Don't Pick the Flowers! (and other important messages from the children)

As part of a school-wide initiative, the morning class helped clean up the garbage in the school yard. This led to discussions about littering and the damaging effects it has on the natural environment.






The afternoon class was very excited about the beautiful flowers growing in our courtyard. Subsequently, they were quite upset when they found that the flowers had been picked. Although they tried to revive the picked flowers by bringing them into the classroom and giving them soil, water and sunlight, the flowers died.

In an effort to bring awareness to the greater school community about littering and not hurting the flowers, the children created posters. These included messages, such as "Don't pick the flowers!" that are relevant to them that want to share with others. 

Growing Tall Like Trees

 The children and I created these "forests" to measure and compare their heights. After cutting a strip of brown paper according to their individual heights, we used a measuring tape to measure their height in centimetres. Then we used paint to measure how many "hands" tall they were. 

Primary Colour Dolls

The children have been experimenting with primary (blue, red, yellow) and secondary (purple, orange, green) colours. After reading Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni, we created our own colour stories using red, blue and yellow pastels. 

They look beautiful on display! Visit the hallway right outside our classroom for a better view.

We then created our very own primary colour dolls. First, we covered an old spindle with red, blue and yellow tissue paper. Next, we painted a styrofoam ball to be our head and glued on yarn for hair and googly eyes.

Measurement: Length and Area

 The children worked as a class to compare the area of our classroom carpets. They covered each carpet with sheets of 81/2 x 11 paper and created strategies for counting the number of sheets used  (one student stepped on each sheet while we counted aloud, each child counted a small section of the carpet, counting the paper as they were picked up, etc.)

 Some children wanted to extend this idea to comparing papers of different sizes by covering them with objects, such as unifix cubes.

 Working in small groups, the children measured the lengths of our classroom carpets by lining up objects, like cubes, chain links and straws end to end and counting the number of materials used.

At Home: Help your child measure common household items (e.g. furniture, books, pillows) using their hands, blocks, straws, etc. This is also a great way to measure distance. How may steps does it take to get from the elevator to your apartment door? 

Field Trip: Toronto Botanical Gardens

 The children and I had an amazing time at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. Thank you to our parent volunteers for making this experience possible. Here are some highlights from our trip: 

The apartment building of some red wiggler worms

One level of the apartment: the kitchen equipped with compost

We had a chance to hold our new worm friends

The morning class planted parsnip seeds

The afternoon class planted carrot seeds

You are welcome to visit the gardens and watch our vegetables grow. All of the vegetables planted will be harvested and donated to a local food bank

We know that plants need soil, sun and water to grow

We used treasure finders to open our eyes to all of the natural treasures around us. At Home: Create your own treasure finder using a container lid or piece of cardboard and discover your own natural treasures in your neighbourhood.

We went on a scavenger hunt to look for signs of spring.

We looked through the gardens to find "pieces of the rainbow" in nature.
At Home: This is an easy activity to do with your child. Use paint chips or coloured paper and search your neighbourhood to find your own pieces of the rainbow in nature.

Wondering About Worms

 After our Backyard Bugs workshop, the children have been interested in finding out more about the creepy crawlies around them. Digging for worms in our own backyard has become an activity the children look forward to. 

        

 After gathering the worms, we brought them into the classroom for a closer look.






Examining worms helps us think about questions we want to research. 

Board Games

The children have been enjoying developing their number sense by playing Snakes and Ladders.


At Home: Board games involving rolling a die and moving from one end of the board to another is a fun and easy way to engage your child while furthering their understanding of number. Skills that are being honed include: number recognition, recognizing quantities without counting, principles of counting, understanding of quantity (numbers get bigger as you move forward and decrease as you move back).