Kindergarten has been learning all about pumpkins! We started off our unit with a trip to the Middle School Pumpkin Patch where we were able to see pumpkins at all stages of their life cycle! We saw beautiful pumpkin blossoms, tiny pumpkins growing where the blossoms were wilting, and big green pumpkins that were just waiting to turn orange. It was so exciting to see the hard work of our older students. Next, we went back to the classroom to learn all about the stages of the pumpkin life cycle and taste some roasted pumpkin seeds. The book Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell was a sweet way to reinforce that learning. On Friday we carved our own Pumpkin Jack and made “pumpkin pies”. The students have been checking our pumpkin every morning for signs of decomposition and we finally saw some! Pumpkin Jack was carried out to the edge of our playground so we can continue to watch him decompose all winter. We love pumpkins, whether they are yummy or gross!
We love our STEM Fridays in Kindergarten! The students are put into groups and given a box of materials along with a “building challenge”. They come up with a plan then work together to execute that plan. As scientists, the students often find that their original plan doesn’t work the way they thought it would. Initially frustration can set in but as the year progresses the students become better problem solvers and ask important questions like, “what went wrong”, and “how can we improve on that step to make sure it doesn’t happen again”. They think they are getting a fun afternoon off of their work but we know they are doing the most important work!
Mommy Spa is one of the events I most look forward to in kindergarten. The students work so hard to make sure the moms are the main attraction and this year they really succeeded! Moms were treated to nail painting, hair styling, massages, makeup, snacks and some special interview questions with their children. While the moms did get some crafts that we worked pretty hard on the main gift was time spent together!
We really enjoy our Fun Friday activities. This month’s Stem Friday just happened to fall during Read Across American week so we decided to build Cat in the Hat towers! Each group had a stack of red plastic cups and white index cards. Their challenge was to build a tower- tall or wide- it didn’t matter as long as they worked as a team. There is always one group that takes off really fast but eventually all of the groups get the idea. We had a lot of fun and also learned about persistence and regrouping after a setback. It can be hard to admit that your plan didn’t work out and even harder to try someone else’s ideas.
We did it! We made it to the 100th day of school! And we celebrated big! On our 99th day of school we dressed up as if we were 99 years old. We played bingo and even had a birthday party for ourselves. Then, one day later, we celebrated all things 100. We wore our Froot Loop necklaces that had 100 pieces of cereal on them (sorted into groups of 10 by colors of course). We wore our special 100 Days of School shirts and did 100 exercises with Jack Hartmann. We counted how far 100 steps would take us- almost to the cafeteria if you were wondering. That afternoon we broke into groups for our 100 Day stations. The class had so much fun working together to show off their knowledge of the number 100!
