This week was all about the monkey! According to the Chinese Zodiac, this is the year of the monkey and after celebrating the new year, we thought it would be a great idea to learn more about these fun creatures! We read several different kinds of monkey books including educational books and fun books such as, "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" by Eileen Christelow and "Caps for Sale" by Esphyr Slobodkina about a hat peddler trying to outwit some mischievous monkeys. In addition to reading lots of great books, the children were introduced to the word, prehensile, that is defined as something that has the ability to hold things or grab onto things, such as a monkey's tail. The children explored with pipe cleaners to mimic the way a monkey's tail works. The children discovered that a monkey's prehensile tail can hold onto chairs, door knobs, basket handles and much more! (side note: if your child brought home a random pipe cleaner, twist it back into a monkey tail and see if you can find places around your home that a monkey can hang onto!)
Another great book the children read was called, "Monkey See, Monkey Draw" by Alex Beard. The book was about a group of monkeys that used their handprints to make fun drawings of animals. The children each made a handprint using finger-paints and were asked to turn their handprint into any animal of their choice. The children were encouraged to turn the paper in different directions until they say their animal. The handprints were turned into monkeys, alligators, butterflies and elephants just to name a few. Check out the pictures below!
On Wednesday, Mary Beth's movement class learned a dance called "The Monkey" from the 1960's and played a game of monkey in the middle. The children rolled a ball to their friends and the monkey in the middle needed to try to stop the ball with their feet before it rolled across the circle to a friend. Lots of wonderful gross motor practice in this class!
On Thursday, the children read, "Koko's Kitten" by Dr. Patterson. The story is about a gorilla that learned to communicate with Dr. Patterson, an animal scientist, by using had gestures and sign language. The children were introduced to several nonverbal signs including tree, baby, eat and cookie. Ask your child if they can show you the sign language they learned!
To wrap up the week, the children heard the sounds of a howler monkey. Howler monkey's are the loudest known land mammal. The children were surprised and excited to hear the sounds these monkey's make.
What's Up Next?
It's almost March and that means, we get to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday! Next week will begin the birthday celebrations that will lead into a science and engineering theme! More info to come next week!
Important Dates and Reminders:
February 27: Monthly Gathering at Celebration Kingdom - check your Evite for more info!
March 1: March Tuiton Due
April 1: April Tuition Due
April 18-22: SEE closed for Spring Break
May 11-12: Picture Day! More info to come in a few weeks
Some pictures from this week:
March 1: March Tuiton Due
April 1: April Tuition Due
April 18-22: SEE closed for Spring Break
May 11-12: Picture Day! More info to come in a few weeks
Some pictures from this week:
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| Exploring the monkey's prehensile tail |
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| Our zoo of animal handprints! |
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| A crocodile by a pre-k student |
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| Handprint Stegosaurus |
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| The making of a handprint monkey |
I hope everyone enjoyed the post! See you on Monday!
Joanna
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