Planting Seeds

Our class has just begun our science study of plants. We went to our school garden last week and picked marigolds. Each student got to dig up a marigold, roots and all. They re-planted their flower in a cup with some soil. We also kept a few in our classroom to observe. The students got to plant radish seeds this week. They recorded their steps on their science journals and some drew nonfiction features (that we are learning about in reading), such as labels, bold words, and even comparisons to show how small the radish seeds were. It was a gorgeous day to plant seeds (actual seeds and learning seeds)!

Spring Celebration!

We are so excited that Spring is finally here! The students loved participating in the various Spring centers and especially our class egg hunt! The students had to find numbered eggs. I might have also slipped in a mini-lesson about team work and helping others as you'll see the kids leaning on each other's backs to check off their numbered eggs. You have to take advantage of any teachable moment when you can!

FCAT Spirit Week!

Our class adopted two fifth grade classes and thanks to our helpful parents they were greeted each testing day with special treats! Our students made a sign for each class that said "Rock the FCAT!"  We also dressed up during Spirit Week with our red, white, and blue one day, school shirt another day, fashion disaster another day, favorite sports team another day, and dressed our best on the last day for class pictures!  

Happy Earth Day!

I think one of my favorite parts of my job is being able to teach students lessons that go beyond their Kindergarten year. Today is Earth Day and to be truthful, not too many people (adults and kids) knew that! However, my students did because we recognized and celebrated it by creating costumes and props out of recycled materials. Students were encouraged to dress as their very own recycled superhero. We have been reading books about taking care of our environment by not littering, not being wasteful, recycling and much more. Not only did the students have a great time dressing up and seeing everyone's creative outfits, they also really grasped the concept that they can teach other people to help take care of our earth. In writing we are working on persuasive writing and students have been writing letters to different people about different problems that they see or have. Today students were asked to write about a problem that they cared about in our environment and how they could help to change it. This was their best writing yet! Students wrote about not littering, saving electricity, riding bikes or walking instead of driving cars to school, not polluting the waters and taking care of sea life, and not being wasteful. If someone asked them why they were dressed like they were today, I explained that it was their job to tell that person that they were a recycled superhero and they wanted to tell others to take care of the earth! I am so proud of them and hope that they will continue to care about the earth and many other causes!

Science Buddies!

We were so excited to visit our fifth grade science buddies today and learn all about the life cycle of a chicken. The fifth graders took our kindergartners through six different stations that all enhanced their understanding of the life cycle of a chicken. The students saw real unfertilized eggs in the hen house and they saw real fertilized eggs in the incubator. They saw a baby chick moving inside the egg (through candling). Our kindergartners were able to learn about baby chicks and also be able to touch and hold them. They learned about the different parts of the egg. They also saw and learned about the hens and roosters. The fifth graders did an AMAZING job at keeping our students' attention and teaching them about each stage of life. We are so appreciative of Mrs. Szerba and her students for taking the time to share and teach us about this incredible life cycle. We are eagerly awaiting until the newest baby chicks arrive! Our little scientists came back to the classroom and shared their observations with each other. They drew a representation of the life cycle of a chicken. Some students even included labels, just like we are learning about and recognizing in informational text in reading.