Early Childhood Pioneer Day - 2017

Celebrating the upcoming 156th birthday of the state of Kansas (on January 29), early childhood students headed to the gym on Friday, January 27, to participate in Pioneer Day.  There were stations set up where children learned about washing clothes, peeling and eating apples, grinding grain, eating cornbread muffins, churning butter, feeding chickens, barnyard animals, roping steer, pioneer games, spinning, quilting, and a different kind of pioneer, Amelia Earhart.  The culmination of the event was some scatter square dancing by the children, guests, and staff. The children had a wonderful experience and everyone looked so great in their pioneer attire.  We are extremely grateful to the many volunteers, teachers, aides, and administrators, who helped with this event.  Your time and talents made the morning very memorable for our students.  Thank you.

 Eating apples peeled by the students.

 Churning cream to make butter.

 Petting and feeding the chickens.

    

 Washing clothes on a washboard.

 Riding the hippity hop horse.

Roping the steer.

Trying out the stilts.

 Making a right hand star during scatter square dancing.

 Everyone tries out "dive for the oyster, duck for the clam."

 What fun it is to join on the wagon train.

Students "Walk the Lonesome Trail."

Spinning like a tumbleweed.

Galloping like a pony.

Making a wagon train.

Posing like a Texas longhorn.

Click here for more Pioneer Day photos.

Preparing for Pioneer Day

We will be taking a two week break from our study of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World to prepare for Early Childhood Pioneer Day, which will we held on Friday morning, January 27, from 8:30 - 10:45.  This is a great morning that celebrates Kansas' birthday on January 29.  It is held in the south gym with stations like roping cows, washing clothes on a washboard, peeling apples, singing songs, and many more. I will be teaching the children a few pioneer games and activities, as well as scatter square dancing.  At the end of the event, all students will dance and parents and guests are invited to join in the fun. To add to the atmosphere of the day, everyone is invited to dress up in clothing that reminds us of the pioneer days.  In the past we've had cowboy shirts, jeans, chaps, denim jackets, jean skirts, cowboy boots, cowboy hats, pioneer dresses, bonnets, overalls, Native American Indian costumes, coonskin caps, bandannas, and sheriff badges.  Please note that any kind of play gun or weapon is not allowed.  It's going to be an exciting morning!

Spending Time at the Grand Canyon

What a wonderful week we had learning about various aspects of the #1 Natural Wonder in the World, the Grand Canyon, located in Arizona.  We pretended to fish and raft on the Colorado River and discussed the many types of wildlife that inhabit this unique area.  While talking about hiking and camping, students learned about equipment that might be needed for that adventure.  They did this while working on ball dribbling, both basketball and soccer. Children seemed to enjoy this location on our imaginary trip to visit the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and North America.  I hope you are hearing a little bit about our study at home.  I am amazed and pleased with how much information the students are retaining.  It's been very exciting for me!

Magnetic fishing poles made it fun for students to 

catch fish on the Colorado River made from blue tarps.

Click here for more pictures of fishing in the Grand Canyon.

Students worked on soccer and basketball dribbling while locating different animals in the Grand Canyon. They also moved to various equipment that might be needed for a hike or camping trip.

Click here for more photos of dribbling through the Grand Canyon.

We used mats and scooters to build a raft for floating down the Colorado River.  Exercise balls acted as rocks in the river and mats were the cliffs along the sides.  There were even some stuffed animals lingering about. Students on the raft used pretend oars while other students pushed and guided the raft from behind.

Click here for more pictures of rafting in the Grand Canyon.

Geysers and Grizzlies in Yellowstone National Park

Our study of the seven natural wonders of North America has brought us to Yellowstone National Park.  Students are learning that it was the first national park in the world and is located mostly in Wyoming.  Much of this park is located on a dormant volcano with many warm springs, bubbling mud pits, and geysers.  We talked about the most famous geyser in the world, Old Faithful.  This past December there was a strange phenomenon that took place due to the extremely frigid temperatures. When the geyser erupted it sent hot water into the air which then vaporized and turned into a cloud.  The cloud was so heavy with participation that it sent down snow. Old Faithful actually looked like it was spewing snow.  Students watched a fun video of this event and then played a throwing game that was supposed to represent the snowing geyser.  They continuously tossed white balls across a net to the opposite side using an overhand throw.  On the word "stop" we checked to see which side of the geyser had the most snow.

Thursday and Friday we talked about the black bears and grizzly bears that live in Yellowstone National Park. We discussed the differences between the two bears and watched a short video on hibernation.  We then played a tag game called "Grizzly Bear."

Click here for more photos of our geyser and grizzly games.