A large
part of our week was spent preparing for our field trip as we talked about fire
safety and demonstrated the intricacies of the fire fighter's clothing.
Ultimately, the children loved trying on and exploring the
"real" fire clothes. At story time, we read non-fiction and fiction
books on the topic, and learned several fire safety songs.
Our
field trip was both fun and informative as it brought all of this information
together for the children in concrete way. Many thanks to Benjamin's
Grandpa, Michael for donning all the fire gear at the fire station, and to all
of the parents who were able to drive and join us on our field trip.
As follow-up after our trip, the children "wrote" thank you notes to Fire Fighter Diane and her helpers!
Divertido con Espanol / Fun with Spanish
Rosalba
reinforced our study of Fire Safety within her Spanish activities this week as
she read to the children "en Espanol" and helped them to assemble and color Spanish Fire Safety Books!
Vocabalo de Semana en Espanol / Words of the Week
in Spanish
Cuidado /
Safty
Alto / Stop
Cae / Drop
Rueda / Roll
Morado /
Purple
Looking Deeper: Exploration
and Learning through Play!
We will look deeper at Dramatic Play often over the
course of this year, as it is one of the most fundamental vehicles of learning
for young children. Within Dramatic Play, children literally "try
on" roles as they seek to expand and learn about their world.
Dramatic Play utilizes and extends the children's language skills. It is
also a catalyst for cooperation, creative thinking, problem solving and
sharing. Additionally, it is often a vehicle for teaching Social Studies,
as the children often take on the role of various Community Helpers within
their play. This week as we talked about fire safety, our discussions
were often reflected in the children's play. They consistently took the
information gleaned at story time and incorporated it into the scripts of their
play scenarios. On any given day in the dress up area, one was apt to
hear the following exclamations, "don't touch the stove" or
"call 911". The children processed and applied new information
within their play, and that is indeed indicative of learning!
Have a fun and restful weekend!
