"It smells like nature"

What can the earth provide us?
This was a question asked to the children.  Answers varied from rocks, trees, bees, toys, God, and love.  I narrowed it down to Earth's materials.  We talked about rocks, water, landforms, and dirt.

From there we spent more time talking about dirt.  And what better way to understand it other than sticking our hands in it!  I grabbed dirt right from the garden and brought it in the classroom.  What words did we use to describe what we knew and observed?

smelly
hard
soft
damp
black
rough
crumbly
smells like nature
smells like potatoes
wonderful

When we looked closer, we saw many things besides dirt.  I wonder how they got there and why they were there.

Analyzing the dirt and taking apart what we saw, we got to the bottom of it.  What is dirt made from?

This garden dirt is made from wood chips, sticks, plants, rocks, leaves, roots, plants, bugs, and dirt (leftover black stuff).  This dirt was very dynamic.  It had so many things we might have never paid any attention to.  

Another type of earth material is sand.  It is very similar to this dirt.  We borrowed some sand from Ms. Molly and came up with attributes just like before. These are some of the words we came up with:

smells like nothing
mushy
soggy
smooth
crunchy
breaks apart
smells gross
cinnamon
pepper
grainy

While coming up with these words, we noticed there were some similarities, but mostly differences.  Both materials came from the earth.  They both were wet when we touched them.  They both broke apart and had rocks in them.  In order to compare and contrast these items in an easy way, we brought our written words outside to give us more space.

Two different earth materials can have similarities and differences.  It is important for sand and soil to be different.  They are great for certain things.  Which one is easier to play in?  Which one is better for an animal's habitat?  Is soil better for a cactus plant or a lettuce plant?  Can a plant grow the same in each type?  

A child suggested an experiment and we all thought it was a good idea.  Why don't we plant the same seeds in different types of dirt and see what happens?  Many children predicted nothing would grow in the sand.  We will let you know what we find out!

Finished Stuffed Animals

Back in March we started on a project involving sewing.  The children were inspired to make creatures with fabric, needles, and stuffing.  The first blog post (here) details the source of our thinking.  There was an update (here) showcasing our progress.  

At the end of it all, we were very proud of what we had done.  It took longer than I think anyone was expecting, but it was worth it.  The animals went home, back to school, back home, and to school again.  They are still very important.  

Check out our first plans and last pictures below!

Timelines

I'm sure at this point if you have a child in my classroom, you are aware I recently got married.  With this absence, the children have been initiating a lot of conversations about life events.  

"Ms. Sarah, what was your wedding like?"

"Did you have a party?"

"How did you meet?"

"Did you always know he was going to be your husband?"

"Are you having a baby?"

In life, we usually have a timeline of events.  First I was born, then I got older, then I became an adult, then I met my husband, and then we got married.  I started asking the children to think of their own lives.  What is the same between each person?  What in our timelines is different?  Yes we were all born and learned to talk, but when did you learn to tie your shoe?  A discussion the other day led us to learn some children built their first lego house before kindergarten and some children built it after coming to school.  This one way our timelines differ.  

I have written/drawn sentences on separate tiles and ordered them with the children.  

I learned to walk.

I said my first word.

I was born.

I ate in a high chair.

Which of these goes first?  Last?  What could be added in between?

This concept is a kindergarten standard for me to cover with the children, so it comes together naturally.  Along with a historical timeline, we have been making fictional timelines.  Some of the children are thinking about their own future!   This is also a good chance to summarize the short timelines of stories as well.  Below are some "from scratch" timelines we made.

First: I got out of my mom's belly.  Then: and cried.  Last: and I went to my mom.

Let's see if you can figure out this timeline.  Hint: the words say "find a boyfriend."

This is the story of little red riding hood!

Sewing Work Update

I wanted to give you a look into where we are at as far as our sewing work goes.  We are slowly but surely coming along.  Some children have started stuffing already!  Take a look at the pictures below to see how it's going.  I wonder how they'll look in a few weeks!

Guinea Pig Research

We have recently concluded our formal guinea pig research.  As you know, when we started this process we asked many questions of things we wanted to learn about guinea pigs.  We wrote some of those questions down as stated in this blog post.  We would go back to those specific questions often and ask ourselves if we knew the answer to it yet.  We used books, internet, videos, and observations.  Our original questions were in a book, so we decided it made sense that we put our new information in the book as well.  

We started drafting our responses to our questions.  We conferenced as each child decided what words to use to answer their own question.  On lined paper, we wrote our sentences.  The next day we talked about how to use a computer to type.  We then sat in front of the computer and typed our writing. 

Once our pages were typed and printed, we illustrated them.  Deciding what illustrations best conveyed our words to the reader was harder than we thought (you will see many eraser marks).  We talked about a table of contents, title, introductory page, and book cover.  Check out a few pages below and stop by to see our finished work!

No they do not hibernate.
(the author wants you to pay special attention
to the guinea pig outside of a cave- unlike a bear)

Where do they hibernate?

What do they do?

They popcorn.
(popcorning video link)

This is a guinea pig.  Why do they have floppy ears?

Yes they do.

No.  But they do have a tailbone.
To blend in with the surroundings.

Do they have tails?
Why do they have stripes?

No they do little jumps!

Can guinea pigs jump on heads?

No because they don't have tails.

Why do guinea pigs' tails look like rabbits' tails?

Yes but they can scratch.

This is a guinea pig sitting (in a) lap?

Sewing work

A while back I was looking through the school library.  I found a craft book and brought it in the classroom for the children to see because it seemed like something they would gravitate toward.  It was a book about creating creatures out of fabric.  After looking through it for some time and making prototypes out of paper, the children were committed to the idea of investing more time.  They started their work with Ms. Amy on making plans.  We wanted to make stuffed animals!

Starting the work with discussing how toymakers come up with the ideas to make toys, the children were ready to work.  Drawing on paper, they sketched out creatures inspired by the book or by their own imagination.  This took a day.    Ms. Amy then went home and made up patterns for each child's drawing.  The next time they met with Ms. Amy they had the very important task of choosing fabric and textures to use.  With so many choices, I imagine it was hard to narrow down what would work best!

From there Ms. Amy did most of the fabric cutting (children's scissors are not made for fabric) and collected what was needed.  Some children needed extra fabric for ears, a tail, eyes, a collar, or a shirt.  

Then came sewing! 

Ms. Amy brought up the importance of needles, how to thread them, how to make a knot, and strategies that work best.  Peeking across the room, I would see patient purposeful movements, focused eyes, and intentional fingers. 

Each time a group met with Ms. Amy they would take their bag of supplies, thread a needle, and get to sewing.  This was their time to continue on their project at their own pace.  Each child is at a different place in their sewing work.  This has been a great opportunity to talk about the importance of long-term work.  Yes, we could spend the entire day working on this, but it is good to give your eyes and brain a break so you can do your best work.  

We are all very excited to see how this project evolves, so look for updates soon!