NSU University School
NSU University School Preschool students are busy exploring through various activities in our classrooms and on the playground. “Through these experiences, our youngest Sharks develop their love of learning in a safe and nurturing environment,” said Lisa Chancey, Preschool director. “Our teachers empower students and encourage them to be curious about the world around them.”
All About Me and Engineering
While exploring the concept of self-identity, PK3 students created All About Me shoe boxes and presented them to their classmates. Through their presentations, the children practiced their conversation and turn-taking and discovered similarities and differences between each other.
Additionally, PK3 students explored the diverse world of engineering and came up with innovative ways to build a house with various materials. Together, they constructed model houses with blocks and tweezers, made house paintings with LEGO bricks, and built towers with cardboard tubes and plates.
Ocean Exploration
PK2 students were introduced to oceanography by learning about dolphins, sharks, fish, sea otters, whales, and other sea animals. Using their fine motor skills and creativity to make their own “oceans” in a bin, they added blue food coloring, sand, and ocean animals. The students performed a sink and float experiment and discovered that differently sized containers hold different amounts of water.
Sensory Play
PK1 students experienced the sense of touch through various textures. The young learners explored sticky, soft, squishy, and hard textures with bubble wrap, shaving cream, and contact paper. They are developing their understanding of how we use touch with our hands to relate to the world around us. The teachers included critical thinking by asking students open-ended questions about what they feel, helping to expand their language skills.
Science, Research, and Action Painting
Our junior kindergarten students are studying light and shadows as part of their science unit. After exploring different science tools, students conducted a fascinating experiment. Harnessing the power of the sun, junior kindergarten students created a permanent shadow print on paper embedded with blue molecules. The students placed opaque, translucent, and transparent objects on the paper then observed the chemical reactions that happen when they put the paper under direct sunlight and in water.
Junior kindergarten students also learned about the work of artist Jackson Pollock, famous for creating splashy, drippy paintings often referred to as action painting. The students enjoyed some time outdoors creating messy, vibrant, Pollock-inspired art using squeeze bottles, spray bottles, rubber bands, and sidewalk chalk.
