Making a Globe

We studied the Earth this week and learned about Earth Day.  We talked about the different layers of the Earth and how the Earth is mainly covered in water.  We decided to create a globe of our Earth.  First we started by cutting strips of newspaper.  Then we messily applied them to a balloon and let it dry overnight. Today, we started painting our globe. We also went to the collaboratory where some students built towers to space with the large blue blocks.  When we went outside, we studied the rocks and wondered what layer of the Earth they were from and decided to color them brighter colors.  Ask your child what they learned about the Earth this week.

"Why are we making strips?" -M.S.

"This is very messy," -B.

"When are we going to paint it green?"- M.Y.

"Look what I built," -A.

 

Earth Day

 Good afternoon! Today we celebrated a special holiday, Earth Day! During our morning meeting the class remembered what day it was and why it was special. One child said "Earth day is when we help take care of the earth by cleaning up trash" We also talked about how recycling works and different things that we can recycle. Our class named: bottles, cans, cardboard, paper, and plastic as recyclable materials. One student mentioned how we recycle paper in our blue recycling bin in our classroom. 

On the hillside we made our own nature paintbrushes and painted an earth day painting. Some of the class collected sticks, leaves, grass, and other items to paint with on our paper. We also took turns cleaning our small dinosaurs in soapy water. On our walk today we noticed hens and chickens in a chicken coop close to school! We also saw a blue jay and a cardinal on our walk near the forest. Our class decided that a great way to celebrate earth day was to spend as much time outside as we could. Have a great evening!

"I see 3 chickens in the cage!" -S

We love watching the little tree grow.

"I found this big leaf!" -M.S.

"I see the blue jay up in this tree!" -B

Our Mud Kitchen Restaurant

 Good afternoon! When we went outside to the hillside this morning we noticed some small pieces of ice and snow on the table and the bench. Our class felt the ice and wondered how long it would take for it to melt off the bench and table. One friend said "We can put it in this cup and see how long it takes to turn into water!" Some of the class helped collect small pieces of ice and snow to put in the cups. They realized that it didn't take long and all of the ice and snow melted! In the mud kitchen the girls decided to make a restaurant with menus and food. They got their paper menus ready and asked the boys if they would like to come to their restaurant and order food. They boys sat down at the restaurant and ordered what they wanted for lunch while the girls wrote down their orders and cooked the pretend food. Ask your child about what we did our mud kitchen restaurant today. Have a great evening.

"Look at all of the ice!" -F

"It feels so cold still" -M.R.

"What kind of food do you want?" -T

"These magnetic blocks stick to this pan!" -B

"How does it do that?" -S

"I can take your order" -M.S.

"What do you want to eat and drink?" -A

"Here's your cheese pizza and lemonade" -M.R.

Earth Day at the Forest

Today we talked about Earth Day at our morning meeting. We talked about how we need to take care of Earth and keep it clean.  We decided we could celebrate Earth Day by picking up stuff in the forest that others left behind.  We brought our trash bag and headed to the forest.  When we got there we saw a newly planted tree that another Ambrose Classroom had planted. Then we went in the forest to see what we could find.  Our forest friend asked why we were picking up stuff and putting it in the bag. Students said it was for Earth Day.  Then they explained why Earth Day was important to celebrate.  We found a few items that we put in our trash bag.  We searched the forest as we ran along the paths and climbed our favorite logs.  We will continue talking about Earth Day this week  When we got back to the classroom we explored lights and shadows with an overhead projector.  Ask your child about Earth Day this week.

"What is Earth Day?" -M.B.

"Earth Day is taking care of the Earth," -A.

"And you pick up trash," -T.

"It looks like it could be a bonfire," -B.

"It's toasty," -F.

"Look what I found," -M.B.

The newly planted tree.

 

Playscape Exploration

Good afternoon! Today in the Birch room we strengthened our fine motor skills by rolling, patting, and modeling playdough. Some of the class also made new suncatchers for our windows out of contact paper, small beads, pieces of pipe cleaners, and small pieces of tissue paper. We had a conversation today about a special day this week that we are celebrating all week, Earth Day! I asked the class what Earth Day was and one student replied: "Earth Day is when you help clean up the earth" and another student said "Earth Day is when we have to take care of the earth" We brainstormed ideas about how to take care of the earth including our playscape, the forest, and the neighborhood. Some of the class suggested we could pick up trash we see outside, plant flowers and take care of them, and that we make sure not to pick leaves off of trees. Ask your child about Earth Day and what they can do to help our earth and community. Have a great evening!

"I can add these sequins to make my suncatcher shiny!" -M.S.

"Let's make a ramp for our cars!" -T

"We have to collect food for our animals" -M.Y.

"The food is going to be leaves and sticks" -B

"We are building a house in the shade. At the end we will put a roof on the house" -A

"I wonder if we can dig a secret passage way in the sand" -F

"I think we can, right here by this rock" -S