We were fortunate to enjoy a presentation today from super beekeeper Nick Wigle and his team. They came to Lower School to educate the students on beekeeping and the importance of bees. Nick was amazing with the students and shared a lot of very interesting information about bees.
Students had the opportunity to try on a bee suit!
They sampled fresh honey.
They also touched honeycomb.
If you happen to have a hive arrive at your house, be sure to call Nick. He will remove the hive for you, while keeping the bees safe!
We began our Fairy Tale Unit this past Wednesday. I stumbled upon a great Friday Fun project that I wanted to use… the students would build a castle from paper towel and toilet paper rolls.
First, students built the castle.
Then they painted their structures. Next week they will begin to add more details.
I began brainstorming ideas on how to use the castles…. what if the students wrote their own fairy tales and used the castles as their setting?
First I created a story map, so the students could plan out their fairy tales. (We went over the characteristics of a fairy tale yesterday.) The setting of each fairy tale would be a castle. The students chose two or three characters, created a problem and a solution, and included magic in their story maps. Here is what some of the students created:
The next step will be for the students to write their fairy tales, a feat we will take on next week. After the fairy tales are created, students will illustrate craft stick puppets and perform their stories for the class. I can’t wait to see how this turns out!
The Friday Fun Recipe for this week was also fairy tale themed. Students made mini toad stools using half a tomato and a hard boiled egg. Adorable!
As we are on the heels of summer, I wanted to share a great resource you may be interested in using. TumbleBooks is offering a free book of the day. Simply click on the link below to see what new books are available for your child to read! Todays book, The Dot, has an inspiring message.
To have your child practice reading the book, simply place the volume on mute! Or use the read aloud as a way to ask comprehension questions. Enjoy!
Our third grade buddies are in the midst of an incredible unit where they have built a city. Students chose a business to create and operate. They have elected a Mayor. They even had to pay for health care! The classroom is lined with refrigerator boxes that have been transformed into store fronts. Hats off to Mrs. Green for creating this high interest unit, that touches on so many areas of the curriculum.
The kindergarteners had the opportunity to visit Swoopsville.
Each student was given $20.00 that they could use to make purchases around the classroom city. Some students chose to rent a pet at Pets and Pedicures, while others purchased a newspaper from the Swoopsville Newpress.
The city includes a police station and post office. The Amezaga and Gidney Bank and Trust was kept busy, as the kindergarteners needed change for their purchases. Some kindergarteners tried to swindle the bank, offering to give the banker $6.00 for $20.00 in return! Tech Toy Boyz just about ran out of toys, as one student purchased the stores entire supply!
I had a great time watching these students in action! I really look forward to my daughter experiencing this unit when she is in third grade!
As part of the plant unit today, students learned about pollination. The lesson began with a short cartoon video from a great website called BrainPop. After discussing pollination, students were ready to take part in an experiment I had set up.
Each student had a white paper flower with a small cup in the center. In the cup were three Cheetos. Students were also given a bee puppet where they were to place two fingers at the bottom, signifying the bees feet.
Next, students buzzed their bee to the center of the flower, picking up each Cheeto with just the two feet (actually fingers!) The trick was to eat all three Cheetos without licking or wiping their fingers. The final step in the experiment was for each bee to fly over and land on their neighbors flower…depositing a fair amount of “pollen” on the flower.
Here is the experiment in action!
We followed up the experiment with a write up, of course!
I love that this experiment provides students with a hands-on activity to help them understand a challenging concept. (and we got to eat (3) Cheetos, too! I haven’t eaten Cheetos in years!)
Kindergarten moms were treated to a special afternoon tea party that celebrated them! We have been planning for this party over the course of the past few weeks. From learning a sweet song, to making hats and flowers, to writing a special book about their moms, students were fully involved in the process honoring their moms.
The tables were decorated with bright yellow tablecloths and hand painted vases that were filled with gerbera daisy bouquets that the students had made on our field trip. At each mothers seat was a hand painted tea cup that the students made in art class.
Moms were encouraged to wear fancy hats, as were the students, who escorted their mom to the Pavilion for the festivities.
We welcomed our moms with a song:
Then it was time to hit the food table! (I’m guessing this was the students’ favorite part!)
After sandwiches, cookies, and tea, students read the special books they created to their moms.
There were smiles all around!
Thank you moms for all you do! You are raising amazing children.
Tuesday morning, we went on a field trip to Creekside Floral, where students saw how a flower nursery operates. Upon arrival, we were met by my dad and sister, who run the nursery. They brought us back to the prop house where the baby plants are cared for. Here is a brief video of my dad explaining the process:
Next, we walked past the giant boiler that is used to heat the water that flows through the pipes to warm the greenhouses. Dad stopped along the way to pick up the coconut shell “cookies” in which they plant the plants. As we entered the greenhouse, there were cheers of “ooohhh” and “ahhhh” as the students saw the thousands of gerbera daisies in dozens of colors.
Once in the greenhouse, students got a close up view of the planting process.
Here are the baby plants ready to be planted into the coconut shell “cookies.”
Students had a chance to touch the coconut shell “cookies.”
After we left the greenhouse, we went directly to the cooler, where the cut flowers are stored until they are shipped. Burrr, was it cold!
Next, students made surprise bouquets for their moms for our Mother’s Day Tea party. We made it an impromptu math lesson, as students first picked ten flowers. I told them they could have a total of fifteen flowers, so students had to figure out how many more flowers they needed to make fifteen.
The field trip wrapped up with a visit to the mini cows that my dad raises. Students fed the cows flowers and hay!
If you happen to have a hive arrive at your house, be sure to call Nick. He will remove the hive for you, while keeping the bees safe!
