15 | February | 2017 | Swoop into Kindergarten

As our dinosaur unit is coming to an end, it was most appropriate for students to learn about fossils. We had a wonderful addition to our learning day today when a parent offered to come in and lead a fossil exploration! Look at what happened:

Students participated in a fossil dig in our very own sandbox!

I followed the activity with an in depth presentation of how fossils are created. Next, students evaluated two dinosaur skull fossils to determine facts about them.

This student extends her learning….she notices the sharp teeth and then makes inferences that the dinosaur had sharp claws and walked on two legs….because carnivorous dinosaurs had sharp teeth, claws and walked on two legs.)

Such a great example of how students’ learning has come together!

We ended the lesson by playing a fun online fossil finding game and eating dinosaur bones that Dr. Kia-Keating prepared.

Here is the link to the game, if you child wants to explore at home:

http://www.e-learningforkids.org/science/lesson/exploring-fossils-and-fossil-records/

Thank you so much Dr. Kia-Keating for preparing such an engaging activity for the students! I will be asking to borrow your molds next year!

What a special Valentine’s Day! Kindergarten started the day singing a beautiful message at Tecolote Tuesday.

Did you notice that some of the students were serenading specific audience members? Adorable!

After the performance, our third grade buddies came over for a STEM project. Students worked together to construct a Valentine’s Day catapult. Tomorrow, scientific data collection begins, but today, they had fun figuring out a way to make a catapult that will launch a Sweetheart Candy the farthest.

The day continued with a Swooper Citizens lesson on Compassion. We played a game “Put Yourself in Someone Else’s Shoes.” Students were paired up and given a shoe card with a scenario on it. For example, “Mary spilled ketchup on her white shirt. How does she feel?” or “Joe was not invited to Steve’s birthday party. How does he feel?” The partners discussed these different scenarios, placing themselves in someone else’s shoes. When we came back together as a group, I chose a few scenarios to expand upon. I asked, “How did Mary feel about the spilled ketchup?” and then challenged, “How could you show Mary compassion?” The students offered great ideas, like “help her clean up,” or “offer her a new shirt.”

In order to give students an opportunity to practice being compassionate, they were asked to choose a piece of paper from a special box. On that piece of paper I had written an act of compassion. Students are encouraged to complete this act of compassion at some point during the week and return the paper to me with their name on it.

As part of our Valentine’s Day activities, students presented their February Family STEAM Project…a mailbox! Once again, these creations were amazing!

Then it was finally time to pass out the cards and enjoys some special snacks!

These Cupid’s Arrows were a hit!

I loved watching the students’ sweet reactions to their friends’ cards. It was wonderful to have the classroom completely focused on friendship and celebrating each other. They were each so appreciative of every Valentine and spent time taking in the details.