Summer Snowballs!

 

School is winding down and today was our last "Fun Friday".  The girls are loving our study guide on Junie B. Jones and are working hard with money.  We were so lucky to have a special treat this afternoon--Reese's dad, Evan, was nice enough to come in and cool the girls off with snowballs!  The girls loved that they got to create their own and got a kick out of their tie-dyed tongues!

 

 

 

Pizza Fractions

We began fractions this week and today we used pizza to help the girls understand larger fractions, such as thirds, fourths and eighths.  The girls had to fill in a class riddle of who ate their pizza, how many slices they ate, and then had to write the fraction of pizza left.  It was a lot of fun and the girls got a kick out of the different people who ate their pizza!  At the end of our lesson, the girls created their own pizza which they will use tomorrow for their own riddles.

Water Cycle

Driving up the Lower School driveway, you might ask, "why do you have four Ziplock bags hanging in your window?".  As part of understanding how important the rain forest is to our earth's climate, your daughters learned about the water cycle today.  We taught them that water starts in the ocean, evaporates into the sky, condenses and forms clouds, then precipitates back down to the ocean--then the whole process starts all over again.  The girls created their own cycle using plastic bags and water...and this afternoon have already seen progress--the water has started evaporating and condensation is forming!

Some Pre-Firster's labeling their bag.

 

So proud of their homemade water cycle!

 

Pre-First water cycle in action!

We also made rainsticks, similar to what indigenous people made in South America and Africa, to celebrate the beginning of rain or to bring rain to a dry area.

Taste Test

Today was taste test day!  The girls learned about the different foods that the rain forests provide.  We watched a short video on how chocolate was made many years ago by the indigenous tribes.  After the video, the girls participated in a taste test of different spices that come from the rain forest.  The following spices were used:  Allspice, Cocoa, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, and Vanilla.  Only one spice really threw your daughters....make sure you ask her which one!

Our attempt at an action shot while Blair was tasting something spicy.

Niamh is shocked at her station!

4th Grade Visitors

We had some special visitors come and teach us about conserving the rain forest today....Mrs. Keller's Fourth Grade girls (who recently completed Journey to the River Sea which discusses rain forest conservation).  We paired our Pre-First girls with 1 or 2 fourth graders to talk about and illustrate leaves describing ways to help save our rain forests.  Tomorrow we will hang these beautiful leaves on the tree in our room!

Field Trip to the Rain Forest

Poison dart frogs, tarantulas, and monkeys...OH MY--we definitely were not in Kansas today!  The girls learned first-hand how hot and sticky the rain forest can be.  We saw tons of fish, frogs, snakes, and even saw several monkeys hopping about in the tree-tops!  Only the sloth decided to stay out of view :-(  The girls were also given a sneak peek of the dolphin show and were entranced by the placidity of the jellyfish.  Many thanks to Catelyn's mom and Maia's mom for coming with us on our journey into the city. 

A little lesson on capacity

Today, the girls were given a basic lesson on capacity.  We discussed how capacity is the measurement of what something can hold.  The girls were shown a sand bucket and had to estimate how many times it would take to be filled with the different containers: a yogurt cup, measuring cup, water glass and coffee mug.  After they estimated, they were put into groups of three and went out to the kindergarten sandbox to complete the actual measurement.  The girls discovered while filling the bucket with sand, it took many more times to fill it with a smaller container than a larger one.

 

THANK YOU

A huge THANK YOU to all the parents and special friends who came to our spring concert this morning.  The girls loved seeing you and it was wonderful to chat with you after their performance. 

Please check your daughter's backpacks for your Rain Forest Celebration & Potluck Picnic invitation.  Attached to the invitation is a list of foods from the rain forest--each family is assigned to either appetizer, main dish or dessert.  Try your hardest to bring a creative dish using one of the foods listed.  If you have any questions, please contact Meghann, Muffy or one of the room parents.

 

We also had a publishing party with Mrs. Pohlhaus' first grade class to celebrate the girls completing their "How-To" books.  They had a blast and the first grade girls were very impressed with their writing.  Here are a few pictures from our fun afternoon!