Oct 25 2012
Our Field Trip
We had a wonderful time. Hopefully, these pictures can give you a nice glimpse into our day.
Tag Archive 'curious'
Oct 23 2012
What Do Plants Need?
Today, it was raining, and we talked about how water is beneficial to plants. The kids and I discussed what a rain gauge is and we decided we need to put one outside in our garden. We learned that the garden needs about an inch of water each week. We talked about how if the garden does not get enough rain, we will need to water it with a hose. We also learned about the other needs of plants. We listened to a new song that told us that plants need:
water, air, light, soil, and space
After that, we watched a video about how to grow lima beans in plastic baggies with paper towels. We were confused- how could they grow without soil? We have been coming up with lots of questions about what soil exactly is- was perhaps the paper towel acting as some type of soil? Does soil mean dirt, or can it be sand as well? Can plants grow in other mediums? We plan to investigate the idea of soil in the future.
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- Tajanaye answers our daily question.
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- We do observational drawings of the gourds.
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- Friends are careful to note the detail in the gourds.
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- Friends take a closer look with Mr. Henderson.
Oct 02 2012
Potato Chips
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- We discuss our potato chip theories.
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- Which method will work?
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- Hutton writes his prediction for chip preparation method.
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- Mrs. Argus slices the potatoes!
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- Our daily question.
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- Tajanaye enjoys the chips! “Crispy!”
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- We enjoy our potato chips together.
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- Miss Simpson shows us her old sunflowers. We talk about how they have changed over time.
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- Greyson and JoVyon investigate some dried basil on the light table.
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- Messi investigates the sunflowers.
Last week, Mr. Henderson asked our friends, “Where do potato chips come from?” It led to some very interesting conversation about how exactly a chip is made. We came up with three main theories
1. chips are made by cutting a potato in half and cooking it
2. chips are made by mashing them and cooking it
3. chips are made by slicing a potato thin and cooking it
Today, our daily question asked the kids which method they believed would get the best results. We found that our class had almost an exact three way tie with the three theories. After some talking as a group, Breanna and Addie suggested something clever- why not try all three ways? We prepped three potatoes in three different ways and baked them. Friends wrote predictions as to which way they believed would work best. We talked about how we were being like scientists predicting and testing results. It also reminded us of chefs that have to create recipes for others to enjoy! After testing the three potatoes, we discovered that thin slicing was definitely the way to go with the rest of our potatoes. The results were delicious. We are finding that one of the best parts of sharing a treat as a class is sitting in a big circle and talking with one another. Miles commented that it felt like we “were a family” when we sat in such a way. J’Den said, “It feels like we’re all riding our bikes together when we eat like this.” Such a beautiful analogy for their feeling of community in our classroom.
Sep 28 2012
Hedge Apple? What’s That?
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- Addie creates a picture of a Hedge Apple.
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- Adia and Beatrice work on theories on how Hedge Apples are magical.
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- Beatrice does a watercolor painting of her Hedge Apples.
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- Regan and Addie inspect the fruit.
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- Friends wonder about the curious fruit.
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- Do you believe they have powers?
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- Tajanaye’s first page of her story, “The hedge apple went POOF!”
This morning, Ms. Simpson gave me four Hedge Apples she found on her way to school. What’s a Hedge Apple, you ask? That’s what we were trying to figure out all day! The odd looking, wrinkly fruits are green and fresh smelling, and come from certain trees located in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood. We presented them to the kids this morning and asked them, “What is a Hedge Apple?” After a little bit of research and talking to some other adults who knew of the strange fruit, we learned that some people believe Hedge Apples have special powers- particularly keeping away spiders and insects. Friends were then inspired to create their own magic Hedge Apple stories throughout their free time and during Story Workshop. We hope to learn more about these intriguing things Monday!
Sep 24 2012
What Grows?
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- A new provocation this morning. “Where does food come from?”
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- Lucas draws what is grows outside.
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- Friends observe living things outside. What grows here?
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- Greyson writes,”Plants and people.”
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- Sascha draws and writes “Chickens”.
Today, we went outside with a question in mind, What grows? Friends were encouraged to find things that grow and record them on their paper. Friends were very creative in their responses, including ones about people, hair, bodies, chickens, and more. We are excited to see where this conversation leads us…
Also, tomorrow your child is coming home with a permission slip for our field trip. We will be going to the Anderson Apple Orchard on Friday, October 5th to learn about harvesting food and food sources! Please make sure to turn in the permission slip as soon as possible. The kids are so excited!
