Studying Plants

We are deep into our latest science unit where we will be learning about plants:  what they need to grow, their different parts and how plants survive.  The girls all know that plants need water to grow.  This week the girls were given the question, "where does water go in plants"?  We are conducting an experiment to learn exactly where water goes to help a plant grow.  The girls were broken into pairs and given a white carnation.  The pair then chose 2 different colors to put into their water and we split the stem of their carnation. The girls made predictions about what was going to happen to their carnation.  They will be observing and recording the changes to their carnations over the next week.

Today we continued our study of plants while we discussed how plants' roots are the same and different.  The girls were broken into 3 groups and were given a beet and a carrot.  They had to discuss what they noticed about these 2 roots.  We then sliced the beet and carrot in half and the girls had to record the similarities and differences between the two.  We will continue this experiment on Monday.

We also celebrated our 2 spring birthdays today with cupcakes and special drinks!  What a great way to end our week!

Spring Centers and Math

What's that famous saying about the weather?  "If you don't like the weather in Maryland, wait 5 minutes." We are pretty sure that Maryland has lived up to its notorious reputation and your daughters have done an amazing job adjusting to the rapidly changing temperatures.  Since we don't have school tomorrow, the girls had a "Thrilling Thursday" instead of a "Fun Friday".  We started out our day with a word wall hunt on the playground.  The girls had to find four different words and correctly record them on their sheets.

During Reader's Workshop, the class worked quietly and cooperatively in their centers while we read with reading groups.  The centers this week were:  putting a cut-up poem back together, chunking spring words, stamping their word wall words, and working together to complete a Rain Forest Frog puzzle.

Today in math, the girls completed a packet using jelly beans.  First they had to sort their jelly beans by color.  Then they had to tally, graph, and create patterns using their jelly beans.  We have been working on all of these math concepts in math and the girls proved to us today that they each have a strong understanding of these concepts.  Please have a wonderful 4 day weekend and we will see you all next Tuesday!

Technology: Dot

Our Technology Integrator, Lanette Walters, lent me a wonderful book to share with the girls. Dot tells the story of a young girl who loves technology, but discovers that she needs balance in her life. She learns that she is perfectly happy taking a break from her electronics and playing outside. The girls and I discussed Dot's adventures and how there can be too much of a good thing. They then used My Story to illustrate and record descriptions of two activities that they enjoy doing after school: one involving technology and one not involving technology.

French: Ça Fait Rire les Oiseaux

The girls and I are preparing for their quickly approaching Spring Concert performance. This year, they will be singing "Ça Fait Rire les Oiseaux," a very upbeat and catchy French song (I wouldn't be surprised if some of you have already heard parts of it at home). In addition to practicing the tune, the girls are learning the meaning of the vocabulary words. We put their knowledge to the test on Friday by imagining that there was a pool of water in the classroom. We laid out pictures of the vocabulary words to create stepping stones. The girls hopped across by saying each of the words. We had a few who fell in and had to swim to shore, but overall they are making excellent progress!

From the Library

Pre-first girls have been reading a variety of old favorites and great new books in library. Oldies include Stella Luna (ask your daughter how Stella Luna adapted to living as a bird), Dr. Seuss' very clever Sneetches, (is it really better to have a star on your belly?), Lily Toy Hong's  great story about doubling, Two of Everything, (how did the surprise backfire? How many Haktaks were there at the end?)  and Remy Charlip's Fortunately (ask your daughter about these lines "Fortunately he missed the pitchfork. Unfortunately he missed the haystack.") Newer books include Kevin Henke's Penny series, Penny and Her Song, Penny and Her Doll, and the heart-warming Penny and Her Marble in which she takes something that doesn't belong to her. The Invisible Boy is a beautiful new book about a young boy who feels invisible until he finds a friend. Lighter-themed books were the Urgency Emergency series (why did the spider need stitches? Who had to take her home while she recovered?) and Julia Donaldson's Highway Rat. Pre-first girls have become experts at finding, checking out and returning books.

Transition Words, Plant Journals and More Comparing Numbers

We have begun planning our next Writer's Workshop book.  The girls will be writing a How-To non-fiction book using the transition words that they were introduced to today.  We sorted the different transition words (first, after that, etc) according to where we would use them in a story.  Then we used these words to help us arrange the steps of how the girls get ready for lunch.

The girls were then paired up and had to use the Popplet Lite app to plan out the steps of how to build a snowman.

We also started our plant journal where we will record our predictions and observations about our sunflowers.

In math we continued to compare numbers using the >,<, and = signs.  The girls rolled 2 dice to make numbers and then had to use the correct sign when comparing them.

Comparing Numbers and Spring Planting

The girls began comparing numbers today using the greater than and less than signs.  They were put into pairs and had to use popsicle sticks to create an alligator mouth which would then "eat" the greater number.  The girls wrote the number sentence on their iPads using the Doodle Buddy app.   Whomever's number was greater read the sentence aloud and got to keep the cards.

We also planted our seeds today!  The girls got their hands a bit dirty as we put the soil into our pots, planted our seeds and watered them.  Be sure to ask your daughter what seeds we planted.