JK Geometry

The JK's have been experimenting with some of the geometry materials we have in the class for the last couple of weeks.  They have built triangles, squares, rectangles and cubes.  A few of them decided to collaborate and join their cubes together to make a BIG building.  Some were trying to use the geometric solids to build a castle as tall as they are.

 

 

 

Spring Sun

The SK's took advantage of the sunny warm weather to enjoy some outdoor play time.  Good thing too as it is pouring rain today and we are inside.  For a change the playground was nice and dry so students spent time playing on the music wall, digging holes, building structures in the sand, etc.  We even had a surprise visitor poke his head out to see what we were up to.

 

Building the Leaning Tower of Pisa

 Stretching our legs

Counting all the rocks in the playground

Looking for seeds

Playing music on the music wall and singing 'Jingle Bells'

Walking the tightrope

 

Check out this furry member of KG School who seems to be living under the shed near our playground.  Can you see him?  He came out to see what all the noise was about and then promptly ran away.  He was too curious though and kept sneaking back to check out the action.

Making Colour Discovery Bottles

In keeping with our exploration into colour mixing in JK and our book study of Mouse Paint, we thought we would try to make colour discovery bottles.  I found an idea on Pinterest that involved using coloured water and coloured candle oil.  Finding coloured candle oil was a challenge and the results weren't exactly what we had hoped for.  Most of the class wanted to make purple but we did have one student that picked green and one who picked orange.
 

For the students making purple we used blue candle oil and red water which looked like this before it was sealed.  We sealed the bottles with a glue gun and then everyone shook up their bottles.



We had fun shaking them but we didn't get the full mixture of colours that we thought we would get.  We could see the layers of coloured oil and water and thought they would mix up and make our secondary colour when we shook the bottle and then separate again when the two layers settled.  We did get some colour mixing but only near the top.  It was still fun to experiment and see what would happen.

More Giant Measurement

Continuing with measurement this week in SK, students cut out the giant's hand and compared it to their own hands.

We selected 4 different materials and estimated how many of each it would take to cover the giant's hand.  Then the groups worked together to cover as much of the hand as possible.  We discovered that it was easier to cover the giant's hand with smaller size materials - but much harder to count.

From smallest number to greatest number we found out:

• It took 34 dinosaurs to cover the giant's hand.
• It took 54 cubes.
• It took 110 lima beans
• It took 380 black beans.  Whew.

After discussing the results of our measurement activities, many of the students made the connection that the larger the measurement tool they used, the smaller the number would be.  Good thinking SK.

Point of View with Jack and the Giant

This week in SK we read Jack and the Beanstalk by Tim Paulson.  This was a neat story because it was two stories in one or an upside down tale.  The first side was the traditional tale from Jack's point of view.  Then we flipped the book over to read The Beanstalk Incident which told the Giant's story.

 

After we read both sides of the story we began to discuss which story we believed to be true. Some of the talk between the students and their comments were very interesting.  Here are just a few of their comments:

 

I can't really choose.  I don't know who to believe - CP

 

I don't believe anyone - GR

 

I believe both stories could be true - DRP

 

I don't know why the giant didn't get mad when Jack stole the goose in his story - DJP

 

We completed a graph in math and these were our results:

 

 

 

Jack and the Beanstalk Measurement

As you know, we have been reading different versions of Jack and the Beanstalk this month.  We extended our learning into measurement in math.  When the students came back from the gym, they found a message from the giant and some copies of his footprints.  The message said, "Fee, fie, foe, fum.  There is a lot of measuring to be done..."

The students traced their own foot and compared it to the giant's footprint.  Then they went around the classroom and looked for things that were longer, shorter and the same size as the giant's footprint.

 

This is what they found out with their explorations so far:

 

 

Bean Plant Update

The bean plants that the JK's and SK's planted last week have begun to sprout.

SK Plants

JK Plants

 

What a difference a day makes.  The JK's planted their seeds last Tuesday and the SK's last Wednesday. 

 

In SK, the students have begun to work in their plant journals.  They drew pictures and labeled what their plant needs to grow:  soil, water, sunlight and seeds. 

Their Day 7 Observations included a picture and written observation of  what they saw happening with their plant.  They recorded whether or not they watered their plant today and if they saw any growth.