Finding Insects

 Good afternoon! Today on the way to school one of our friends found a worm outside on the sidewalk! He asked if we could put it in our bug catcher so the class can watch to see what the worm does. During our morning meeting he shared about the worm and held up the bug catcher so the class could see the worm. I asked "What does the worm need to live in the bug catcher?" Some of the classes ideas were: grass, leaves, a little bit of water, flowers, and dirt. We decided that once we went outside we would find these items to put in the bug catcher with our worm. While outside we found some more insects to keep the worm company! Our class found ladybugs and a tiny worm to put inside with the big worm. In our nature journals our class took time to draw the insects that we found outside today. Ask your child about what we discovered on the playscape. Have a great evening!

"We need to add some grass and leaves for the worm" -M.R.

Can you spot our lady bug?

"We need to put the lady bug in our bug catcher!" -M.S.

Hillside Exploration

      Good afternoon! Today we decided to take some activities outside and enjoy the weather before the storm rolled in. We started out by creating art by rolling cars down a paper with paint. After we were done painting with the cars we decided to clean them off in the car wash. While we were still on the hillside some of the class started looking for bugs and insects. With our bug catcher and net in hand we worked together as a class to look for insects. I asked "Where do you think we can find insects and bugs on the hillside?" Some friends thought maybe on trees or in the dirt and mud. One friend discovered a big log that we decided to look under. We discovered a bunch of worms to pick up and put in our bug catcher! Ask your child about what else we discovered today. Have a great weekend, we will see everyone on Monday!

Construction Zone

 Good afternoon! Today we enjoyed spending most of our day outside. When we went on the hillside we noticed that their were a lot of dump trucks and other trucks doing construction on the road. We watched as different trucks ripped up pieces of the road and put them into a big dump trucks. One student said "I see a roller truck coming to smooth the road" and another child said "I see the sweeper truck coming to clean the road" We even had a chance to take a walk around the neighborhood and see more construction happening. On our walk we also passed by other classrooms who were out enjoying the nice weather and taking their own walks. We found some new trees and flowers on our walk and wondered what kind they could be. Ms. Kelly and I also wanted to thank everyone for the beautiful flowers and gift card we received from the Birch class today. Thank you for making our teacher appreciation week special, we are so lucky to have such amazing students and families!

*Reminder: Ambrose will be closed this Friday May 7th, for professional development for teachers. We will also be closing early on Wednesday May 12th and all students need to be picked up by 3:30 pm.*

Fun in the Mud and Leaf Collection

Today we put on our rain suits and boots and walked to the forest.  On the way there, we found several puddles that students jumped in. We went to the forest to collect leaves that we could compare to samples of known leaves back in the classroom.  As we collected leaves, we discovered several mud puddles. Students had a lot of fun and laughter as they jumped in the mud puddles. Later in the classroom we looked at leaf samples and tried to compare the leaves we gathered in the forest to them.  Ms. Brittany brought in a surprise for the class- glow sticks.  We activated the glow sticks and had an awesome dance party.  Ask your child what leaf they like the best. 

We will be closed on Friday, May 7^th and closing early next Wednesday, May 12^th  with a pickup by 3:30pm.

"Here's a garden," -S.

"I did a huge cannonball into that puddle," -A.

"Look- flowers," -M.R.

"We found a new secret hideout by that log we like to climb on," -B.

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"What tree did this leaf come from?" -S.

Thank you Ms. Brittany for bringing the glow sticks! The Birch Room loves to dance!

Making Shadows with Nature

 Good afternoon! Today in the classroom we explored using our projector and colored plastic shapes. The class made different designs on the wall and even noticed their own shadows on the wall! On the playscape we continued our shadow exploration by creating our own shadow art area by the sandbox. Some of the class helped set up our picture frame, collect different pieces of nature, and tape down our big piece of paper. Once we found different flowers and leaves we tied them onto a piece of string and hung them on the empty picture frame. We had to wait for the sun to shine to be able to trace the shadows our pieces of nature made. One friend even noticed that the wind made our shadows move and made it hard to trace. We will continue working with light and shadows in the upcoming weeks of school. Have a great afternoon!

"The rainbow was upside down so I just turned it the other way!" -A

"We can make a garden right here. We have to make the ground flat first" -M.R.