April 2009 Newsletter from Absorbent Minds

The Students have been busy bees this April. The children's curiosity about safety issues led to "Safety Week" being a big success! We first talked about fire hazards and hot surfaces. Students were asked to recognize objects and surfaces that get hot or can burn the skin. We then introduced matches and lighters as fire hazards. Next, we taught the purpose, maintenance, and the importance of smoke alarms. The students were asked to find all the alarms in a picture and to count all of the alarms in their own homes. Knowing two ways out of each room, and a Family Escape Plan were also discussions this week. We also focused on smoke and practiced the proper way to crawl under smoke to escape, using the "Stop, Drop, and Roll" method. Our students had a chance to practice this themselves. Different types of emergencies and accidents were also introduced. For example, they learned about the importance of "911" and its purpose. The children were given pictures of 911 emergencies and non-911 emergencies and asked to dial it on our "practice phone" when needed. Lastly, the children enjoyed learning all about Fire Fighters! We touched on outfits, tools, and gear and identified and labeled the gear on a picture.

The following week, our focus was on communities and workers. We talked about what makes up a community and the many types of jobs that citizens do to help maintain and care for their community. For each worker the children created a special symbol that represented their job. A badge was for police officers, a bookmarker for teachers, an EMS symbol for ambulance, and a letter for mail carriers. The students really enjoyed creating their own letters, applying the stamp, and mailing them in the classroom mailbox!

Good Hygiene was applied next! The students were taught that just because we don't see germs doesn't mean their not there! Proper hand washing was introduced as a work and the students practiced in class. To teach our students about the caring of our body and grooming, a basket full of personal hygiene items was presented. The students had to identify each item as it was said and then check it off their hygiene list as it was found. Some examples were toothpaste, Q Tips, toe nail clippers, nail file, deodorant, shampoo and soap. Then we moved our focus to Dental Care. Proper brushing and flossing were introduced. We also discussed Dentists and what a trip to the Dentist may be like. The students enjoyed making toothbrushes out of paper. Lastly, we spoke about the importance of sleep and rest, while the children created pillows out of paper. We also learned about dreams, insomnia and sleepwalking.

The environment was the next topic. We started with air pollution. The children learned about toxic gases, the ozone layer and global warming. The students then created an "A-Z all about Air Pollutions" Booklet and learned to substitute harmful substances with natural ones. Next, we learned about saving energy verses wasting energy and how to conserve to save the earth. For our work, the children had words that pertained to both saving and wasting and they were asked to identify the correct category. On Earth Day, we spoke about our planet's characteristics and what makes it so unique. The students participated in a project where coffee filters were painted to represent our earth. Recycling and reusing were also a focused topic this week. The children were taught the appropriate way to recycle and how this healthy habit will benefit our earth. The students learned characteristics of the four main materials that could be recycled in our community. Then they put their knowledge to work, by organizing prospective materials to be recycled into bins. Pictures of glass, paper, plastic and metal served as a guide to remind the students.

In the last week we introduced the Human Body. We focused on major parts such as, the heart, brain, skin, muscles, bones and the lungs. The children took part in some experiments this week. First, they used paper towel rolls to listen to each other's hearts. They listened when their partner was calm and also after their partner did 10 jumping jacks. They were asked to count the heartbeats and compare the difference. When we spoke about skin the children pressed a pencil on white paper and rubbed one of their fingers on the paper. We explained about our fingerprints and how our skin has ridges to pick things up. The children then put a piece of scotch tape on their finger and their print transferred on the tape. They enjoyed observing their print with a magnifying glass. When we spoke about bones the children had the opportunity to put together a giant size floor puzzle of a skeleton and learn the major bones of the body. When we introduced the lungs we discussed how we are able to talk. Each student was given a balloon. They were then asked to stretch the balloon outward to let the air out a little bit at a time. The children had a blast listening to the squealing sound! The purpose, of course, was to inform the children that air from our lungs passes through vocal cords and the cords act like the balloon neck to create sounds.

In May we will be taking a world tour in the classroom! We will learn about our continents and focus on many of the countries chosen for the International Festival. Our monthly theme will be "Around the World". For each week, we will focus on a continent as follows: Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. For each day of the week we will discuss topics such as Geography/Climate, Dress, Celebrations/Traditions, Music and Food.

~Mrs. Cooper