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The Nurturing Nest
Family Child Care & Preschool
March 2023

March's Theme - Pond Life
Week 1 - Life Around the Pond
Young children can begin to observe nature and living organisms in their environment, such as a backyard, schoolyard, or a pond. When children interact with their immediate world, they can see, smell, touch, taste and hear nature. From hearing bees to digging in the dirt, children use their senses to learn about the world. Teachers can help by giving them opportunities to record and communicate their findings using words and pictures. Teachers should encourage children to talk about their observations and introduce new vocabulary words to describe their observations. These are simple ways to introduce scientific process for young learners. If a nature setting is unavailable for children to observe up close, teachers can bring nature into the classroom with books, sensory bins and dramatic play props.
Letter: Nn. Phonic Words: nest, net, nut. Basic Concepts: black, star, responsible.
Turtle
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Snake
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Tadpole
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Frog
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Duck
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Week 2 - Pond Plants
When children experience and interact with nature, it stimulates their own natural curiosity about their world. This is important because curiosity provides answers to the daily mysteries of life such as "What happens if I mix dirt and water?" or "How do lily pads feel?" Curiosity helps children become confident learners and open-minded to different ways to solve a problem. Pond life is a great topic for young learners to inquire and wonder. Teachers can play a role in developing curious minds by planning hands-on experiences and nature-rich projects. Children's curiosity in nature will build positive attitudes about themselves, natural life and the earth.
Letter: Ww. Phonic Words: watermelon, worm, wagon.
Submergent Pond Plants
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Bog Plants
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Emergent Pond Plants
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Floating Pond Plants
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Algae
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Week 3 - Pond Insects
Children practice basic science skills like observing, classifying and problem-solving while exploring their world. The theme of pond life is a great way to incorporate science skills within daily lessons. As children classify and group items, they begin to notice that objects belong to different categories or can be classified in different ways. For example, children may notice features of insects such as color, shape or size and begin to sort them. Teachers play an important role by asking questions to help guide children's discoveries. Asking "what if' questions encourages children to make predictions and think about alternate solutions. Teachers can help children understand that it is okay to have "wrong" predictions and learning is more about having fun while exploring.
Letter: Zz. Phonic Words: zipper, zero, zebra.
Dragonfly
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Mosquito
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Water Strider
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Mayfly
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Backswimmer
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Week 4 - Life in the Pond
Ponds are full of interesting plants and animals. Even if children do not live near water, they can learn and experience pond life through things like books, art projects and music. Whether under the water, on the water or above the water, pond life motivates children to explore nature. Childhood is an important time to promote interests in nature. Experiences with nature can help children to develop a respect and appreciation for living things. By experimenting with a variety of hands-on opportunities, children can begin to discover their own interests. Teachers can help foster these early explorations by finding out what excites children and planning projects and discussions around those topics.
Letter Review: Nn, Ww, Zz. Phonic Words Review: nest, net, nut, watermelon, worm, wagon, zipper, zero, zebra. Basic Concepts Review: black, star, responsible.
Snail
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Crawfish
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Lizard
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Alligator
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Fish
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To learn more about what we will do in March, please use the buttons on the left.


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