Technology Fun!

Last week we got some new toys for our classroom!  Our amazing PTA bought us projectors and document cameras.  Now every classroom has one!  Wow!

Here are some pictures of us using our new tools!  We use the projector and a wireless mouse to do our daily calendar time.  

We also got a document camera.  We can use this to project books and pictures.  We have used it in math for demonstrations.  It has a cool zoom feature that will be really fun when we get our mealworms Wednesday! 

Thanks again to our wonderful PTA for being so supportive!  You guys are the best!  

Plants, Plants, and more Plants!

This week we continued our study of plants.  We began by creating a tree map about plants.  We listed their parts and their needs.  We used our tree map to write nonfiction pieces about plants.  

In shared reading, we read different versions of the classic tale "Jack and the Beanstalk".  We compared their titles, setting, problem, and solution.  We found out that they all pretty much had the same setting.  

Next week is the K-2 Science Fair.  For our project, we decided to investigate how plants absorb water.    So we took two cups and filled them with water.  We put red food coloring in one and blue in the other.  Then we put a celery stalk in each one.  We let them sit overnight.  

When we cam in the next day, we took a close look at our celery.  

We didn't see much of a change so we cut off a piece from the blue cup.  We saw blue water inside of the piece of celery.  After doing some more research, we found out that plant stems are like straws.  They suck up water and nutrients for the plant.  This was a fun experiment and we can't wait to share our findings with the rest of the school next week!  

On Tuesday, we planted some grass buddies!  Everyone made their face, cut it out, and glued it onto a clear cup.  Then we added soil and grass seed.  We watered them and put them on the windowsill so they could get sunlight.  

Each morning for the rest of the week, we looked at our grass buddies and recored our observations.  

We didn't see any changes all week.  But when we came in Monday morning, this is what we found!  Too cute!  They were so excited!  

We have had a lot of fun learning about plants these past two weeks.  Next we will be studying insects and their life cycles.  We will have some new additions to our class on Wednesday.  I am sure you have all heard about them by now!  We will get to see these mealworms change into beetles and the kids are so excited!  :)  

Earth Day and Plants!

This week we learned all about our Earth and why it is important that we take care of it.  We also began our study of plants.  But first, I wanted to share a few pictures from our field trip!  On Monday we went to Kenan Auditorium at UNCW to see an operatic production of Cinderella.  Here are some pictures from our trip.

On Monday, we began talking about Earth Day.  We read this great poem and discussed why it is important that we take care of the Earth.  

Then we made some coffee filter Earths.  We colored them with markers and then wet them.  They turned out great!  

On Tuesday, we had Earth Day rotations in the afternoon.  Ayla's Dad came and spoke to us about the importance of keeping our oceans and rivers clean.  

In another room we read a fun book (made from recycled materials) about things we can do to help the Earth.  Then, we split up and made posters to help spread the word.

In Mrs. Karnes' class, we had a speaker from Progressive Gardens talk to us about composting.  We learned so much!  We got to see inside a compost bin and we even got to pick up the worms!  Eww!  

On Wednesday, we began talking about plants and how they grow.  

We made a Plants schema chart.  This is a picture of it from the end of the week.  We will continue to add to it next week.  

We read Lois Ehlert's book, "Growing Vegetable Soup" and used a flow map to sequence the events.  

In writing, we did some "how to" writing.  We wrote about how to grow a vegetable.  

We read a nonfiction book about seeds and recorded our new learning.  

On Friday, we planted some seeds!  We made glove gardens!  We put water soaked cotton balls and a seed in each finger of the glove.  

We hung them on the window so that they could get plenty of sunlight over the weekend.  

When we came back Monday morning, we had a few roots and little sprouts! 

We were so excited!

Next week we will continue our study of plants!  

Fun on the Farm!

Before I share about our fun on the farm, here is a picture from our big performance Tuesday night!  They were so excited and did a wonderful job!  I wasn't able to take pictures during the performance, so if you have any, please share!  :)  

This week our learning focused around farms and farm animals.  We began our study by brainstorming what we knew about farms.  During writing we read nonfiction books about farm animals and filled in tree maps.  We used the tree maps to help us write sentences about each animal.  I forgot to take pictures of the books they worked so hard on, but I am sure they shared them with you all!  

In shared reading we read classic farm tales like "The Little Red Hen" and "Mrs. Wishy Washy".  We focused on retelling and sequencing events.  After reading "The Little Red Hen" we used story props to retell the story.  We also filled out a story map.  Here are some pictures from our retelling.  They did a great job!  

On Friday during math, we took a break from our fact families and graphed our favorite farm animals.  Here is the graph and recording sheet we completed.  Horses definitely won!  

On Friday, we learned about cows and all the things they give us.  To end our week of farm animal fun, we made ice cream!  Thanks to Deanna Jump for this great recipe!  

First we had to mix all of our ingredients together.  We mixed sugar, vanilla, vanilla pudding, evaporated milk, and milk together.  We talked about liquids and the properties of a liquid.  

Next, we put a little bit of our mixture into a ziploc bag.  We put that bag into a gallon sized bag with salt and ice in it.  Then we shook it.  And boy did they shake it!  

After just a few minutes, our liquid mixture had turned into ice cream!  Yum!  

We had so much fun this week learning about farms and farm animals.  Next week we will learn about Earth Day and vegetables!  

We also have our Cinderella field trip on Monday!  I can't wait!