This summer we're exploring the Wonders of the World! We kicked off our first week with Niagara Falls!
Our 4s and 6s learned some interesting facts about Niagara Falls (did you know the water doesn't stop flowing, even in Winter?). We learned about Annie Edson Taylor, who was the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel - and she survived!
http://www.yrvind.com/present_project/?attachment_id=1478
We read "Queen of the Falls", by Chris Van Allsburg, the story of Annie Taylor's life before and after her trip down the falls. One kid was a little sad that I "ad-libbed" the long book, instead of reading out all the words from the pages!
This led us into our waterfall song:
"I'm going down a waterfall,
A waterfall,
A waterfall.
I'm going down a waterfall,
As fast as I can go!
I will be the first I say,
The first I say,
The first I say.
I will be the first I say,
To go down all the way!
It really is a bumpy ride,
A bumpy ride,
A bumpy ride.
I really is a bumpy ride,
Going down this way!
In a barrel I am dropping,
I am dropping,
I am dropping.
I a barrel I am dropping,
Down the waterfall!
I made it down the waterfall,
The waterfall,
The waterfall.
I made it down the waterfall,
Safe as safe can be!"
A waterfall,
A waterfall.
I'm going down a waterfall,
As fast as I can go!
I will be the first I say,
The first I say,
The first I say.
I will be the first I say,
To go down all the way!
It really is a bumpy ride,
A bumpy ride,
A bumpy ride.
I really is a bumpy ride,
Going down this way!
In a barrel I am dropping,
I am dropping,
I am dropping.
I a barrel I am dropping,
Down the waterfall!
I made it down the waterfall,
The waterfall,
The waterfall.
I made it down the waterfall,
Safe as safe can be!"
We sang this song twice.
Next we read "Hello Ocean", by Pam Muñoz Ryan, a nice slow story to get us settled down from our action song.
After that, we read "The Waterfall", by Jonathan London, a tale about a boy and his family who discover a waterfall that just has to be climbed.
After our last story, we made our Niagara Falls craft.
We used:
- paper plates cut in a horseshoe shape
- blue construction paper cut in a horseshoe shape
- brown construction paper cut out into boats
- yellow and pink paper cut out into fish
- blue streamers cut into strips of water
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Hanging down, they look a little like jellyfish, but once you lay the plate flat, the water drops down like a waterfall.
Once we were done with our craft, we played a mix of wiggle-freeze, dance-freeze, and musical chairs.
At the end of each program, I remind the kids and parents to bring their reading passports to the front desk to get a sticker and enter their name in to win a prize. We draw for prizes every Friday at 4:00.
Next week, we will explore the Eiffel Tower!
We used:
- paper plates cut in a horseshoe shape
- blue construction paper cut in a horseshoe shape
- brown construction paper cut out into boats
- yellow and pink paper cut out into fish
- blue streamers cut into strips of water
.JPG)
.JPG)
Hanging down, they look a little like jellyfish, but once you lay the plate flat, the water drops down like a waterfall.
Once we were done with our craft, we played a mix of wiggle-freeze, dance-freeze, and musical chairs.
At the end of each program, I remind the kids and parents to bring their reading passports to the front desk to get a sticker and enter their name in to win a prize. We draw for prizes every Friday at 4:00.
Next week, we will explore the Eiffel Tower!
