Butterfly Unit

I suspected Curly would probably ask to learn about butterflies...but when she started making book suggestions too I knew I needed to take her seriously. She suggested,

and 

Both are excellent books, the later being less fictional.  We also found some great informational books like Moths and Butterflies and spent a whole day learning about the differences between the two.  Did you know that butterflies usually land on a flower with their wings closed and moth with their wings open?  Another day we learned about the life cycle of a butterfly, metamorphisis, the body parts of a butterfly, and other fun facts.  Did you know a butterfly tastes with its hind legs?  Curly had a great idea to play with a leftover party blower from her birthday to imitate a proboscis uncurling to take a drink of nectar.  Most recently we spent a day learning all about Monarch Butteflies and their miraculous migration.  We found three excellent library books specifically about Monarchs.  This is a great informational picture book that is not too cumbersome but still very informative for preschoolers:


We also really enjoyed this fictional book about a caterpillar who's "Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go to Mexico."

And then lastly this book weaves many facts about Monarchs into a great storyline about a third child feeling a bit neglected and overshadowed by her older sisters.  This website also has some great links and teaching ideas specifically related to this book.


A few other favorites:
Wings of Light which is techinically an informational picture book but it reads like a fictional book and the beautiful illustrations definitely feel that way too.
Clara the Caterpillar
The Caterpillar and the Pollywog - a classic.  I especially like the movie version found on the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Movie.

We did a few fun hands-on activities related to butterflies as well.  Including a craft project or two.  But our main project was ordering a butterfly garden...unfortunately we're still waiting on that package.  But I hope to renew our favorite books we found from the library and revisit them as teaching opportunities arise.

Eiffel Tower Building Unit

Grace and I have enjoyed learning about buildings and monuments this week.  Mostly we checked out some great books at the library, and built with various implements this week--blocks, nesting blocks, toothpicks, peg boards, Duplos, etc.  But I did come across some great children's books.  I also realized that this unit could easily go several directions:

1.  Monuments--famous structures around the world (geographic location, destinct features, history, and significance).    Our favorite fiction book about monuments was hand's down: Ben's Dream by Christ Van Allsburg.   The main character is studying for a geography test and falls asleep...while dreaming his home floats around the world passing by the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the Taj Mahal, to name a few. I had fun creating a PowerPoint with pictures of famous monument with a inset little map as a reference as to where that monument is in the world.  I also tried to include something else familiar she could relate to that monument or area--i.e. a picture of her cousin who lives by the Statue of Liberty or the character Madeline by the Eiffel Tower.

2.  Construction--the how of building, from the foundation, to the back hoes, to the scaffolding, maerials, etc.  Curly seemed interested in two main types of construction:  homes, and BIG buildings.  Regarding homes we found several fun books about different types of homes around the world.  We also incorporated the story of the Three Little Pigs discussing why you'd want your home to be strong.  She also is fascinated by sky scrapers. David Macaulay's has an excellent book, Building Big.  It is so popular it actually became a whole series on PBS.

3.  Architecture--various types throughout history and as a profession.
We enjoyed this visual book.  I loved how perceptive she was a noticing nuances like the differences between the capitols of columns or types of arches.  Preschoolers really can be observant of intricate details if we give them the right outlets!  Since she's often talked about being an artist when she grows up we also talked about the profession of architects...whose job is to design/draw the building.

Summer Mommy & Me Preschool Time

Curly and I are really enjoying Mommy & Me preschool time (about 30 minutes everyday during Little Red's nap).  I think we're going to do a theme study every week on a different topic she's interested in--combining some library books with activities.  Next week we've already decided to teach her about buildings and famous monuments, specifically the Eiffel Tower.  She's been peppering me with questions about the Eiffel Tower and comparing everything's size to the Eiffel Tower.  Often overheard saying things like, "It's almost as big as the Eiffel tower!"  I also want to incorporate daily fine motor activities and/or a little handwriting practice--because she seems so eager to be able to write her letters well but struggles a bit with the motor skills.  I've liked this website's approach.  I'm not really sitting down and giving her worksheet after worksheet--we make it fun.  But the groupings on the website helped me break it down for Curly a bit more.  We've also enjoyed the games and activities from this summer packet--it has a nice balance of literacy and math activities.  Curly has especially enjoyed the Summer Book Bingo.  This week at the library she choose Laura Numeroff as an author and we had fun checking out ALL the books by her and reading and comparing them.