Checking Out the Plants

Today we took a break from our math assessment to go check on the seeds we planted.  Farm Abby took us to the school garden and we saw how our radish seeds compared in growth to some beet seeds planted by another class.  We also compared lettuce growing in a cold frame to lettuce growing in a raised bed. 

We also took a trip to the PIE sponsored Science Museum.  The kids loved checking out magnets, shells, a skeleton and sensory balloons.  The whole class worked hard today to get through a ton of assessments and I appreciated how quiet they were when they weren't working with me.

Remember:  Field Trip to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens on Wednesday, June 5.  Be sure to pack a lunch for your child.  We will be gone all day, please make sure to send your child with sturdy shoes as we will be walking a great deal that day.

Caddis Fly Creations

As we continue our look at the pond we have used pond animals and plants to help us break up syllables, learn verbs and adjectives, alphabetize, and understand life cycles.  Today we got a little messy.  The kids read a poem about a caddis fly and found all the adjectives.  Then they learned that a caddis fly makes a shell for itself from the debris at the bottom of the pond. The shell protects the caddis fly until is seals itself into the shell to begin its transformation into an adult.  The kids took pond debris we have been observing and turned it into a shell for their own caddis fly.  It was a fun, albeit messy, project.

Pond Compound Words

Today we made compound word pictures.  We reviewed what a compound word was, talked about how compound words are two words put together to make a new word, and then made a pond picture labeling all the pond related compound words.  You can help reinforce compound words at home by making your own list of the objects in your house that are compound words, like baseball, raincoat, or pineapple.  If you come up with a great list, send it in and we'll add it to ours!

Cattails and Alphabetical Order

Today we  worked on putting letters in alphabetical order.  We talked about how using an order helps us find things quicker.  The kids then put cattails in order from the shortest to the longest cattail.  We measured the cattails with a tape measure, after determining that would be the best took for the job.

Remember that NWEA testing is this week, so try to help your kiddos get good sleep and a great breakfast in the morning.    Also, we will be going to a farm pond with Farm Abby on Thursday.  Please be sure to send your child in footwear that is appropriate for walking in potentially wet areas.

PONDS

We started looking at the pond today.  The kids watched a video of the life cycle of a frog, and then we had a chance to check out real frog eggs.  After the frog eggs were explored the kids took some time to observe what you might find around a pond. If you have any books about ponds we would love to borrow them.  Stay tuned as we explore more about the plants and animals around the ponds. 

This was our first day without Mrs. Keach and everyone missed her.  The kids also worked on revising their journals today.  We blended sounds to make words and used function machines to help us add and subtract.  It was a fun day and we are looking forward to doing more with ponds.