Friday Follow Up-October 30, 2009

Welcome back Diener friends!

We had a great time this week in music! In the Primary class, we enjoyed all of our Halloween songs for one more week-"Scarecrow," "Five Little Pumpkins," "Orange Orange Pumpkin, What Do You See," and "Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Big and Round." We also did the Hokey Pokey and played with some new instruments. We learned that all of the instruments we play in class, such as maracas, wood blocks, rhythm sticks, and bongo drums are all percussion instruments. We listened to clips of the different instruments playing with an orchestra. In the Uppers classes, we started learning our songs to sing at the Hebrew Home next month. We will be singing fun songs such as "The Star Spangled Banner," "Oh Susanna," "You are My Sunshine," and "Over the River and Through the Woods."

In fitness, we went over different passes in basketball and chest passes. On Wednesday, we began T-Ball which unit will be covered next month. In dance class, we learned a new routine for our group dance. The Uppers classes practiced their dance for the Hebrew Home next month. During Yoga class, we made bridges with our feet working on our core muscles. We also pretended to be trees in the fall and shake our leaves!

In Art, the Primary class created wonderful 3-D collages using the secondary colors. In the Inters and Uppers classes, we focused on lines, the basic principle of art. The children discovered that there are lines all around us in different shapes and forms.

This week in science, we are focusing on the sense of touch/feeling. The Primary and Inters classes played with "Feely Bags" and tried to guess what objects were in the bags (without looking)! We also utilized our fine motor skills by completing a worksheet that identified what body part we use to touch things. In addition to this, we read the book, "My Five Senses," by Margaret Miller. The Uppers classes explored the sense of touch by creating "gak." We made predictions about what would happen when we mixed all of the ingredients together. We also made "spooky bubbles" and read a special book!

In the Buddy Program, we had a blast making candied apples and playing "Find the Pumpkin." The students are really getting to know their buddies from Green Acres! Everyone is working together, in a safe, but fun, environment. We couldnt ask for more!