Trains That Go!

It was a Marvelous Monday today as the Chatty Caterpillars began their morning by talking about the unit for the week.  This week they will be learning about things that go, and today we learned about trains.  Our book for today was I Love Trains! by Philemon Sturges, a story narrated by a little boy who talks about what he likes on trains as they pass by his house.  As the caboose nears the end of his house, the Caterpillars learned just what it was that he loved about trains!

Instead of going outside, we played inside because of the rain.  It was so much fun playing with classmates on the parachute, tunnels, and bouncy balls.

After snack and reading the story, the class learned about rhyming.  We made a Rhyme Train chart during Language Circle using word pairs that we found in the story.  Everybody had the chance to put their rhyming word on the chart and we practiced saying them together as a class!

For science the Caterpillars learned about the different items that trains carry as they chug down the tracks.  They carry all sorts of different items, and we predicted if they would be light or heavy!  All of the students enjoyed holding the different objects (yard, a brick, shaving cream can, and a truck) and determining their weight.  Some of them looked different than they seemed.  Yarn, for example, looks big in size but it is actually very light!

During art, everybody used shape kits to make their own train!  The children had fun pulling out and identifying the different shapes before gluing them onto light blue construction paper.  Once the trains were glued on, each child personalized their scenes with train tracks, weather and nature details.

After lunch the Caterpillars enjoyed playing in centers.  Today they had the option of playing with memory cards, making pictures out of shaving cream, and using trucks to dig in dirt at the sensory table.

Once centers were over, the children gathered together for music and closing circle!  It was a fun first day learning all about things that go and everyone is looking forward to the rest of the week!