Week of 11/6-10
Dear Room 8 Parents, The children had a potato filled week! We began the week by taking a closer look at a Russet potato by observing the feel, look, taste, and smell of this particular potato variety. We began to answer some of the questions that the children posed last week regarding a potato. For instance, we answered Kayden and Paisleys’ questions, “Where do potatoes live/grow?” by discussing how potatoes grow and mature in the ground. Unlike an orange, which grows on a tree, we talked about how potatoes are known as “root vegetables” and grow underground in the dirt. Roots grow from the potato itself. Once the roots hit the surface, they turn into a flowering plant signifying the potato is ready to come out of the ground. This discussion also answered Carter’s question, “Why are potatoes bumpy?” A potato develops a bump in the area that the root was removed. The children were curious about how you remove the roots from the potato, so we looked at pictures and videos of the removal process. The children described the potato with a variety of adjectives and comparisons. Mason felt that the potato was soft, while Ella said the inside of a potato was wet. Ayla determined that the skin was rough from the roots. Wynter compared the smell of a potato to baking flour. On Monday, we also conducted our first potato experiment. We put 1 raw potato wedge in 3 jars containing different solutions including plain water, salt water, and sugar water. We are still waiting to see the outcome of the experiment, so stay tuned! On Tuesday, the children were able to taste the Russet potato in the form of an oven-roasted potato chip. We sliced the potatoes very thinly and allowed the excess water to rise to the top before cooking them. The children were fascinated by how much liquid comes out of a raw potato. After salting and roasting the potatoes, we had a delicious and healthy potato chip addition to our snack. Mason said they are crunchy, Paisley said the skin is rough, and Kayden said they are salty. All of the friends in Room 8 loved the potato chips except for Ella and Elliot. Benjamin was on the fence about the chips, said, “[He] like[d] them a little bit,” and ended up eating them all. After the Russet potato, we introduced a new potato variety, the yam. Similar to the Russet potato chips, the children tasted yam potato chips seasoned with brown sugar. The children liked these better than the regular potato chips! They liked the sweet taste and the slightly soft feel of the chips. We asked the children to compare and contrast the Russet potato and the yam. Instead of giving us facts or information to describe similarities or differences of the potatoes as we have done in the past, the children used questions to phrase their ideas. While this was not the premise of this particular class discussion, we were so excited to see that the children are truly grasping this new puzzlement concept that we introduced last week. This demonstrated that the kids were beginning to comprehend how to begin a discussion by asking questions. Rather than simply giving facts about a certain topic, the children understand that they can ask questions to learn more information about the topic at hand. To help the children further understand that we use statements to describe similarities and differences rather than questions, we listened to their questions and assisted them in turning them into a statement. For instance, Carter asked, “Why are both potatoes bumpy?” We helped rephrase the question into a statement by stating, “The two potatoes are similar because they both have bumps.” We will continue to emphasize the difference between a question and a statement and where and when to use each. We were extremely impressed that all of the Room 8 friends posed intellectual and unique questions, even as a compare and contrast. We can’t wait to see what they will inquire about our next topic. Room 8 enjoyed their first visit of the year to the library. Thank you, Andi, for joining us in the library and reading a great Noah’s Ark story to the children with Owen. We also want to thank you for being on the “Question Chair” and helping the children learn the importance of asking questions and learning new information about someone they do not know too well. We want to give a big thanks to Neda’s family for joining us in Room 8 to celebrate Shabbat this Friday. We enjoyed story time, songs and spending time with you in Temple. Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend and Shabbat Shalom! Mari and Aaliyah Reminders:
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March 2020
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