All posts by website@magic-garden.org

Starlight

At pick up time, you may hear the Starlight children singing, and grooving to a classroom favorite, “Them Bones!” This catchy tune is just part of our current focus: The human body! Exploring spatial awareness, the students continue to enjoy gross-motor game such as “Hokey Pokey” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” Also, exploring identification and labeling, the boys and girls continually request our human body version of “Freeze Dancing.” When the music stops, a leader calls out a body part and the kiddos must place their elbow, arm, neck or…whatever, on a yoga dot! The children even examined pictures of human skeletons. One boy said, “The bones are inside your body.” Another claimed, “Bones are hard.” One girl said, “The food breaks and goes to different part of your skin.” How neat! Our cross-classroom collaborations continue! Whether it’s meeting up for outside time or hanging in the hallway, Starlight truly enjoys mixing with Twilight. The more the merrier!  Coming in April: We hope to be observing signs of spring. Hooray!

Twilight

Our afternoon friends have just kicked off a new adventure: “The Twilight Book Club.” Children are encouraged to choose their favorite books from home and share them during special, cozy story times. This experience provides youngsters with a sense of pride and confidence! After, students engage in whole-group discussions, concerning theme, characterization and why this book is so special to them! Some recent favorites are, The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems.

In Science news, the Twilight kiddos have entered a world of color! Using milk, food coloring and dish soap, our students watched as different colors magically swirled around paper plates (all by themselves!). How could this happen? Well, the fat and protein molecules in the milk are altered by the soap. This causes them to roll around. Wow! Later, the pupils constructed a walking rainbow. How? Pretty simple! They utilized red, yellow and blue water and some paper towels. Very cool!  Coming up: Seeds, planting and fun outdoors!  TW4

Sunshine Scoop

The Sunshine Class recently kicked off NEA’s Read Across America Program! To begin, the boys and girls celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday with a very special visit from none other than…THE CAT IN THE HAT! Dressed in his trademark hat, this feisty feline read the classic Foot Book to our students. Thankfully, he didn’t cause any mischief in the classroom. Phew! The students then painted a beautiful mural. Instead of brushes, they used…their bare feet! Do check out our gorgeous art display in the Dramatic Play area. This week, the pupils will be exploring the timely book, The Lorax. This masterpiece touches on themes of environmental respect and preservation. During Choice Time, the children will have the opportunity to craft their own mixed media, three-dimensional Truffula trees. Very cool!

As part of Read Across America, the Sunshine Class welcomes Guest Readers into the classroom. Parents, grandparents, administrators and community members continue to visit and share their favorite selections of literature. Coming up: More small group creative writing workshops and adventures in graphing!

Starburst Happenings

The Starburst Classroom has been moving and grooving throughout their days at Magic Garden! Recently, the girls and boys have embarked on a variety of movement opportunities. If you walk in and a dance party is in full swing, don’t be surprised. Just join us! Some favorite tunes from recent weeks are “Happy” by Pharell, “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake and the “Stand Up, Sit Down” song! Move it, Starburst friends!

The children have been learning to cool down and chill too. Pairing literature with this current interest, the pupils have been responding to books that center on relaxation, stress reduction and self-confidence. A current favorite is A Boy and a Bear by Lori Lite.

SB3

Lately, the Starburst Scientists have been looking very closely at the properties of magnetism. The students continue to enjoy digging their magic magnetic wands in the sand table and collecting iron shavings. Also, the kiddos embarked on a magnet hunt, locating numerous different objects that illustrate a magnetic pull. Great job, girls and guys!

Up next: The Starburst friends will delve into the topic of the human body, nutrition and health!

 

 

The Moonbeam Class has taken flight with new discoveries in nature!

Fusing technology and science, the Moonbeam kiddos have been watching a live action camera of an eagle’s nest on our classroom computer. Two parent eagles have been keeping a handful of eggs warm for many days. Just recently, they hatched! Our students could not contain their wonder and excitement. Many children made observations and posed scientific questions. One boy said, “The babies are like a duck. It’s got feathers on its back.” Another child observed, “I think that eagle is the mama. Maybe the dada went to go get food.” One girl asked, “What’s the big eagle doing? Feeding the babies? And what’s that red stuff?” So much fantastic learning!

The Moonbeam students are celebrating Read Across America and the magical books of Dr. Seuss. First, they read the classic Green Eggs and Ham. Later, our boys and girls experimented with color mixing and made their own green paint! Also, the class read Ten Apples Up on Top. They took part in a mathematics activity and then…they bobbed for apples!