Hello All! I hope this post finds everyone happy and healthy. The kindergartners have been soaring while exploring different birds and their habitats. This interest came from the question "Is rain helpful or harmful for birds?" Many of the children have a misconception that rain is harmful because the rain will harm the babies and they wanted to investigate more. The projects the children are creating are incredible! Everything from clay crabs and fish (what bald eagles eat) to a cylinder-shaped tree that holds the nest, the students can't stop creating and exploring as they learn new facts about birds. They all rolled their sleeves up and got a little messy when we mixed water and dirt to create the base for our bird nests. Andrew, Sophia, Isabella M., and Marlo have started on creating their bird houses. The fact that most birds enjoy worms and other insects is fascinating to many of them, and they are starting to find information on the different insects that they find in their yard at home or school yard. Here are a few pictures for you to see the little investigators in action:

Marlo, Sophia, and Isabella are working together to fill their bird houses.

Marlo and Andrew and busy painting a bird house and working on constructing a branch for a tree.

Alexis just couldn't get her black-capped chickadee to look how she wanted, but she finally did it!

Miss Leslie, Nathan, and Aidan are looking at website designed specially for children research.

The children and I took a beautiful nature walk today, observing the outdoors and listening to the sounds that could be heard. Before we went out, we predicted what we would see and hear. They came up with cars on the street, the wind, children talking, and birds chirping. They also said they would see lots of trees, bushes, dirt, birds, and rocks. They got their binoculars and clipboards and they were ready to go. Here are some things the children stumbled upon: an old tire, dandelions, a pile of sticks, animal holes, and most importantly, a pond! The children's discovery of a small pond was the highlight of their afternoon and will continue to be embedded into our weekly explorations. Here are is what some of the children said about their nature walk:

"I'm going to ask my dad to come back after school to explore more." (Aidan)

"Litter makes the Earth sad." (Nathan)

"I like trees and the smell of it." (Sophia)

"I liked seeing the tire because it looks like my dad's." (Alexis)

"Shhh... we will scare the birds!" (Isabella M.)

"I didn't like it as much because I don't like bugs." (J'Lyn)

"I don't want to go back inside!" (Aaliyah)

"I'm going to take a nature walk at the park by my house!" (Jordan)

In math, a major focus for the children has been addition, subtraction, and learning about money. The children are identifying the name and value of the coin, and are beginning to understand the exchange process. They are being introduced place value next week, specifically the ones and tens column. The children love that Daily 5 Math has been added to their day, because they love the hands-on learning approach! The children are also understanding that words are made up of parts, and these parts can help us read and write. We are working on the word pattern -and right now, and found it very exciting that Andrew has the word pattern in his own name! I have been helping the children put stories in the correct sequence starting from the beginning. Being able to re-tell a story from the beginning, middle, to end is a very important comprehension skill that you can practice at home as well!

I could go on and on about our days here in kindergarten, but no blog post will ever capture how lucky we all are for our ability to learn and wonder. Have a restful weekend!

Hi Families!

Thank you for all who came to this year's student-led conference in Kindergarten. The children were very excited to how you their classroom and celebrate their learning. If anyone would like an additional conference, please let me know and we can set up a time that works for you.

Last week, COSI visited our school and provided the children with engaging, hands-on experiences. COSI On Wheels is the traveling outreach program of COSI that engages the students with a dynamic opening assembly and fun, hands-on science activities aligned with the Ohio Academic Content Standards and the National Science Education Standards. There were 10 stations set up with different activities, encouraging the children to explore with different concepts of chemistry. They were able to create light, test objects to see if they would float or sink, write secret messages to each other using invisible ink, testing liquids to see if they were acids or bases, and so much more. The most popular activity with the children was the making of ooey, gooey, slime, which is not surprising to me at all! Aidan came up to me with a giant smile on his face and said "this is the best day of my life!" It was such a fun day. Thank you to Shelly Penrod and Jenny Neel for helping out with the stations! Here is a slide show of their learning:

A free slideshow by Smilebox

For our project time, the students have been investigating birds and whether or not rain is harmful or helpful for birds. This question was developed after the student's made their own rain gauges and measured how much rain they had collected. They just weren't sure what animals, especially birds, do when it rains. The students are choosing what bird they want to investigate, and are in the middle of creating the bird. Some students chose to use recycled materials to build their bird, and others are sewing a bird using felt and a needle. Kaydence really enjoys taking that time to write in her journal about birds and how "pretty" they can be. Jordan and Andrew like to go to the observation window and use the binoculars to see if there are any birds they can identify using a guide for reference. Because of their interest in water and birds, I see this investigation going far!






Jordan and Andrew identifying the birds in their own school yard.


I would also like to give a BIG thank you to Mr. Capoun, Marlo's dad, for he rototilled the Kindergarten garden soil to prepare for the growth of seeds. The garden is going to be a "fairy tale" garden, incorporating many plants and vegetables that are seen in popular fairy tales. We are so fortunate for his willingness and time! Thank you!

Everyone have a safe and relaxing spring break!