Earth Day at TALES!

Our class had a great time learning about being green at the TALES Earth Day Symposium. First, we learned about different kinds of pollution and how it hurts the Earth, people and animals. Then we learned about ways that each of us can help the Earth by recycling, reusing and saving energy. We played a recycle sort game and learned about all the different things that can be recycled. Then we planted sunflower seeds and learned how to take care of them. We also learned about compost and got to touch the worms! What a fun day!

Making Pizza!

Last week our class went on exciting trip to Pizzeria Uno, where we got to experience making our own pizzas! First, we spread the sauce over our pizza dough. the dough was already rolled out for us in a circle. 

 Next, we sprinkled the cheese over the pizza. We loved putting on extra cheese! Next, our pizzas were put in the oven. The oven was very, very hot! Last, we ate our pizzas, Yum!! Everybody loves pizza!



When we got back to our class we made a book about making pizza together. We wrote out all the steps and practiced our next vocabulary and sequence words ( first, next, then, last) Next we will be writing about other things we know how to do! 

Happy 100th Day!

 Our Kindergarten students are 100 days smarter! This past week we celebrated our 100th day of school in a variety of fun a meaningful ways. Students made a necklace of 100 pieces of cereal and counted them out on 100s charts. We sang a song and read a poem with 100 words. We also read a book called One Hundred Hungry Ants. During writing, we wrote about what we would buy for 100 dollars and what we could eat 100 of. We ended the day with special 100th day centers and games such as chutes and ladders, making a paper chain with 100 links, making a book of 100 animals and building with 100 cubes. Fun was had by all!

Here students are proudly sharing their 100th day collection projects. Thank you to parents for all the help at home.

The Creation Station!

Our class has begun a new choice time center, the Creation Station! Here, our young engineers can use found open- ended materials and use their imaginations to create. 

 First, students explore the possible materials in the Creation Station bin. We've collected objects for reuse from around our school and at home. They imagine what it could be, and think about what they want to make. 

 Next, students think about what other tools and materials they may need. Glue, tape, scissors and string are all available for independent use. Going through this process allows students to experience trial and error along the way. Students can be encouraged to brainstorm new ways to try it by talking through problems with teachers and peers. 

Sketching and writing about our ideas can help us as well. Here, a student made a phone using a tube, string and small cups.  

Lastly, students share their creations with the class and we display them before taking them home. Students can choose to work at this center for an extended period of time. On the right, a student made a rocket with a detailed sketch. Another student made a parachute! So, let's use our imaginations! What can you create?

We Made Soup!

                   It's been pretty chilly around here, and we've been warming up by making our own vegetable soup! First, we read the classic tale Stone Soup. After talking about the story, we thought about what we would want in our own soup. We made a list together and chose what we would want. 



     












              Next, we took a walking trip to our local supermarket and bought the ingredients on our list. Our teachers helped us to wash and cut the vegetables. Then students were able to put everything into the pot and watch it cook throughout the day. We tasted the soup together and made a class book about the experience. 

  












                  After having the experience of visiting the Supermarket, students were inspired to create a Supermarket center. We prepared labels and price tags for the food we would sell. Students love to visit the Supermarket center and shop! 

Kindergarten STEM Challenge - Building 3D Shapes

Our class has been exploring 3D shapes (cones, cubes, rectangular prisms, pyramids and cylinders) and we have noticed these shapes everywhere in our classroom and in our homes. This week we had the hands on experience of building these shapes through our first STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Math) challenge. After reading the familiar book The Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone, students were challenged to build their own house for a little pig using toothpicks and gummy candies. We had so much fun trying out different designs and using our knowledge of shapes to help us along the way. We are engineers!

Here students go on a gallery walk to view the finished houses. We drew pictures and wrote about our houses. We shared our ideas and compared the houses...What makes a house strong? Do you think the wolf would be able to blow our house down?








                      In choice time we connected with 3D shapes by exploring "building straws",  Students were encouraged to use their imaginations to create something using team work. Here, a student explains how her group made this structure by working together. Then we all looked at it and imagined what it could be. The ideas we came up with were a house, a tall tower, a castle, a train, or a cage for a big animal.

We are Artists!

Today was our first art class with our resident artist, Mr. Daniel. Mr. Daniel is a painter who works with the Studio in a School program. This week we were introduced to real molding clay and we discussed all the things we can do with it to change its shape (roll, squeeze, poke and pinch)   We noticed that this clay was a little bit wet and sticky- it was much harder than play dough. After learning some new vocabulary, students went off to create and explore with their clay. We then discussed the techniques we used with our clay.