It's a Balancing Act

 What's the expression about having a lot of plates in air?  That's how I felt about our class this week. Learning is full speed ahead in all directions AND we managed a field trip to Mr. Wright's house as well as a visit with Officer Bree- our school resource officer for her famous Kindergarten book give away!  Here's a look through some highlights...

Whether engaged in a math game or a self directed construction project, the children are bringing their full focus.

On Wednesday afternoon we set off into the neighborhood for a glimpse at what Fall looks like for chickens, bees, and Mr. Wright's garden! Our fifth grade buddies helped up keep it safe as we walked on the road and a great time was had by all.

Officer Bree (Brianne Williamson from the SBPD) is our school resource officer.  Each year she visits the Kindergarten classes to introduce herself and give away gently used books that the children are allowed to self select.  Here is a picture of our crew with their new-to-them books.

Moving on...

 We were MOVING this week- and I say that in a very broad sense.   I felt the children deepening their learning across all aspects of the curriculum AND we capped off the week with the 5th Annual Orchard Fun Run!  Let's have a look.

On Monday, we had our first Farm to School session!  The children looked at, felt, smelled, and chopped- beets, cucumbers, and parsley.  They also put together a maple balsamic dressing and got to taste this crunchy, fall salad.  We are very lucky to have F to S brought to us by the Common Roots Organization.

Later in the week we learned a poem about sunflowers reaching the end of summer and withering into fall, only to have their seeds sprout again in spring.  We followed this up with some art work that will make its way to our hallway soon.  Stay tuned for the children's responses to "Good bye summer ________.  Hello fall ________". Their individual answers will be on display in the hallway with their art.

With our minds on fall, we headed outside for a fall scavenger hunt with our big buddies!  Can you see some of the fun signs of fall we spotted?  Look for a scarecrow and an apple on a branch below.

That put us in the mood for creating our October calendars that went home in folders this week.

We finished the week with another marker of time passing- this year's Orchard School Fun Run.  In our bright shirts, we stretched to get ready and were filled with excitement when we made it outside. I think this crew had as much fun cheering on their older friends and siblings as they did running the course themselves.  It was a super successful day!

In this last picture you can see our classmates extending their hands to high five some first grade runners on their way around.

Making Applesauce and Making 5!

 What's to be done with all the apples from apple picking?  ...Make applesauce of course!  This week we washed, chopped, cooked, and smushed (with the help of an old fashioned food mill) our very own apples to make homemade applesauce.  You can even seen two industrious students washing dishes!

Nature has captivated our interest this week and some ladybugs became the focus of a math lesson.  2 hearts plus 3 ladybugs = 5!

You can see the mesh container of live ladybugs in the center of the circle.

We also had fun "spilling" the two-sided beans to show combinations of five.  This page might be familiar from the Friday Folder.

It's Fall!

Thursday of this week was the official first day of fall and we were lucky enough to eek out some dry hours for our field trip to Chapin Orchard! To prepare for this adventure we spent time learning about how the apple tree changes through the seasons, as well as the life cycle of an apple from seed to fruit.  A classic book called The Seasons Of Arnolds Tree provided this inspiration for this art/literacy activity:

At the orchard, we had a fabulous guide named Kathy who tapped into all we had been learning about. She asked for a little help from some of the grown ups who were with us to crank the cider press and...demonstrate the role of a pollinator!  Miss Molly made an excellent bee.

Back at school the learning continued about apples via a taste test on Friday morning.  Which do you like best- red, red, or yellow apples?

Okay, so mouths full may not be the best time to take a picture!

Here's how the children looked while playing a new math game called Break It.  It's all about the combinations that make 5.

All in all, a fabulous week!

First Full Week

We really did pack a lot into our first five day week! The pictures I selected are meant to give you an idea of the different modalities of learning that children are engaged with throughout their days.

The hours spent in my garden over the weekend yielded a treasure box from the fairies that we took to the courtyard.  Building in some additional outdoor time is a must while the weather is mild.

Again I couldn't resist using our celebration time for extra playground time, (though there was a strong suggestion for PJ day).  I assured the children that PJ day is even more fun when it's cold out and there will be one in our future. But for now...

This week we made the second re-readable, predictable book for our keep boxes.  This one is called Shape Monster and the children had fun tearing little corners out of the shapes to look like a monster had a nibble.

In the middle of the week we used pattern blocks to fill in designs and then we recreated the design with paper shapes that could be glued and taken home. You may have seen one come home in the Friday Folder.

We also played our first partner game in math.  It's called "Blastoff" and it involves collaboratively filling in the hexagons with trapezoids, triangles and rhombuses.  When the whole shape is filled in, partners countdown from 10...blastoff!

Explore time continues to be a great way to end our day.  The children follow their own lead and sometimes, after so much interaction, the easel is just the thing.