Looking Forward to TOOLS - Our Theme for March

As we finish up our Migratory Animal Presentations, we are looking forward to the end of February and the start of March. Of course, a new month means a new theme - and this one promises to be pretty special.

When you say the word "tools" to a child, they mostly think of the type of tools that carpenters use - hammers, wrenches, and the like. However, tools can be thought of as anything that makes a person's (or animal's) job easier. This Friday, I will be introducing the topic of tools used by animals and the importance of our BEST tools (our hands, specifically our opposable thumbs). We will look at pictures of tools that early man used as well.






Starting next week, we will be having our families come in to show and tell us about tools they use as part of their job. How lucky we have so many fascinating parents in our classroom! So far, I have parents thinking about coming in to represent the following:

An ARCHITECT will show us some of the high-tech tools she uses as part of her job.
A student of ARCHEOLOGY will come and show us trowels and brushes used as part of that job, and then we will do a mini-dig of our own.
A THERAPIST will come with the puppets she uses as a way to get children to express their feelings, and then we may make our own emotion puppets or put on puppet shows.
A SCIENTIST will come with yeast, petri dishes and pipets to talk about how simple cells can teach us about more complex organisms.
A BAKER will come with some of his equipment and will teach us how to use a piping bag.

How exciting is that? I am really looking forward to learning along with the children. Many, many thanks to this amazing parent community. Not only will the children get some hands-on experience using all different types of tools, but they will also be learning about various jobs in their community.