It's a Farm in Here!!

We're growing all kinds of things in Kindergarten!!  We have been growing plants in our garden, and we're even growing CHICKS in our incubator!!

We had a slight mix up on set dates at the hatchery--we expected chicks this last week, but we haven't seen a crack or heard a peep!  But the good news is we have been taking great care of our little eggs, and they should have everything they need to make an appearance this week!  

In the meantime we have been learning all about chicks and how they grow and change.  We have read lots of informational books about chickens and other oviparous animals and created some informational books of our own. 

 

 

We have also done a few egg-vestigations.  We cracked a few eggs--don't worry, these eggs were from the grocery store--and got to see where and how the chicks live and grow while they are in the shell.  Then we explored just how strong and protective those shells are.

We found out that four egg shells could easily hold thirteen hardback books AND a whole box of reading materials even though just one book felt much heavier than a little egg!

But...four egg shells are NOT strong enough to hold a Kindergarten sized human! 

We have also had some not so informational experiences with chickens.  We have read classics like Chicken Little and The Little Red Hen, as well as new favorites with a fun twist.  We loved listening the The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza.  So, of course, we made a pizza!! YUM!

 

 

I will keep you updated on the hatch!  

Garden Update

What a difference a little time makes!!  We have been diligently watering our garden and keeping track of how our plants are growing over the past couple of weeks--and we have loved every minute of it!!  Today we broke out the rulers and did some more precise measurements of our favorite plants!

 

I am afraid that we are soon going to out grow our swimming pool!!

                                     

                                                         

You can check out the growth below.  The pictures on the left are from last Friday, and the ones on the right I took today!

How Does Your Garden Grow? In a POOL!

We have been busy learning about plants and how they grow!  

Before we left for Spring Break, we investigated sand, soil, and rocks.  We decided to conduct an experiment to determine if bean seeds would grow best in sand, soil, or rocks.  The kids wrote arguments to support their ideas, and we got our results after the break!

We checked out our sprouts, measured, and found out that SOIL is definitely the BEST for growing beans! 

                                      

So...we decided to use soil in our classroom garden!  We planted lots of vegetables and some flowers too!  We used popsicle sticks to keep track of where we planted, and we gave our little seeds, bulbs, and sprouts lots of water.  Hopefully we will have lots of new little plants soon!  Thank you to everyone who helped out with our garden!

 

 

In addition to all our planting, we have written about plants--teaching books and imaginary stories.

 

And after reading Growing Vegetable Soup, we made some vegetable soup of our own! 

 

It was good to the last drop!

Happy Easter!

We spent the week celebrating all things Spring and the Easter Bunny last week!  We read The Easter Egg by Jan Brett (one of my most favorite Easter Bunny stories), and created some prize winning eggs of our own!  

Then we got together with our reading buddies and spent some time looking for eggs!  Our egg hunt was more of a scavenger hunt, and our buddies were a big help!  They helped keep us organized and helped us make sure we had all the eggs we needed!  Thanks, buddies! 

 

 

Then we finished off the week with Easter egg painting, bunny making with shapes, and Easter s'mores!  You haven't had a s'more until you've had one with a peep inside!!  (Sorry no pictures!!  We were all pretty much covered in melted peeps from our elbows to our ears! )

That Sneaky Leprechaun!

St. Patrick's Day was filled with fun, leprechaun traps, and big messes from a VERY sneaky leprechaun!  We don't know much about him, but we do know that he LOVES Ms. Mary Ann!  

 

 

Maybe we will catch him next year! 

We also had fun measuring leprechauns and eating some magical leprechaun pie--not everyone was a fan!

 

  

And...while it wasn't quite fitting with our St. Patrick's Day theme, we had a SUPER cool visit from the folks--and a few animals, too--at the Georgia Aquarium.  We got to see a chocolate chip sea star, a sea urchin, a hermit crab, and a sea cucumber!  Children got to explore the animals close up, and we even got to touch the sea star!  

 

 

 

This and That...

We have been CRAZY busy in Kindergarten the past few weeks--the kind of busy where you forget you are supposed to be camera man!  Here are a few highlights--sorry! 

We finished up our Mo Willems author study by reading Today I Will Fly! and making Piggie fly!!  (When we draw Piggie on a piece of paper that we then use to make a paper airplane!)

We participated in a school wide STEAM challenge connected to the book Rosie Revere, Engineer and created flying machines just like Rosie--our materials were just a little different!  See if you can improve your flying machine at home this weekend! 

 

We also had lots of Dr. Seuss fun!  There were books and paint and cats and and people houses and green eggs and ham...

 

And yesterday we had a chance to participate in our first ever Mustang Olympics!  There were tons of great activities, and we had a blast!  Everyone participated in seven Olympic worthy activities in about 50 minutes--we some tired kiddos on our hands!