Things we should say more often...

I saw this video for the first time a couple months ago.  It made me laugh and think.  I hope you enjoy it.   

What do you think we should say more often?  Leave a comment!

Eagle Sighting

You don't have to go very far to eagle watch.  In art this week, Ms. Majeski had the students draw eagles.  What a great job they did!  

Have a great weekend!

All about Walruses...

Tuesday we started learning about Walruses as part of our Arctic Animals study.  First, we made a list of our Walrus Schema, or what we already knew (or thought we knew) about walruses.  I wrote down everything they told me.  Here is what the darlings knew...

*They have tusks.

*They swim in water.

*They splash water.

*They have whiskers.

*They have a big nose.

*They have teeth.

*They make noises in water.

*Walruses are big and have a tail.

*They have fur.

*They can break ice.

*They sleep on snow.

*They like cold.

*Their tusks can hurt people.

*They can fight.

Today after reading a non-fiction book titled, Walruses, we made a list of our new information.  Did you know...

*Walruses have four flippers.

*They eat clams.

*They have blubber to help them stay warm.

*They ride on an ice floe in the ocean.

*They eat two times a day.

*They can stay underwater for thirty minutes.

*Walruses have tusks.

*Their teeth never stop growing.

*They pile together to sleep.

*Their tusks can break off.

*They use their teeth to pull themselves out of water.

We also labeled a diagram of a Walrus since diagrams are often found in non-fiction books.  We will continue learning about walruses and other arctic animals in the upcoming weeks.  

Walrus image found at http://www.findfast.org/images/walrus.jpg

Let It Snow!

All this snow inspired our snowmen that we made last week!  Here is a peek at what the artists created!

Pilgrims

This year in Kindergarten we learned about the Pilgrims by pretending we were the Pilgrims!  We played the Pilgrim Simulation Game, and I think it is one of the best ways to learn about the Pilgrim's first year in the New World.   (This was adapted from what I taught previously in Third Grade.)  

We learned that the Pilgrims were a group of people that wanted to leave England because the King told them they all had to go to the same church and worship God the way he wanted them to.  A company gave them two ships, the Mayflower and the Speedwell, to use on their voyage.  Shortly after their departure, the Speedwell ran into some difficulties and they had to return to shore, where 102 passengers cramped onto the Mayflower.  It was crowded. 

Students were split into two colonies.  We gave them a very small space to sit on the carpet or they would go overboard!!  In order to cross the Great Ocean students had to perform tasks like tying their shoes or exercising to simulate fixing the sails and a beam that had cracked during the voyage.  They also answered many questions about the Pilgrims.

When the Mayflower reached the New World, the men went on shore to explore.  Women were sent to wash clothing...imagine how smelly they were!  The Pilgrims were frightened by the Indians, whom looked and dressed differently then they did.  They were also scared by the strange noises they heard at night.  They chose a Governor and set up rules they would follow.  

The first job on land was to build houses, since colder weather was coming! Students ran into the forest to cut down trees.  Once the tree was brought back to the colony, they cut boards to build homes.  Pilgrims used clay and stone to build chimneys and had thatch roofs.  Here are some photographs from our building day!  We used crayon and construction paper.  They needed to use teamwork to complete as many houses as possible in limited time!

Food in the New World was a challenge for the Pilgrims.  They were used to English foods like salted fish, beef, pork, and mutton.  Many Pilgrims were not interested in the new foods that the Indians showed them and refused to eat the game, berries, and shellfish that were available.  To earn food, each colony had to write foods that began with each letter of the alphabet.  They did a nice job sounding out their words. 

Squanto helped the Pilgrims plant corn which had a good harvest.

At the end of the first year in the New World, the Pilgrim had 52 survivors, 20 acres of food, and they had build 11 homes.  They had made peace with the Indians and were thankful for all they had.  The Governor set aside three days for a feast. 

About a month after the feast, another shipload of Pilgrims arrived....and the journey started all over again!

Our simulation was such a fun way to learn about the Pilgrims!  

Technical Difficulties!

Hi!  My blog is experiencing some "Technical Difficulties"!  I am trying to use my skills to get this figured out!!  Please check back to see what is new!

Transportation

In Unit 3 we learned about transportation.  We talked about many different ways to travel and wrote our own version of Duck on a ______.  Today we had specials guests!  Joel and Penny Papineau came to talk about transportation and race car driving!  It was a real treat!  At the end of our presentation we went outside to look at Mr. Papineau's race car.  All the students had the opportunity to get in (if they wanted) and ask questions!  I was even able to suit up!  It was a fun afternoon.  Here are a few pictures!

What a great day to be outside!  Thank you to our guests!  Enjoy your weekend!