We spent time getting to know each other and our families during the first two weeks of October. We began by identifying what a family is and who is in our immediate family. We learned that some of us have older brothers and sisters, like Luke T. and Iselena, while others have younger brothers and sisters, like Jade and Sophia. We also learned that Ainsley has the newest family member, a baby brother named Griffin. All of our friends brought in a picture of their family to share with the class. We used these pictures to make a Family Circle of paper plates, which you may have seen hanging in the hallway.

After we identified who is in our family, we talked about the different responsibilities of each family member. We learned that moms pack lunches and wash clothes, while dads mow the lawn and use tools. The students decided that their main responsibility is to play. We did learn that we have a few dads who are excellent cooks!

Babies were a popular topic of discussion during these two weeks. The students seem to think babies are cute. Each child brought in a picture of him/her self as a baby and we spend time looking at each picture to see if we could tell who it was. Take a look... do you know?  

After learning all about our families, students shared some of their favorite things to do as a family. Laynee likes to go fishing with her Papa. Jade enjoys going to the park and the movies with her Grandma. Emma B.'s favorite thing to do as a family is eat dinner together.

All of our friends created a Family Tree at home with their families. It was neat to see each individual family and how some of them have grown over the years. Some students even included dogs, cats and other pets on their tree. We are glad your children are part of our "Smarter Family." Thank you for sharing them with us.  

The next two weeks we spent time On the Farm. We learned that there are several different kinds of farms, such as Dairy Farms and Orchards (grows fruits and nuts). Our students were most interested in farms with animals or livestock. Children created a Farm Book with pictures of the animals they liked. We learned that each animal on the farm gives us something special that we can use. Sheep give us wool for clothing; Cows give us milk, steak and hamburgers; Pigs give us bacon and ham; Chickens give us eggs and, as your children put it, "chicken nuggets."

We read books about all of the responsibilities on a farm and how much work is can be to run a farm. Children even practiced milking a cow. We filled a vinyl glove with milk and poked a hole in one finger, which acted like an utter. Students squeezed the finger of the glove and out came the milk into the bucket! They enjoyed seeing how this process works.  

We also learned about the machines found on farms. Everyone's favorite was the tractor, but we also talked about plows, harvesters and sprayers that water and fertilize the crops.

We learned that many farms in Ohio grow corn and the corn is used in many things we eat. We tested our taste buds as we tried different foods from the animals on the farm. We ate hard boiled eggs from the chickens, Corn Pops cereal from the corn, ham from the pigs and cheese from the cows and goats. Students enjoyed learning where some of their favorite foods come from.

Mr. John's Corner:

Children love animals and I enjoy teaching the children about different types of animals.  We started this month by discussing mammals.  I chose mammals because we are mammals.   We learned  mammals have hair or fur, are born alive, and drink mother's milk when first born.  We learned mammals are warm blooded (their body temperature remains constant) and they are vertebrates (have spines).  We learned dolphins and whales are mammals and the bat is the only mammal that can fly.

Next, we slithered our way into the world of reptiles.  We came to the conclusion the snake is the most popular reptile. We learned reptiles are cold blooded, vertebrates, lay hard shelled eggs, and have dry scales.  Some of the books we read were "All about Reptiles" and "You Should Stay Away From Snakes."  We had a special visitor, Miss Dawn, bring her turtles to share with our class.  After her visit, we realized turtles are not all that slow!

 

We swam to our friends called fish.  We learned fish are cold blooded (their body temperature changes to the temperature in their environment) and are vertebrates.  We learned that most fish have scales, gills and fins, and some fish lay eggs and some fish are liver bearers (babies are born alive). We introduced a new word, "habitat."  This is where something lives and the fish's habitat is the water. The children were thrilled to learn that the shark is a fish.  We read the books "10 Great Fish" and "Crazy Fish."  We introduced a gluing art project where the children glued various sized and colored sequence which represented scales to an outline of a fish.  Many colorful fish were created that week.

 

At circle time we count to 10 in different languages.  We now know how to count to 10 in English, Spanish, Sign Language, German, French, Greek, Japanese, and Arabic with the Lebanese dialect, and Italian.

 

Ms. Courtney's Corner:  

October was a very busy month! I can't believe how fast the year is going! We survived Halloween and  

are now anticipating Thanksgiving and Christmas. We also welcomed a new addition to our school family, Nathan!  

We started the month learning all about apples. We studied the life cycle of an apple from seed to the delicious fruit picked right off the apple tree. We learned about John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed. He helped pioneer apple trees to our state, Ohio. We learned apples are a healthy, tasty treat that can be used in many different foods and even beverages. The class favorite was an old fashioned, warm apple pie straight from the oven. 

The season changed from summer to fall and one of the obvious changes was the beautifully colored leaves. We talked all about the changes in the leaves making this transition possible. The class learned a very big word, chlorophyll. The process in which green leaves turn to brilliant red, vibrant orange and golden yellow is all caused by the weather changes and lack of chlorophyll in the leaf. We went leaf hunting in the playground each day. Mr. C filled his hands with the collected leaves and for one of his lessons the class made leaf rubbings with the beautifully colored leaves. We also learned not all leaves turn colors seasonally. The students identified evergreen and deciduous trees and their differences.  

The next week we discussed pumpkins. In order to prepare for our fieldtrip we studied the life cycle of this orange fruit. Just like the apple, it all starts with a single seed. We learned pumpkins vary in colors from white to yellow to orange. We read a book on all kinds of jack-o-lantern faces and even tried to make our own jack-o-lantern faces. We also learned it takes about four months before the world's largest fruit is ready to harvest.

Later this week we traveled to Rufener's Hilltop Farms. We spent the morning having fun and celebrating both autumn and pumpkins. Even though there was a chill in the air, we all had a wonderful time. Walking through the pumpkin patch, each child selected the pumpkin of their choice. Mr. C also carefully chose the most perfect classroom pumpkin. Just a few short days later this perfect pumpkin transformed into a very festive jack-o-lantern during our preschool lesson.  

During the last week of October the class celebrated Halloween. We made many crafts, sang Halloween songs and had an amazingly perfect party. We spent the week learning about this spooky day and all of its symbols. Thank you to all of our parents who put a lot of hard work into our Halloween Party. Students enjoyed this special time and of course all the treats! 

Thank you, again for making October another fun month. Your support made our field trip possible as well as a fabulous Halloween party.

 

Enrichment Programs:

Art Class

Ms. Kelly 

Students look forward to Fridays every week to see what Ms. Michele has in store for them.  In each Art class, Ms. Michele showcases an artist. In the month of October, students learned about Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh and Matisse. Monet is famous for his Impressionist works, Picasso for his sculpting, Cubism and Expressionism. Students explored analogous colors with Van Gogh. Ms. Michele also taught her students about Matisse and "fauvism," which is artwork using very bright and unusual colors, sometimes as symbols.

Students had opportunities to get their hands dirty and explore different colors in Art this month.  Ms. Michele reviewed the three primary colors (red, blue, yellow) and demonstrated how they can be combined to make a range of colors. There is always fun to be had when mixing colors is involved! Analogous colors were introduced this month. These are colors next to each other on the color wheel. Finally, Ms. Michele taught us about tertiary colors which are combinations of primary and secondary colors, such as aqua and yellow-green.

Students were given a ball of clay and created their very own sculpture bowls.  You may have seen these creative masterpieces drying out on top of the coat racks.  Ms. Michele is firing the sculptures our students made, and we will be glazing them in the weeks to come!

Music continues to be a favorite class of many students. Ms. Lisa has brought in many new friends to class such as Bernard the dog and Jerry the giraffe.  These friends help students sing their hello introductions and say goodbye to them as well. Ms. Lisa has released a CD of all the songs we sing in music class to all of the students. Now the children can enjoy music class in their own classroom or at home. We are all very excited about this CD!  

Ms. Lisa has taught a few new songs this month like
"Counting Apples from the Apple Tree" and "Elephants that went out to play." The students wave colorful scarves in the air and make them fall like the leaves as they listen to the music. The students are really catching onto clapping to the beats of whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes. We have even learned how to sing and dance to an African song. Ms. Lisa does such a great job in Music Class making it both educational and fun! Students and parents enjoyed Ms. Lisa's special music class during the Halloween party. Students were able to show off their singing skills to their parents during this time. This truly was a treat for everyone!  

Ms. Nikki

Science class in October involved many experiments on sinking and floating. We started out the month with salt water and fresh water. In each cup an egg was placed. The students had the chance to say their hypothesis. Two favorite hypotheses in Ms. Brandy's class were the water would change colors, or the egg would sink or float in the water. In the salt water the egg was found to float, while the egg sank in the fresh water. Students learned about the way salt water pushes things up to the surface of the water. Mr. John talked about the Dead Sea, and the way everything floats in it due to the extremely high salt content. 

The next week Ms. Kelly posed the question on Facebook and Twitter to parents asking "Which do you think will sink or float: a peeled orange or an unpeeled orange?" Parents got to be scientists with us for the day while the students learned about what orange sinks or floats. We found out that unpeeled oranges float, while a peeled orange sinks. The kids were amazed at the way air is trapped underneath the peel causing unpeeled oranges to float. When there is no air trapped underneath the peel, the peeled orange sinks.       

The third lesson of the month brought back the salt water and fresh water experiment. Students were given the chance to make predictions on what would happen to an egg when they add fresh water to the salt water. Mr. John let each student add fresh water to a jar with salt water and a floating egg in it. As the freshwater was dumped in the jar, the egg started to sink in the water. This is because the salt content was less, meaning that the egg didn't have as much salt to push up on it causing it to float. The kids loved learning about what makes things float and sink! Watch Facebook and Twitter for more questions with chances to create a hypothesis about our science experiment!