May 14 2012
Regan notices our pea pods have formed in our garden!
May 09 2012
This afternoon, we got to share our chicken knowledge with a second grade class. They seemed very interested and impressed with what we had to share. I was so proud of our friends.
Friends measure our garden plants.
We also broke into small groups and measured specific plants in our school garden. Each week, we will graph their growth. We hope to compare certain plant types to one another and discuss why they are growing the way they are.
Today, some friends hosted a Block Roll competition. Ask your child what this was all about!
Lately, our class has been very into organizing class events during studio and explore. The other week, friends organized multiple plays for others to attend and watch. I remember during the beginning of the year, friends would sing songs for others. Today, friends organized what they called a Block Roll competition. It was really neat to see the kids organize and orchestrate this class competition on their own. We had so much fun!
May 08 2012
Zek mails his thank you letter.
This week, we have been learning about different types of reasons people send and receive mail. Yesterday, we wrote first drafts of some thank you notes to friends who helped us with our garden. Today, we made final copies on real stationary, put stamps on them, and walked them to the mailbox down the street. Our friends loved sending real mail. We hope it got picked up today by the mailman!
We have also started a dialogue with Mrs. Clark’s class about trees. Last week, we sent Mrs. Clark’s class a letter asking if they would help us plant some trees in our garden. They sent us a letter back saying yes! They gave us four choices: apple, nut, maple, and cherry. This week, we are researching the four types of trees and looking for the two that will fit best in our garden. We are paying close attention to the specific habitats they need and how soon they can benefit our garden. (We learned sugar maple trees could take a very long time until we could actually harvest maple syrup).
Messi helps make a list of "not so beneficial" bugs.
We have also been talking about bugs and ways that they may affect our garden. We started a list of beneficial bugs and another list of not so beneficial bugs. We are hoping to do more research and educate our fellow classmates and families about which bugs are ok for the garden and which ones we need to watch out for.
May 04 2012
Journey selects marigolds to draw.
This morning, our class talked about how we would like to know more about the specific plants in our school garden. Journey said, “I know what we can do! We can go outside and draw them! We can learn by drawing!” What a fabulous idea. Everyone agreed it would be a good place to start. We brought our materials outside and each picked a plant to focus on. The kids were encouraged to only draw what they saw and use lots of detail. We actually ran into Mrs. Clark’s class outside who were doing the same thing!
After visiting our garden, we went over to our chickens to check on the girls. Each child sat down and did an observational drawing of Dottie, Thelma, and Louise as well. We have very keen observers in our classroom.
Do they have chicken pox? Hutton
No, they are molting! Lucas
Look, shes laying an egg! Tajanaye
I think shes just tired! Ruth
Coo, Coo! Messi (making chicken noises, he is quite good!)
Look, she puts her head in like a turtle. Zek
Should we feed the chickens chicken? Journey
That would make them sick! David
"Do the chickens have chicken pox?" Hutton
May 03 2012
