Welcoming Winter

We have been welcoming the colder winter days with new items and activities in our classroom. There are...

 ...new sensory bottles - sparkly night and day, rain, and snow...

 ...sensory snow bags...

...snow sensory bin with woodland animals...

...winter-themed manipulatives like tongs and cotton balls,

and Qtips through small holes...

...winter art using Qtips and white paint...

...and fun winter characters on the wall! Stay tuned for more!

A Feel of Snow in Pre Kitah Aleph

When learning about winter, snow is usually learned about as well. In Pre- Kitah Aleph we decided to not only learn about it, but to have a feel as well. In comes Insta-Snow!

First, each child had a turn to help pour the Insta-Snow powder into our sensory bin. 

Then, we added water, and voila! We had our 'snow'

Eli helps to pour water in.

 The children got right into it immediately, exploring the new texture and feel.

They used different mediums and tools to scoop, pour, and mix the snow.

Yonah waved his snow back and forth, making quite a snowstorm.

Adom realized he can take two cups, and pour from one into the other.

Eli decided to pick up some snow and drop it down, and made it look like it was actually snowing, while Levi caught some with his spoon.

Leora threw some snow up in the air and said "Snow!"

 The children kept on saying "More, more!" so we kept on adding more and more snow to our bin. What a fun and educational time we had! 

Penguins in KDH

What book are the children looking at and listening to with such interest? Anartica. 

KDH welcomed penguins into the classroom this morning. Four little penguins made their home in our tray filled with "snow." A fuzzy penguin joined the children in the block area. Luba and Motty made them a home. The wind up penguin begged to be named. Theo's suggestion, Mr. Waddle, was chosen.
Mia told the class that penguins live in Anartica. Max added that it is very cold there. In the summertime it is as cold there as is in Atlanta during the winter.

We waddled across the classroom like penguins and stood in our rookery balancing an egg on our feet.

So why did we bring penguins into our classroom? We thought they would be at home in our cold winter weather. And, we love them too!

Morah Ruth

Painting Snow

 

This rainy morning, we painted snow in the classroom! Ice that's been blended up makes a really unique target for painting.

"Snow!" We were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by the bin of snow, especially in our warm, 60-degree winter.

After spending some time talking about and touching the fresh snow, we got to work with some brushes and washable tempera.

We noticed that the colors ran together to make brown.

It's Snow Time!

In our class, we sing songs, read books, and make art about snow. However, snow is somewhat rare in Atlanta! While I really enjoy our relatively mild winters, they don't provide much opportunities for learning about snow. So today we decided to make our own! 

 

First, the children took turns placing ice cubes into a blender pitcher. Then, they took turns pushing buttons on the blender to crush the ice and to turn it into "snow."

 

We took turns feeling the snow. The children exclaimed, "It's cold!" Now that we know how to make our own snow, there is no limit to the snow-related science experiments and recipes we can do in Kitah Alef Bet this winter.