RAIN WEEK 2019
This week we will be talking about rain and umbrellas. It looks like we will have an opportunity to use them this week! We will be outside working in our garden. This week the children will be planting some seeds and we will be talking about what is growing in our play area.
The children had fun building Leprechaun houses last week. The small wooden blocks, rocks and other natural materials will be out for the children to build with. We will be monitoring our rain gauge. We will make some rain gauges to see where it rains the most and where it rains the least in the play area.
We will be planting peas and nasturtiums this week during class. We will continue to plant our garden through the month of April. If you are planting a garden at home, and have extra seeds, we would love to plant them at preschool!
Gardening is one way to teach the children empathy for living things. When they garden they learn responsibility as they care for their plants. Being outside in nature is allows children to see living things in their environment. As we work in our garden, and observe the worms, bugs and birds in the play area, we are developing a community that has an interest in caring for plants and wildlife. The preschool garden is a certified a Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation and we will continue to build up the garden to support the urban wildlife in our neighborhood. Last year our garden attracted songbirds, hummingbirds and butterflies. As the children are learning to protect living things in our garden they will be learning empathy and respect for all living things.
Kahn (1997) proposes that children can develop empathy toward both nature and people, and that empathy in one domain can generalize to another domain. This conceptualization suggests that as children demonstrate prosocial behaviors such as caring and empathy toward animals and plants, their understanding of perspectives, needs, and feelings of people can deepen as well.
The rain is raining all around,
It falls on field and tree,
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea
– Robert Louis Stevenson
The Rain
Pitter-patter, raindrops,
Falling from the sky;
Here is my umbrella
To keep me safe and dry!
When the rain is over,
And the sun begins to glow,
Little flowers start to bud,
And grow and grow and grow
Thunder crashes.
Lightening flashes.
Rain makes puddles,
I make splashes.
Rain on the green grass,
And rain on the tree,
Rain on the rooftop,
But no rain on me!
“Pitter-patter, pitter-patter”, Can you hear the rain?
“Pitter-patter, pitter-patter”, on the window pane.
“Pitter-patter, pitter-patter”, lets go out and play.I just love to jump in puddles on a rainy d