K3 - This week our class took a few walks around the school to make some observations about the changes they have experienced within God's world using their senses of sight, touch, and hearing. We were able to see the changes to the trees, grass, and flowers. All of us were able to feel the wind and the chill in the air. We were even able to walk through and play with a few crunchy leaves, giving us a chance to hear the changes. Inside, we used leaves and crayons to create leaf rubbings during Centers. As a part of our PLTW Healthy Habits Unit we discussed what types of clothing we need to wear to stay warm and healthy in the cold. We also talked about how staying out of our classmate's personal bubble spaces keeps all of us safe and healthy throughout the school day.
K4 - This week we started learning about leaves. We began by reading the story We're Going on a Leaf Hunt and then practicing "turn and talk' with classmates to talk about what students know about leaves. They had some really great responses, such as, "leaves change color and fall from trees." We then read a book about why leaves change color and learned that trees take a winter rest. Trees do not need the sugar from leaves during their rest, so the leaves fall from the trees. The leaves change color because the weather and sunlight are changing. We then tried an experiment where we tried to transfer the color from the leaves to a coffee filter. The experiment did not transfer color yet, so we are going to check back on Monday to see if it worked.
K5 - This week in Math students are adding by using equations to represent groups of numbers. They are solving word problems by using 2 groups of blocks to put together to find how many in all.
In Science, we continue to learn about Pushes & Pulls. We watched a couple of brief videos and learned about how ancient pyramid builders used ramps and sledges to move very large, heavy rocks. We went outside to roll a ball down a ramp on the blacktop and the grass. The objective was to predict which surface the ball would roll further on. They witnessed the effects of friction on distance traveled.
1st & 2nd Grade - We are learning about the different zones in the ocean. In preparation for our field trip on Monday, The Deep Sea Exploration. Along with the creatures of the sea.