Welcome to First Grade in room C-8 at CP Smith! This blog will serve as a way for you to follow along with the daily happenings of our classroom. Feel free to comment on the posts. Thank you for joining along with our learning!
On Friday we welcomed some new friends to our classroom: 6 painted lady caterpillars! It is day 3 with our caterpillars, and we have already noticed that they have grown bigger and shed some of their exoskeletons. Today we read the book A Butterfly is Patient and learned that the changes that occur during a caterpillars life is called metamorphosis.
We also enjoyed our outdoor classroom and I read a book about bees Flight of the Honey Bee and we learned that both bees and butterflies are pollinators which means they bring pollen from plant to plant. We have bees (and butterflies) to thank for many flowers, fruits and vegetables!
Did you know that an entomologist is a scientist who studies insects? Today we started reading books about insects so we are all entomologists. We read the book Insect Detective by Steve Voake and were introduced to some insects. We learned that all insects have 6 legs, two antennae, and three body parts - a head, a thorax and an abdomen. Some insects have wings. We will be studying ants, caterpillars, bees and dragonflies over the next several weeks. Hopefully it warms up so we can observe these creatures outside in the woods and playground!
On Friday at Community Meeting we will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Kindergarten will be helping to sing the Pinata Song (I apologize in advance if it gets stuck in your head)!
This afternoon with Mrs. Tourin's class I read Big Night for Salamanders by Sarah Lamstein. We learned that most of the year spotted salamanders live underground, however, when conditions are just right -- the ground has thawed, the temperature is at least 42 degrees and rain falls all night -- every spotted salamander suddenly rouses. First males, then females make their way down from woody hillsides they call home to the lowest available wet spot. We also watched an excerpt from Vermont PBS and learned about how people in Vermont help salamanders and frogs during the "Big Night."
Last week we read a new poem about Spring:
What the Robin Told
The wind told the grasses,
And the grasses told the trees.
The trees told the bushes,
And the bushes told the bees.
The bees told the robin,
And the robin sang out clear:
Wake up!
Wake up!
Spring is here!
On Friday I set up a "Reading Tent" and this morning we agreed upon some rules for it:
Be gentle (no stepping or pulling)
1 or 2 people inside
Be respectful of people's turns (do not wait right outside)
Set a 5 minute timer if other people are waiting for a turn
Last week during Math I introduced number bonds as a tool to compose, put together, and decompose, take apart, numbers. We used hula hoops to act out 'put together' stories. Today we worked on different ways to make 5 using cubes and post it notes. Today we took a walk to the woods and checked out the vernal pools. It was very wet so we came back to school to play in the playground.
We had a wonderful day at Rock Point School on Friday. It was wonderful to learn more about the maple sugaring operation and enjoy a taste of the fresh syrup!
Yesterday at our staff meeting, the EL Department presented teachers with the gift of new multicultural books for classroom libraries! I LOVE books so I was super happy to share these gifts with Kindergarten this morning. We spent a good amount of time looking through and enjoying our new books and then I shared my personal favorite. We all look for something when looking for a great new read and one really resonated with me: Two Problems for Sophia by Jim Averbeck. It's funny, empowering, provides some new facts and uses sophisticated language. It doesn't hurt that the main characters are a girl and her pet giraffe! Anyways, Sophia has two problems with her pet Giraffe, Noodle and what they are will surprise you: Noodle gives sloppy kisses (we learned a Giraffe's tongue is about 20 inches long!) and she snores very loudly (Giraffes do make a humming noise when they sleep which sounds like snoring). Sophia's family wants to send Noodle back but she does her research and build a sleep mask for Noodle that turns his loud snores into a lullaby. Inspired by this book, we created some beautiful Giraffe paintings. It was a wonderful day in Kindergarten!
