Raptors, Spring, and Stories

"I need to go hunt for mice. You stay on the eggs."

"Okay but I get to hunt next."

Our kids were playing "raptor" this week. We had barred owls, red-tailed hawks, and a "red-eyed eagle." It's cool to hear them repeating information we have learned in books and videos about the life cycle of these birds, the foods they eat, and their calls. There has also been a bunch of interest in wildlife rehabilitators and learning how injured birds can be cared for until they are ready to be released. Their play reinforces what we are learning. It also gives me a chance to ask a few more questions to check their understanding and stretch their learning a little bit farther.

Rose's PK and K Class

• Students mixed colored water to create new colors. One younger student was amazed that an older student was able to make 12 new colors from the 3 original (primary) ones. 

• We made letters out of pipe cleaners and matched dominoes.

• We played with and decorated a giant box - it morphed from rocket ship to house to open shelter to...dance floor. 

• We played with sequence cards. Students put picture cards in the correct order to create a story that made sense with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

• We also used the giant felt board to take turns telling part of a story using felt pieces.

• We attempted to start a grocery store, with students taking turns being the cashier. However, when pricing issues caused a delay in the checkout process, some students quickly decided to become "criminals."

• We made collages from seed catalogues to celebrate the first day of spring. 

• We made up a game where students got up to dance when I called a word rhyming with a card they held.

• As a math project, we completely sorted and organized all the sets of small toys in the playroom. Students then decided to re-arrange the whole room but had to decide which stations would best fit next to others. 

Tracy's 1st - 4th Class

In math, we have been working on placing different numbers on a number line, particularly fractions or decimals. The second-grade class continues to practice double digit subtraction and measuring. We also worked this week on defining different polygons by their attributes and older students jumped in to help clarify. The third-grade class is comparing different fractions and finding equivalent fractions. The fourth graders are multiplying fractions and tried out some real-life fraction multiplying when they created a 1.5 batch of blueberry muffins.

In writing, everyone is working on a fiction story. We have had conversations about perspective and voice (first person versus third person), interesting introductions, and techniques to keep an audience interested. We looked at elements of 999 Tadpoles to figure out what made it a good story. Look forward to a publishing party on Friday before our spring vacation!

In reading, we have been looking at how context impacts the meaning and sometimes pronunciation of words.