Our focus question was who uses balls? We had a chance to build a wrecking ball, play soccer, and tennis. The boys and girls had a blast!

I’m thinking of a shape

This activity is based on a game I've played with my own children. We take turns telling 3 clues about the shape and wear it may be located. This physical activity will help your child develop their mathematical shapes and positional word vocabulary. It was wonderful to see the children cheer as each person found their shape. At home, see if your child can identify 3 dimensional shapes.

Number Wall Ball

This is a fun way to identify numbers. The children were given a number and they had to hit it with the ball.

WHAT MAKES BALLS MOVE?

Children play with balls in many different ways. They throw them, catch them, kick them, and roll them with seemingly endless delight. We are learning how natural forces, such as gravity and friction, affect the movement of balls. We discussed the meaning of force and how we can use it to move a ball. Using forced air from a blow dryer, we discovered how the air can effect a balls movement. Then, I gave each student a straw and pom pom balls to move with their breath. We discussed how the ball's weight or how hard air blew made a difference in the distance traveled.

WHICH HAS MORE?

After inspecting two jars with different balls, I asked the boys and girls "Which has more?" We recorded our answers and counted the balls. Adults play a significant role in helping children to learn mathematical vocabulary, concepts, and process skills. If children are to develop the knowledge needed for later formal learning, they need frequent practice with materials in play settings and adult-guided activities that include meaningful discussions and applications.

WHAT'S THE SAME/DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CIRCLE AND A SPHERE?

One thing that interested the boys and girls is how a sphere is not flat and a circle is. We also discussed circumference and how to measure a sphere or circle. As a group we added chain links together to measure the circumference of a ball. We then laid the chain flat and I asked each child to give me an estimate of how many chain links we used. Josiah was the closest with an estimation of thirty and we counted thirty one. Afterwards, each student was given a ball to measure. We then determined which spheres were the largest or smallest.

OUR LITTLE CHICKS

We painted with balls last week and the kids thought it was funny. This week I asked them to paint a baby chicken with a fork. Their faces were priceless. Fork painting is such a fun and clever painting technique. It allows for different textures and lines and creates something far different than a paintbrush. Definitely worth giving it a try!

What’s inside the box?

This week, we started our new study, “Balls.” To introduce our new study, I asked the students a question, “What’s inside the box?” I had placed two small balls into a box and had the boys and girls try and guess what was inside. Their first clue was that it started with the letter B. While they took turns shaking and smelling the box, I gave them some other clues. What can you bounce? What can you throw? The children guessed a ball.

Outdoor Learning!

We used a parachute to bounce a large, medium, and small ball. The kids had a blast!

Ball Art

Using balls as are paint brushes, we made shamrocks for St. Patricks Day.

What number is missing?

As the children covered their eyes, a student would remove a number. Another student had to step up to the board and figure out what number was missing.

Making Rainbow Treats

The class had fun stringing fruit loops onto pipe cleaners to make a rainbow. The best part was eating them.

What do people do in buildings?

For the end of our study, I asked the class "What are places that you've visited and what are people doing?" The students said, cooking at Chick-fil-A, cutting hair at a Salon, and learning at school. We setup different buildings in our class and pretended to be different characters. When your child engages in dramatic play, they are actively experimenting with the social and emotional roles of life. Through cooperative play, they learn how to take turns, share responsibility, and creatively problem-solve. When your child pretends to be different characters, they have the experience of "walking in someone else's shoes," which helps teach the important moral development skill of empathy. The students had fun!

Letter K

Fine motor skills involve the small muscles of the body that enable such functions as writing, grasping small objects, and fastening clothing. They also involve strength, fine motor control, and dexterity. To strengthen our hands, we used play-dough to make the letter K. We also worked on making the letters in their name.

Look what we built!