THE CHILDREN S SCHOOL% DECEMBER 2011 KINDERNEWS. Jacob, Trey, Caroline, Maryella and Mark portraying Native Americans.

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1 KINDERNEWS Native Americans Jacob, Trey, Caroline, Maryella and Mark portraying Native Americans. Important Notes It is that time of year! We go outside as often as the weather permits. Please send snow pants, boots, mittens and hats. Please remember to send shoes with your children if they wear boots to school. Our classroom can be hot; dress your child in layers. Check your child s extra clothes box to include winter clothes. The month of November naturally leads into a study on Native Americans. We explored Native American tribes and their lifestyles, concentrating on the Plains Indians. The children enjoyed learning about the food (buffalo), shelter (tipis), transportation (horses), communications (picture writing), tools (arrow heads) and culture of the first Americans. The children also enjoyed learning about the music of the Native Americans and sang two songs for the preschool classes. Peter s mom, Sonia, taught us the lullaby Ani Couni Chaouani that she had learned as a young girl. Her family was from a Canadian Iroquois tribe. Singing for the Blue Room friends. Sonia accompanying the song with a drum. ISSUE #3% PAGE 1

2 PROCESS, NOT PRODUCT We teachers offer the children experiences that build on earlier skills plus extend the time, attention and energy needed in the activity in order to help the children grow. This unit on Native Americans offered many opportunities to do just that. Many Native American tribes were excellent weavers. We built on the children s earlier skill of patterning by introducing weaving. Over and under was heard repeatedly as the children worked on their looms. The task required the children to spend more time than they previously had been spending on activities. Our expectations of your children are increasing, and they are rising to meet them with beautiful success. TOTEM POLES Another example of stretching your children s attention span and building on their knowledge of symmetry was the construction of totem poles. Mrs. Perovich led the activity by reading stories about the Northwestern Native Americans and their use of totem poles. The poles were basically elaborate mailboxes, depicting the people who lived in that house and their social standing in the tribe. The children first worked together to create a large totem pole out of boxes. Using small wood scraps, decorative wood shapes, and glue, the children constructed a small totem for themselves. Yujin working. The only directions were that the pole had to stand on its own and be symmetrical. The activity became a mini lesson in architecture and trial Delia and Kasim building. and error as the children had to figure out how to make their poles stand alone. MATH: MEASURING WITH UNIFIX CUBES We introduced the children to measurment using Unifix cubes this month. Unifix Cubes are colorful, interlocking cubes which help children learn number and math concepts. Students learn best when they are actively involved in the lesson. When students are using Unifix Cubes a they are 100% involved in a hands-on activity, using multiple senses, and constructing understanding for themselves. The children were asked to find the measurement of various classroom objects. Sydney working with the Unifix cubes. Michael weaving. ISSUE #3% PAGE 2

3 Jacob and Nina H. mashing berries. NATURAL FABRIC DYE Native Americans used plant materials to make beautiful colors to dye wool, cotton, and other fibers. The children were excited to learn about how the Native American culture created their own fabrics through weaving as well as dying fabric out of fruits and vegetables. To make our own dye, we mashed strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and beets. After boiling the dye mixture we added fabric and let it sit overnight. The next day we removed the fabric and let it dry. We drew our Native American birth totem symbols on the fabric. Many Native American cultures have the belief that a person is assigned an animal upon the time of birth (similar to the Zodiac symbols). We extended the concept by painting our totem symbol on leather squares. Trey squeezing his fabric dry. Elias and Mark adding berries to the dye mixture. Charlotte drawing her totem symbol. Charlie painting on leather. NATIVE AMERICAN FOODS This month the children tried many different Native American foods: dried blueberries, cranberries and cherries, corn, beans, squash, buffalo meat and - everyone s favorite - Fry Bread served with honey! Surprisingly, every one of the foods were liked by the majority of the class! Charlotte, Yujin and Nina waiting for their fry bread. TRAINING FOR THE HUNT Mark, Sophia, Sebastian, Harrison, Yujin, and Caroline hunting. During a recent rainy day, the children practiced the skills they would need when stalking a buffalo by creeping over, under and through colored streamers taped across the hallway. We loved sneaking up on the buffalo! Oscar and Sydney enjoying buffalo. ISSUE #3% PAGE 3

4 THREE SISTERS The Three Sisters are an ancient method of gardening using an intercropping system which grows corn, beans, and squash crops simultaneously in the same growing area that is typically a rounded mound of soil, often called a hill. Corn is the oldest sister. She stands tall in the center. Squash is the next sister. She grows over the mound, protecting her sisters from weeds and shading the soil from the sun with her leaves, keeping it cool and moist. Beans are the third sister. She climbs through squash and then up corn to bind all together as she reaches for the sun. Beans help keep the soil fertile by converting the sun's energy into nitrogen filled nodules that grow on its roots. As beans grow, they use the stored nitrogen as food. NOVEMBER SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS This month, we concentrated on science experiments that focused on the natural world, especially the 3 sisters. Sprouting Indian Corn: I wonder...what will happen when we place an ear of Indian corn in a dish of water. I think...mrs. Ambruster recorded the children s predictions. The children made many interesting guesses and were amazed when the corn sprouted! I learned...that the corn seeds will begin to sprout while still on the cob. Planting the 3 sisters: I wonder...which seed will sprout first. I think...the children made their predictions and planted their 3 seeds in a ziploc baggie with a moist paper towel. The bags were taped to the window and checked daily. I learned...that the beans sprouted the quickest but the corn plant grew the fastest. The Water Cycle I wonder...how the water cycle works. I think...mrs. Perovich discussed the water cycle with the children. Using 2 liter bottles, we made our own terrarium that uses the concepts of evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection. I learned...the earth has a limited amount of water. That water keeps going around and around. Sprouted Indian Corn The 3 Sister s sprouting ISSUE #3% PAGE 4

5 NATIVE AMERICAN GAMES Ryan, Nina C and Nina H working on their game pieces. The children were introduced to several Native American games. Ms. Woler and the children re-created a math game using numbered popsicle sticks. Each side of the stick was given a value of either 1, 2 or 3. The children tossed the sticks and added the sum. The child with the largest sum was the winner. Mrs. McGillen recreated 2 Native American games with the children. The children rolled clay marbles to use in the Marble Game. The object of this game was to roll your marble as close to the floor tape as possible without rolling past. For the second game, the children decorated paper cups with felt and sequins. A wooden bead was attached to the bottom of the cup with a piece of yarn. The children had to toss the bead up and catch it in the cup. NATIVE AMERICAN ART GALLERY Kabir making marbles. Julia using watercolors to paint her sunset. Sunset paintings inspired by The Legend of The Indian Paintbrush. Peter feather painting. Tipi painting. Native American face-paint portraits. Tipi painting. ISSUE #3% PAGE 5