Week of November 11-15, 2019
Room 8 spent the week taking a closer look at root vegetables. After examining the russet potato and sweet potato last week and trying two types of potato chips, we introduced a third type of potato, a purple sweet potato. We began by placing the purple sweet potato in front of the children and asking, “What do you see?” The children passed the potato around to get a good look, feel and smell of the vegetable. Jacob explained that the potato looked dirty because it grows in the ground. Dylan chimed in by adding the fact that it grows in the dirt! Isabella said she could actually see some of the dirt on it. Rian described the feeling of the purple potato as hard, and Wyatt compared the smell to a bbq smell. Even though we have only had a few previous conversations on the topic of details, we noticed that the children demonstrated the ability to use an elevated level of vocabulary. In describing the purple potato, the children used unique words and showed a higher level of thinking rather than simple adjectives like purple and hard. We love seeing how well the children are grasping these critical thinking concepts. As we continue to learn the various pillars associated with the Wise Learning Process, the children will gain the critical thinking skills needed to be successful in any kind of learning. After examining the outside of the purple potato, we cut it open and encouraged the children to identify the traits or details found on the inside. We wanted to take this discussion a step further and introduce a new critical thinking concept, compare and contrast. The children learned that to compare and contrast, we must distinguish two objects from one another. In other words, we must point out and differences. Ask your child if they remember what similarities and differences means. We try to describe it as things that are the same and things that are different. The first compare and contrast exercise we conducted was between the russet potato and the purple potato. Knowing what we learned about the potato so far and taking into consideration the look and feel of each vegetable, we asked, “How are the russet and purple potatoes similar, and how are they different?” Lilah shared her thought that both are potatoes, and Jacob contributed that both grow in the dirt. Chloe pointed out a physical similarity in that both potatoes are bumpy. We quickly jumped into the differences between the two since the children found more of these compared to similarities. Isabella said that the colors were different, and Dylan finished her thought by describing how the purple potato was purple inside and out, and the russet is gray and brown on the outside. Wyatt noticed that the purple potato was rougher than the russet and had more bumps. Rian pointed out an interesting point how the russet had more cracks on it, which is the blemish from where the root was growing. This was an incredible start to compare and contrast conversations. The details that the children pointed out and their advanced vocabulary demonstrated an understanding for deeper learning and the ability to grasp new concepts quickly. Being exposed to any critical thinking concept at a young age sets the children up for great success in the future. We are helping your children learn how to learn so that critical thinking is a part of who they are rather than just a school concept. Later in the week, we tried a cooked sweet potato in the form of French fries. This was a big hit! Next week, we will carry this discussion into the vegetables that are found during the Thanksgiving holiday. We will see whether your children are interested in the vegetables, fruits or maybe another Thanksgiving tradition to see what our next unit will be! We hope everyone has a great long weekend, and we will see you next Tuesday ready to start Thanksgiving! Shabbat Shalom, Mari and Aaliyah REMINDERS:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Pre-K Room 8Mari Greifer Archives
March 2020
Categories |