As we approach the holiday of Tu B’shevat, we are engaging in activities that will peak the interest of the children on how they can care for the earth. On Wednesday the children worked together to make a “root garden”. We used warm water and soil disks to create the soil for the garden, and the children mixed the soil with their hands. Some of the comments the children made were, “This soil feels soft.” “I think it feels warm.” “I really want to play in the soil more!” After making the soil, the children took turns scooping it into the root garden. What’s great about the root garden is that as the seeds begin to sprout, the children will be able to see the roots growing. We planted carrots, onions, and radishes. The children looked at the seed of each and compared how they looked. Children observed that the carrot and onion seeds looked very similar. Comments that were overheard were, “The seeds are the same size.” “They are the same color.” “They are very small.” “The radish seeds are much bigger than the onion seeds.” “They are also bigger than the carrot seeds.”
Thursday’s explorations involved comparing 2 other types of seeds for another viewing garden, peas and green beans. Children were excited to share their observations, “WOW! Those seeds are big!” “These pea seeds are round.” “Both the pea seeds and the bean seeds are bigger than the others.” In addition, a few of the children used their counting skills to count out the number of bean seeds and the number of peas seeds. They discovered that there were 58 bean seeds and 115 pea seeds! On Friday, vegetables that will regrow were left on a table for the children to explore. These vegetables included, white and sweet potatoes, celery, green onions, romaine lettuce, carrots, basil, mint, and cilantro. We then placed each other these vegetables in a container with water. All of the children are so excited about our new garden area in Room 2. If you have a chance one day, please feel free to have you child show and tell you about it! Our Builders and Launchers group discovered and explored more about our topic. When the Ice Cream/Police Station group went to Studio, our Builder/Launcher group met in our classroom. The first thing that they wanted to do was to give their group a name. Names that were offered up were, The Builders, The Launchers, and The Building Buddies. A discussion about voting took place, after they voted there was a tie between The Builders and The Launchers. Another vote was taken, and our official name is……..The Launchers! The Launchers were shown the 4 different types of catapults, Spring Gald, Onager, Trebuchet, and Ballista. In addition, they watched a short video of each catapult launching. After discussing and watching each type in regard to shape, size, materials, and components, the excitement was buzzing in our group. Some of the comments and observations were: “That one has arrows!” “I like that one the best!” “Look how far that went.” “I want to build a gigantic one just like that.” We also discussed what materials were needed to build the catapults, and we came up with a long list. We concluded our session telling others what kind of catapult each wanted to make, and if we wanted to make a small one of our own, or work together with others to make a big one. Next session we will be drawing and labeling our own catapults. Our letter exploration this week revolved around the letter B. Children enjoyed guessing which beginning B picture they were hearing clues for. So many of the children are getting better with only making guesses using the letter we are learning. They were given the opportunity to create a B page for our Literacy Books. The also used our easel to paint a picture that begins with the sound of the letter B. Shabbat Shalom, Rachel and Linda Reminders: -Wednesday, January 29thDisney Spirit Day! Dress up anything Disney! -Shabbat family Friday, January 31st, Riana. Please bring a challah and a plant. We start at 10:30 in the classroom and continue in the sanctuary at 11. -Especially on days we have PE (Wednesday and Thursday), please have your child wear closed toe shoes. -Please NO nut products in our lunches. We are a NUT SAFE school. Thank you. Shabbat Shalom, Rachel and Linda
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