Busy Week!

On Monday, February 27, we hiked out to the vernal pool with our science/social studies specialist, Dr. Erickson. Our focus was looking for signs of spring after the warm weather of our Winter Break. We were surprised that the water was flowing so rapidly under the bridge on our walk. In September, there was not any water! We had great discussions as to why this was. On our return, we posted an entry in our Science Journals.

Read Across America was a great success in Room 2! Thank you to all of our Guest Readers and to families for sending in books and photos!

The week of March 6, the children in Room 2 will be participating in our version of March Madness. We will start with 8 brackets, 16 books, and read and vote on which books will move on the the Championship Round!

Important March Dates
March 1      11:30 Dismissal
March 13    N0 School
March 20    Museum of Science visits Kindergarten
March 29    Grassroots Wildlife Foundation conducts a class at the Vernal Pool

How To Writing

We have begun our non fiction writing unit with writing that teaches us how to do something. Last week, we made slime and a liquid rainbow. Procedural writing also introduces the writers to verbs and their first word placement in directions.

Land's Sake Farm Winter Observations

The children bundled up for our winter trip to LSF. We greeted by Farmer Anna and Farmer Rosie. We compared what the farm looked like in the autumn to what it looked like today. We then toured the farm stand, the gardens, and the chicken coop. Where were the chickens? Ask your child to share some of his/her new learning.

February Dates

February 1          11:30 Dismissal
February 10        100 Day Celebration
February 14        Valentine's Day
February 17        Progress Reports mailed home
February 20-24   Winter Recess

Egg Helmet Challenge

The children were presented with the following challenge:

 Engineer a helmet to protect the egg from breaking when it falls, and work within the following constraints:

                  1. Mimic helmets that are used in sports and other activities by using materials delivered   to each classroom.

2. The helmet you and your group create must be removable BUT stay on the egg’s head when dropped.  Remember, when you wear a helmet, you can take it on an off and secure it from falling off your head.

3. Your group’s helmet must only wrap around the “head of the egg”, just like real helmets, they will protect the egghead, not the whole body 

            4. Your group’s helmet design must prevent the egg from cracking

Mr. Lager climbed the ladder in the gym half way. To the delight of the children, 5 eggs survived!  Mr. Lager then climbed to the top of the ladder and dropped the 5 finalists.......one survived. It was a great community building, STEM based day at Woodland School.

A Visit from Drumlin Farm

Drumlin Farm facilitator, Wendy, presented a lesson that included exploring the life cycle of chickens from egg to adulthood, by opening an egg (in each class) and looking at the different parts,  then observing the hen and rooster to see their similarities and differences. The children were thoroughly engaged, active observers and thoughtful questioners!

Looking At Art

Lascaux Caves

Some of the oldest drawings ever found were made more than thirty thousand years ago in a cave in southern France. In 1994, the caves were discovered by teenage children and a dog named Robot. The drawings are beautiful and elegant and tell a story. Thank you to Charlotte Weeple and the many Room 2 volunteers that brought this experience to your children.

 

Writing Unit-Making Lists

I include a short unit on writing lists in Writer’s Workshop because children often see adults writing lists, they see that lists are useful and meaningful.  Lists are a little easier to write than sentences and stories, but it is hard to add a picture, which means that the children really need to be able to read their own writing.  Since lists usually stick to one topic they also help children who have a tendency to write disconnected sentences, lists give them practice concentrating on one big idea.

The following are examples of our first attempt at list writing: 

January Art News

January Dates

January 16     MLK Day           No School

January 17    Inservice Day     No School

January 18    Looking At Art

January 27    Drumlin Farm visits Kindergarten

January 30    Field Trip to Land's Sake Farm

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you and your families. This week, I will continue assessing the children in Literacy and Math. The information that is collected will inform my teaching ,differentiate  instruction, and be reflected in the Progress Report sent home in February. I will use this website to update monthly what is happening in the classroom. I recommend following our classroom Instagram to keep up with daily events- smt1118. It is a private account.