Grows All Around (Barney) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkAOeIMypg8

• Jamie’s Yoga Mix. Outside in the Trees https://youtu.be/L8eMSTZ1LbI
• Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes for Trees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJqy967xs1c

Friday:

In our morning meeting, we will be discussing the leaves and the flower part of the plant. The leaves use light from the sun to turn nutrients from the soil into food for the flower. The flower and its petals attract insects and birds. These animals move pollen from one flower to another, which helps the flowers produce new seeds – the new seeds produce new flowers.

In small group, use the cut out leaves from yesterday’s small group to assist your child in creating an AAB, ABB, etc. patterns. For example, green green red (AAB), green red red (ABB).

Read Aloud:

Up in the Garden, Down in the Dirt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig7hkJ0VitA

Some questions you can ask your child relating to the book:

1. Recall some of the insects that they see in the pictures.

2. What does it mean for some things to be up in the garden and down in the dirt?

3. Why do the little girl and Nana water the garden?

4. The words in this book make a pattern. We hear about things that are up in the garden, down in the dirt. The pattern is up, down, and up, down and up, down. Can you find another pattern in your house?

Watermelon Seed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfqzlpjEjBk

Some questions you can ask your child relating to the book:

1. Ask your child other types of fruits that have seeds.

2. What happens if you swallow a watermelon seed?

3. What happened when the crocodile swallowed the watermelon seed?

4. Why did he think he would turn into a watermelon and turn pink?

5. What happened when he burped?

6. Do you think a watermelon can grow inside an animal or a person?

Vocabulary: pollen, nutrients, minerals, roots, stem, pattern

• 
  Other Fun Stuff!

• Visit https://www.facebook.com/LaurieBerknerBand/ at 10 am for a live sing and dance along with The Laurie Berkner Band. 

AVisit https://www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/awsc-story-hour?fbclid=IwAR3Fl8Py2RUqiRHtAdo65BMV5Aq10ck07ntcePWVYHO5DT7cjjng1318Ecs at 10 am for Shark Storytime with the Atlantic White Shark Concervancy.

• Visit https://www.instagram.com/petethecatofficial/ at 12 noon for a virtual story time with James Dean, creator of PETE THE CAT. 

• Visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems/ at 1 pm and join Mo Willems, author of the PIGEON and PIGGIE AND ELEPHANT books to explore ways of writing and making together. 

• Visit https://www.facebook.com/cincinnatizoo/ at 3 pm to in Home Safaris. Learn about animals and interact with zookeepers as they care for the animals in the zoo. Previous days Home Safaris are also available. 

• Visit https://www.facebook.com/musicwithpatrick/ at 6 pm to join Mr. Patrick of Music with Patrick for a daily Facebook Live performance. 

https://family.gonoodle.com
 

Please sign up for PKA-3's Remind 101. All you have to do is text @pka3201 and enter the number 81010 or you can go to www.remind.com/join/pka3201