We have had an amazing time this week researching pumpkins and traveling to The Grove to explore. The hayride was a highlight, along with the snakes and turtles some of the children were able to pet. We learned about the rescue owls, and that owls cannot smell. They will feed on skunks-unlike most predators who stay away from the strong scented animals. The children had scarecrow building contests and found "a needle in a haystack"! They explored the haunted trail, and heard stories in a giant Teepee. We all had such a great time there with our friends.
Fine Arts:
We studied the great artist Vincent Van Gogh, and painted Starry Nights pictures using crayons and water colors. It's another way to discuss the properties of an oil/wax and a liquid. Art provides numerous opportunities for science exploration and demonstration. We also studied Vincent Van Gogh, the man, and learned about his life and work. Your children should be familiar with his self portrait and some of his most popular paintings!
Literacy:
The groups continue to practice their reading skills by modeling my actions of following the words on a page by underlining as they read. The Reading A-Z books provide high frequency word series, leveled readers, benchmark books, and decodable books. They each serve a purpose in focusing on a particular skill. The children made their own pumpkin farm books this week, dictating/writing words and illustrating their experience. They each titled their book and highlighted some of their favorite things. This exercise provides many benefits, by relating their experience on paper and labeling, they are further understanding that words carry meaning and through these words they are able to express themselves. Sounding out the words and beginning inventive spelling are next steps to literacy.
Math and Science:
We studied the life cycle of the pumpkin, illustrating a page which follows the six step process from seed to orange pumpkin. Some children were surprised to learn that a pumpkin is green before it is orange. We also carved a pumpkin in class and discussed the parts that are thrown away and the parts used for making pies and other pumpkin treats. We used descriptive words for the stringy, cold, slimy, smooth insides.
We use minute math daily for story problems and thinking questions, using visualization for learning more, less, greater than, less than, and simple addition and subtraction. One example from the week was, "which holds more water, a bathtub or a sink?" Using familiar items helps the children make the connections easily. It also captures and hold their attention if the items in our story problems are those they can relate to. "Which weighs more, Lightening McQueen's car, or a stuffed Pokemon? How many Pokemon would fit inside his car?"
Along with making our own Pumpkin Farm books, we read many stories in class, including: Arthur's Halloween, All About Bats, Stella Luna, The Lonely Scarecrow, The Great Artist Van Gogh, Rainy Day, Sunflowers, Starry Night, and We Share Everything. We are making our way through the Alpha tales books as well, and are beginning letters E and F.
Spanish class continues to study colors and parts of the body, and made colored masks for the Day of the Dead celebration. Incorporating songs with the lessons is great practice as the children begin to identify animals, the season and familiar things around the room.
We introduced bats on Friday, and will be studying those for our theme this week. It's hard to believe it will be Halloween soon! I'll be sending out information about our class party and the carnival for the entire school. Thanks you for the assistance in the classroom and with our field trip! We love having parents visit and welcome your time and talents anytime.
What a fun season to be in JK!
Ms. Massey
