Smart Start 2023-2024: Week 7

Tea Parties and Tap Dancing!

Letter T Week Learning & Play Invitations:

Towers, trains, tracing, and taking care of teeth!

This week, we introduced our students to Alma Thomas. We talked about how Alma was inspired by nature and loved bright colors and patterns. We practiced patterning with blocks on the carpet before heading to the art table to create our own Alma Thomas-inspired pieces.

The Brain Dance in the Wiggle Room with Ms. Cheryl.

If you know Ms. Cheryl well, then you know she loves to tap! We could not let letter T week go by without a trip to the dance studio where we tapped our toes and stamped our feet!

A little more tapping in the Wiggle Room.

We love classroom visitors! On Thursday, Dr. Andrea Owens visited to talk with our students about caring for our teeth. Dr. Andy read The Tooth Book and did a great job talking our students through brushing and foods and drinks that are good for our teeth.

In science, we continued exploring how heat changes things. This week we toasted tortillas in an air fryer and found that some solids become harder when heated instead of melting or becoming a gas. Before putting the tortillas in the air fryer, students predicted what they thought would happen. Many of them predicted that the tortilla would melt or explode.

On Thursday, we had a Tasty Science Tea Party. We observed the loose-leaf tea. We looked with our eyes, smelled, and felt the tea. Students agreed that the tea leaves were solid and were then asked to predict what would happen when we put them in boiling water. We observed how the leaves expanded and how the heat caused them to release color and flavor. Once the tea was cool, we enjoyed tea and cookies while talking about table manners.

After experimenting with water, cookie dough, biscuit dough, pancake batter, and now tortillas and tea, students are beginning to understand that different substances react differently. They are beginning to recognize similarities and differences and are thinking critically about their predictions. What a joy to watch each young learner become more confident as they gain knowledge and develop skills for discovery!

We rounded out the week with stories of taco-loving dragons, art inspired by the changing leaves and tulip bulb planting!