Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

We had a great two weeks celebrating the life and legacy of one of America's most well loved children's book authors--Dr. Seuss!

We had lots of fun with the Cat in the Hat in The Cat in the Hat and in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back!  It was fun to see how Dr. Seuss created new stories about familiar characters, so we gave it a try.  We wrote stories about the Cat in the Hat at school, at the park, and even at the beach!

That Cat's silly hat was so much fun, we even decided to build with it!  Students worked in groups to see who could build the tallest tower out of "hats." #thesky'sthelimit

We also read lots of other Dr. Seuss favorites like The Lorax, Horton Hears A Who, Horton Hatches the Egg, and Green Eggs and Ham.  Then we worked together with our friends to create some art work to show the characters and setting from each story.

And...because we cannot miss an opportunity to cook, we celebrated first with a Cat in the Hat cookie cake for Dr. Seuss' birthday, and then with a morning of green eggs and ham!

With a vote of 17 YUM! and 4 YUCK!, I think it is safe to say most of us would eat them here, there, and everywhere!  #goinggreen

Bears, Bears, Everywhere!

After learning all about those fun and silly polar penguins, we began another animal study--learning all about bears!

We began our bear adventures by reading about a harmless and snuggly variety of bear--teddy bears!

We spent lots of time reading about Don Freeman's beloved character Corduroy!  We had a great time reading about all of Corduroy's problems with buttons and pockets, and then we created some Corduroy stories of our own!  Our Corduroys had all kinds of problems--from knights and bad guys to falling in the harbor to Batman!  #kindergartencreative

And because reading about cuddly lovable teddy bears is never enough--we made our teddy bears!

But not all bears are small and cuddly!  Some are large and some are growly and some have super long tongues--and we learned about them all!

To investigate a little more about different kinds of bears, children worked in small groups using iPads to complete research journals that hold information about what their bears look like, where they live, what they eat, and other fun facts.

After completing our research journals, it was time to get creative again.  Each group created a multi-media piece of art to showcase their bear and their bear's habitat.  We completed our work by sharing what we had learned and putting our bears on display with our world map in the hallway.

Next it was time for some fun with Gummy Bears!  Have you ever wondered what would happen in you left a gummy bear in cup of water over the weekend?  Well, we know!  #growinggummybears

And...just because we LOVE treats, we make some super yummy teddy bear biscuits. #teachingthewholechild