Diversity Detectives

As a class we walked to Little Lake Park with ipads and clipboards in hand. Our task was to look  for signs of a variety of plants, animals, and anything that may harm the habitats. As we moved through the various habitats within the park, students found many interesting signs and rich discussions were had using vocabulary we’ve been learning about in the classroom such as habitat, consumer, producer, affect, and species.

Students examined their written and photo data and created a slide to highlight their findings. They presented their slides to the class adding more explanation.

 

A Camping We Will Go!

Our drama centre has been transformed into a campsite!  The students have read stories, watched videos, sang songs, and wrote all about camping adventures.  Some have a lot of experience with camping and some are exploring camping for the first time. This inquiry has provided us with a wonderful opportunity to learn from each other!

Under Construction:

Mini Camping Stories With Loose Parts:

Campsite # 109 At Wyevale Central!

Density Tower Experiment

Yesterday, we put on our science hats and continued our inquiry around water. We had already investigating the sinking and floating of heavy and light objects. So, we turned our attention to liquids and asked, “Are some liquids heavier or lighter than others? Are all liquids the same?”

We started out by examining a variety of liquids. We looked at water, vegetable oil, dish soap, corn syrup, and rubbing alcohol and made several observations about colour and movement. We also made predictions about which liquid is the heaviest and which is the lightest.

Then it was time to pour each liquid into a jar and make observations along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the help of a little food colouring we were able to see all of the layers of each liquid and were surprised to find that the syrup was the heaviest and the alcohol was the lightest! We created a second jar and shook it up just to see what would happen. We did notice that the liquids seemed to mix together but this morning we discovered that the oil had separated from the other liquids.  We’ll continue to talk about this idea today as we experiment with water, oil, and alka seltzer!

A Little Fun With Gumballs!

To help us learn about the idea of probability the students were introduced to a gumball machine. Some students had not seen a gumball machine before and others wondered how it worked. So we watched a short video to take a look at the inside of one.

Next, we looked at a picture of a gumball machine and used some probability vocabulary to talk about it. Students helped to fill in the blanks to make the statements true.

Parents:  You can help your child develop their probability vocabulary. When playing games and talking about things happening at home model the use of the following words. Also, encourage your child to say statements using the words.  certain, impossible, likely, unlikely

Of course, that led to many students wanting to draw their own gumball machines. So, we found some instructions to guide us.


Here are some of the finished drawings!

Sink and Float

Last week a student brought up the question about whether or not an object would float and so we jumped into a short inquiry about sinking and floating.  We started off with a video about why some objects sink and some float. Then it was onto experimenting with a variety of objects.  Students tested and sorted objects that float and objects that sink.

Students decided that heavy objects sink and light objects float. So I asked the question, “Why does a boat float?” The students all agreed that boats are heavy so they were all a little puzzled.

We watched a video about why boats float and learned the word buoyancy. Then we read a story about how a girl built a boat and created a list of boat parts. Then it was time to get to work building! Students used a variety of materials to design and build a boat.

Our learning buddies came in and joined us as we tested out our boats, made some revisions, and retested them.  There was a lot of rich conversation going on around reasons for floating and sinking and what should be done to fix problems. The teamwork between the kindergartens and Big Buddies was incredible!

Seeds and Plants

Currently we are engaging in an inquiry around seeds and plants.  Students have planted flower seeds. We have also planted a bunch of sunflower seeds in an aquarium so that we can watch the root systems develop. Our spider plant has developed babies and we put some into a glass of water to watch what happens.  Many students were very worried that they would turn brown and die but they are still bright green! Some students collected pine cones and are watching to see what happens when these seed pods open up. Today, some dandelions were brought in and put into water. We’re watching to see how long they will live in a glass of water.

With some videos and read alouds to prompt new learning and new questions I’m sure this inquiry will continue for a while!

The Grocery Store

What better way to learn about money than to go shopping! So… we got to work constructing a grocery store.  The students were pros at the construction having had so much experience with building. They knew how to plan what they needed, survey the land and materials and worked as a team.

The Wyevale Food Land was finally built!

Next, we talked about who would work at a grocery store and what each job would entail. We also talked about customers. After a few read alouds we determined that shoppers usually make a grocery list before going shopping. Therefore, before allowed to shop in our store, customers needed to make a grocery list!

The store has been open every day with students taking on different roles. They are learning a lot about responsibility! We’ve learned about the different coins, what kinds of things we can buy with each coin and why we need to save money. Students also talked about buying healthy foods as well as treats. Lots of cross-curricular learning happening with this project!

 

 

Hatching Day!

Yesterday was a very exciting day in our class!  Seven of our eggs have hatched!  Six of them hatched over night. We we lucky enough to watch as one chick broke out of it’s egg. Now we are watching closely as the chicks learn to eat and drink and become more and more mobile.  The students are noticing small changes throughout the day!

Our Classroom Farm

After much research, inquiry, building and creating we have engineered a classroom farm!

It all started with the delivery of the eggs.  Thank-you to a student’s family for donating the incubator and eggs! We are eagerly awaiting the hatching sometime next week!

 

Then we talked about things we knew about farms – some students knew a lot as we do have some farming families in our class. Many students had questions, especially when it came to animals. So we moved into some inquiry projects around farm animals.  Students broke into small groups, did some research with books and videos, recorded their thinking and learning on a poster, and then presented it all to the class. Reading, writing, oral, and cooperative skills were all at work!

 

Then the engineers got to work building a barn, a silo, a farmhouse, a pasture, and a pen for the pigs and cows complete with a mud puddle! The students created animals for the farm including chicks, horses, cows, and pigs. They even managed to turn 2 big boxes into tractors!

Now, we’re all having fun playing in our classroom farm! Students are building relationships and social skills as they engage in the dramatic play. What a fun way to celebrate all of the work we engaged in with this farm inquiry!

 

A Look At Literacy Centres This Week

Lots of exploration and learning is happening in our Literacy Centres this week!