Boom, Bang, Crash!

Hello JK Families,

It’s a pretty exciting moment when your teacher hands you a rhythm stick and says: “see what sounds you can make.” The children were delighted to find out we were going on a sound walk! With their instruments in hand, we set out on an adventure to bang, whack, and crash everything in our path. The children tested out the metal fence, wooden staircase, drain pipes, garbage cans, trees, playground equipment, and even the road itself as they walked. The junior kindergarten sound parade brought boisterous energy to an otherwise tranquil morning on our campus. You might be wondering why we set out on this quest. Well, last week while the children were exploring objects in motion, they discovered that if they dropped balls onto a metal plate, it made a loud crashing sound! Over and over they delighted at the result of the falling ball as it landed with a clatter. Sometimes, when we are exploring one area (movement) we stumble upon another (sound)! Herve Tulle, the subject of our author study, even combined these two wonderful things with the book, Say Zoop! Colorful moving dots are once again the main characters in the story but this time as they moved, they made a variety of sounds, including “ohhhhh,” “ahhhhh,” and waaahoooo!” The class loved the interactive, musical story. They were then invited to explore instruments! Cymbals, tambourines, blocks, sticks with buckets and more were presented. It was a rocking good time! Inspired by the moving dots in the story, the children were given a bead maze (think doctor’s office toy). They played and then worked to create their own version using clay, wire, and beads.

Also, last week’s parachutes were finally complete and the kiddos got to take them for a test drive! We went to the the highest building on campus, the art room, and launched them out the window! Half of the class took turns standing down below to catch the parachutes, while the other half launched their creations.

This week we also took some time to prepare for our upcoming holiday, Thanksgiving. We read The Thanksgiving Book, by Todd Parr and Apple Cake: A Gratitude, by Dawn Casey. We reflected on things for which we are grateful and created thankful garland. Using our large leaf collection, the children drew on leaves and then dipped them in beeswax to preserve them. They also drew things they were thankful for on their beautiful spin art papers. It will all be assembled into a lovely gift to bring home for the holiday.

We ended the week with an epic pajama dance party but look forward to spending a few more days together as a class family before the break begins.

We wish you a wonderful weekend,

Miss Liz & Miss Claire

Sound Walk