Costello Building Blocks- Weekly Happenings: September 29-Oct 3, 2014

Description KDIs

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Weve been busy putting our social and emotional skills to work.
Here are some things were working on:

Taking turns
Sharing
Putting our feelings into words
Using words rather than yelling or crying when we become
upset
Resolving conflicts when they arise
Being nice and treating others kindly
Helping others when they need help
Putting on our own jackets
Practicing zipping our own jackets
Discussing good choices vs. bad choices and learning why its
important to make good choices

Social and Emotional Development
Self-identity: Children have a positive self-identity.
Sense of competence: Children feel they are competent.
Emotions: Children recognize, label, and regulate their feelings.
Empathy: Children demonstrate empathy toward others.
Community: Children participate in the community of the classroom.
Building relationships: Children build relationships with other children and adults.
Cooperative play: Children engage in cooperative play.
Moral development: Children develop an internal sense of right and wrong.
Conflict resolution: Children resolve social conflicts.

Small
Group
Activities
1. Outdoor Watercolor Painting:
We took our painting supplies outdoors on this gorgeous
day! We sat in the shade under some changing trees and
used water color paints to created beautiful artwork. Our
paintings are currently hanging outside our room and will be
sent home when were done admiring them for a while!
Approaches to Learning: initiative, engagement, reflection
Social/Emotional: self-identity, sense of competence, community
Physical: fine motor skills
Creative: art
Language/Literacy: comprehension, speaking, vocabulary
Science: natural and physical world
2. Busy Bodies: Using our outdoor toys we spent time putting
our bodies to work, running, jumping rope, hula hooping and
walking on stilts. Our bodies got a good work out and we
sharpened our coordination skills while we were at it!
Approaches to Learning: initiative, engagement, problem solving
Social & Emotional: emotions, community, emotions, conflict resolution
Physical: gross motor, body awareness, healthy behavior
Language: comprehension, speaking, vocabulary
Math: Spatial awareness
Science: communicating ideas
3. Toy Sorting:
As were still learning how to use our classroom and where
everything goes, we sometimes forget that everything has its
very own place. Today we practiced putting things where
they belong rather than stuffing things wherever we can find
a spot. We discussed several areas of the classroom and
figured out where we thought things should go. For example:
Does the food in the kitchen area belong in the dishes
bin?, Do the dinosaurs belong in the farm animals bin?,
Do the marker lids belong on the floor?. We spent time
sorting our toys and materials and practicing putting them in
their proper spots.
Approaches to Learning: initiative, planning, engagement, use of resources,
problem solving
Social/Emotional: self-identity, sense of competence, community, conflict
resolution
Language: comprehension, speaking, vocabulary
Math: counting, shapes, part-whole relationships, data analysis
Science: observing, classifying, communicating ideas, drawing conclusions
Social Studies: diversity, decision making, geography
Costello Building Blocks- Weekly Happenings: September 29-Oct 3, 2014

4. Birthdays:
Using a song that we love by Jack Hartman called
Birthdays, we disused what a birthday was, how everyone
has a birthday and that sometimes theyre all on different
days while sometimes we share birthdays with people we
know or meet. We took time to learn what month and day
our birthday was on and used the song to practice learning
our birthday month in a fun new way. (Listening to the song,
children stand up when their birthday month is said and sit
back down before the next month is said.)
Approaches to Learning: initiative, engagement, use of resources
Social/Emotional: self-identity, sense of competence, community
Creative: music, movement
Physical: gross motor, body awareness
Language: comprehension, speaking, vocabulary
Science: communicating ideas
Social Studies: diversity, decision making
5. Leaf Paintings: Using large leaf cutouts, we painted leaves to
match all the changing leaves we have been seeing outside.

Approaches to Learning: initiative, planning, engagement, use of resources,
Social/Emotional: self-identity, sense of competence, community, cooperative play
Creative: art
Physical: fine motor, gross motor, body awareness
Language: comprehension, speaking, vocabulary
Math: counting, shapes, patterns, spatial awareness, unit
Science: observing, experimenting, communicating ideas, natural & physical world
Social Studies: diversity, decision making, geography
Large
Group
Songs, Fingerplays & Activities:

Song Artist
Birthdays Jack Hartmann
5 Little Fish Jack Hartmann
The Itsy Bitsy Spider Jack Hartmann
The Sunshine Song ---
ABC Bones Kidzup Childrens Music
Beanie Bag Dance Greg & Steve
Baker Song Dr. Jean
The Body Part Game Greg & Steve
Hey Diddle Diddle Nursery Rhyme
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Nursery Rhyme

Letter Links- Discussion of names, letter link symbols, letters and their
sounds


Approaches to Learning: engagement
Social/Emotional: sense of competence, community
Physical: gross motor skills, fine motor skills, body awareness
Language/Literacy: comprehension, speaking, vocabluary
Math: number words and symbols, counting, part-whole relationships
Creative: music, movement
Social Studies: diversity

Literature: Book Title Author
Animals in Fall Martha E.H. Rustad
The Wonder of Baby Animals
Its Pumpkin Time Zoe Hall


Language & Literacy: comprehension, speaking, vocabulary, phonological
awareness, alphabetic knowledge, concepts about print, book knowledge
Costello Building Blocks- Weekly Happenings: September 29-Oct 3, 2014

Brown Bear, Brown Bear Bill Martin Jr.
There Was An Old Lady Who
Swallowed Some Books
Lucille Colandro
The Underpants Zoo Brian Sendelbach
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Bill Martin Jr.
Today I Feel Silly Jamie Lee Curtis
Bear Says Thanks Karma Wilson
Sensory
Table

Sand & Misc. Plastic Containers


Approaches to Learning: initiative, planning, engagement, problem solving
Social/Emotional: self-identity, sense of competence, emotions, community,
cooperative play, conflict resolution
Physical: fine motor, body awareness
Creative: pretend play
Science: experimenting, communicating ideas, natural and physical world, tools