Wind and Water (home ideas)

Dear Preschool Families,
We're reading books and talking about wind and water at school. We hope that you will take some time to talk about wind and water (and weather!) at home, too.
The following is a list of books that children will be exposed to over the next month:

Gilberto and the Wind by Marie Halls Ets

A Hat for Minerva Louise by Janet M. Stoeke

The Snowy Day By Ezra Jack Keats

One Dark Night by Hazel Hutchins

Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky

The Very Noisy Night by Diana Hendry

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema

See How They Grow: Kitten by Jane Burton

Here are some fun activities you can do at home to help carryover the concept of Wind and Water into the home:

At bath time, add toys and plastic cups to the tub. Notice which things sink, float squirt or soak up water.

During a thunderstorm, watch the sky through a window. Talk about what you see. Count slowly between the lightning and the thunder.

Watch the weather forecast, Explain words such as windy, gusts or humidity. The next day, discuss whether the forecast was correct.

Play a rhyming game: "I see something wet and it rhymes with lane. It's ____ (rain)! Make the clues easy so the game is fun.

Let your child blow through a straw. See if he or she can find three things that can be moved easily that way.

Visit a playground. As you child plays on the equipment describe the actions: over, under, around and through.

In the tub float plastic lids. Blow on them and give the little plastic animals boat rides. Talk about the wind.

Go outside on a windy day. Notice all the ways you can tell the wind is blowing and talk about them.

Let you child help load and unload the dryer. Talk about how the clothes feel and look when going in and coming out.

These are just suggestions of fun things to do that will enhance what you child is learning about in school. Take some time to enjoy your child and observe wind and water.

Beautiful Junk

When the children return from the holidays on January 4th we will begin our first unit on Wind and Water. While exploring the topic the students will participate in lots of fun lessons. We could use your help collecting the following items from the "beautiful junk" list:
Balloons (latex free if you can find them)
golf balls
table top fan (make sure your name is on it and we will return it at the end of the month)
aluminum pans
fabric scraps
medicine cups
outdoor thermometer (make sure it is labeled so we can return it)
felt
pincer clothespins
long drinking straws
plastic tubing
large buckets
dowel rods
small yogurt containers
aprons (make sure your name is on it)

If you have any of the following items around the house we would love to borrow them. Please don't feel the need to go out and purchase any of the items. Anything that you send in and want returned at the end of the month please make sure you label them and let the classroom teacher know. We appreciate your help and support.