KA HANA PONO DAYCARE & PRESCHOOL: August 2013

So kids have fun and eat a veggie or two, but what are they really learning from digging in the dirt?

Curiosity. The garden is a wonderful place to ask questions and satisfy kids’ natural curiosity by exploring questions like: What do worms do in a garden? Why do plants have roots and how do they work? Or, why do we have to water plants anyway?
Patience. Nothing happens overnight in a garden. Watching seeds grow and change, seeing the seasons pass, and tending to tiny seedlings will help kids gain patience and learn the rhythm of each day, season, and year.
Eye-hand coordination. There’s nothing like digging with a trowel and planting a seed just-so to improve your fine motor skills.
Classification. Compare and contrast plants, group them by color, type of plant, purpose (flower vs. food) and which bugs like which plants. Along the way, you’re reinforcing basic math skills.
Budding scientists. To start on the scientific method come up with questions (What happens if I plant a pansy upside down? How long will it take for a tomato plant to grow?) then work on experiments that tackle those questions.
Observation. Spend a few minutes sharpening their observation skills by focusing in on what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what’s going on at that moment.
Tracking. Keep track of rainfall, how fast the plants are growing, temperatures, and your child will learn how to manage change over time. Eventually, they’ll see patterns and consequences, like what happens when it doesn’t rain in the garden for a week.
Sorting, counting, and more. Sort different leaves by shape, count the number of leaves on each plant and compare them, weigh the vegetables that come out of the garden, measure the length of bean plants growing up your house, find shapes in your vegetable plants, distinguish same and different, alive and not alive. It’s all basic math.

Hawaiian Monk Seals

This week we're learning all about Seals, especially the Hawaiian Monk Seals. The keikis have been sharing stories about monk seals they've seen here on the north shore.

True seals like the Hawaiian Monk Seal have no protruding ears. Their hind flippers help them in the water, but only drag behind them when on land.

They cannot lift themselves up on their foreflippers. The foreflippers are used for steering as they move their hind sections sideways to propel through the water.

They are able to hear quite well, whether or not they have ears. Underwater, their hearing is amplified. It is believed that they use a form of sonar to help them locate food.

Whiskers are often used like radar to help locate food, as well. They can sense a shift in the water, thus giving them a clue as to the direction in which to swim for it.

Eyes do not see in color, but they are sensitive to aquatic colors.

Noses automatically close as soon as they go underwater. They open again when the seal surfaces.

Babies can stay underwater for about fifteen minutes and adults can stay under for thirty. They also sleep underwater, able to surface for breathing without waking up.

They can weigh from one to three tons and can be up to ten to twenty feet in length.

Mothers and pups rely on their sense of smell to identify each other.

They like to feed on other animals found in the water, such as fish, krill, and squid. They may also feed on microplankton and plankton.

The Ringed seal is the smallest. The Southern elephant seal is the largest.

Other true seals are Hooded, Bearded, Gray, Ribbon, Leopard, Weddell, Crabeater, Monk, Ross, Harp, Spotted, Harbor, Caspian, Ringed, and Baikal.

Walruses are seals found in the Arctic. They have long tusks, which are actually their canine teeth. They also have beards and significantly less body hair.

Their scientific name is "pinnipeds" which means "feather-foot." This comes from the Latin "pinna" which means "feather or wing" and "pedis" which means "foot."

Books we are reading:

Hewitt, Joan. A Harbor Seal Grows Up. - Follow the life cycle of a seal from birth through adulthood.

Hoff, Syd. Sammy the Seal - This is a fictional series about a seal who escapes from the zoo. They are fun to read aloud.

Lang, Aubrey. Baby Seal - This book also uses great photographs and simple text for young children about the seal's life cycle.

Kalman, Bobbie. Seals and Sea Lions (The Living Ocean). This book is geared toward older children but is full of useful information and has great pictures. Adapt the text as necessary for sharing seal facts for preschoolers.

Open on Labor Day

Just a reminder Ka Hana Pono is open on Monday September 2, 2013 / Labor Day. Moms & dads this could be a great day for a date if the two of you are off work :) xoxoxo

This Week We'll Be Learning About Animal Families in the Hawaiian Islands

We will be teaching the children about animal family structures, parental roles in different species, and vocabulary/names for adult animals (including the Hawaiian names), their offspring, and groups of animals.

We will begin by discussing different types of animal families in the Hawaiian Islands and their family structures and parental roles. Students will learn the proper terms for certain animal adults, young, and groups.

Students will create a drawing of their own families as if it is a group of animals.

Each child will have an opportunity to think creatively of a symbolic animal that might represent her or his family.

Video Resources:
http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National- Wildlife/Animals/Archives/1996/A-Fathers-Day-Top-Ten-Animal- Fathers.aspx

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/animals-pets- kids/mammals-kids/argentina-owl-monkey-parenting-vin-kids/

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/animals-pets- kids/reptiles-kids/alligator-hatchlings-kids/