Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Pumpkin Jack

Woah! Pumpkin Jack changed a LOT over the weekend! Here are some pictures from Day 11.

Unfortunately, Punkin' Chunkin' has been canceled this year due to lack of a coordinator for the event. HOWEVER, you can come see Pumpkin Jack tomorrow during our PTA Harvest Pot Luck event! Pumpkin Jack will be on display and our observations and predictions will also be available for viewing. This would also be the perfect time to come check out your student's work down by the classroom.

Hope to see you there!
Mrs. C

Monday, October 26, 2015

Student-Led Conferences

If you have not already signed up for a conference, please use the link below to sign up!

Student Led Conferences


We're using VolunteerSpot (the leading online Sign-up and reminder tool) to organize our upcoming Sign-ups.


Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1) Click this link to see our Sign-Up on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/C6W77j
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on VolunteerSpot.

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins

In preparation for our first field trip to the pumpkin patch, our class has been doing some work with pumpkins.

We have read many books about pumpkins, including one called "Pumpkin Jack." This book introduced the idea that once you carve a pumpkin it eventually starts to decompose, which inspired our investigation to see how long it will take for our own pumpkin Jack to decompose. We carved a pumpkin, put it in some soil, and we have been waiting.






After the first 6 days we immediately started to see a change. There is already mold growing inside Jack and it is growing out of his face holes!



Come see what pumpkin Jack looks like on day 17 at the Punkin' Chunkin' hosted by the PTA on November 1st up on the play fields next to our school. See the PTA website for more information.

We also did some investigations with a pumpkin including seeing if a pumpkin would travel straight or not when rolled.



In non-pumpkin related news, last week Mrs. C got to watch the class as they performed "Where The Wild Things Are" in Performing Arts with Ms. Nelson. Make sure to come to the Fall Harvest PTA Potluck this coming Wednesday, October 28th to K-2 students perform something they have been working on from Performing Arts too!





We are so excited for our field trip on Tuesday to Carpitino Brothers Farm! Check back for pictures from our adventures.

~Mrs. C

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Learning to work together

As we continue to build our community in Room 134, we have been enjoying getting to know one another, learning how to share our work, and how be friends with others. Here are some ways we have been working together!

We have been working hard in our writing journals. It is so fun to share stories with friends!


When we are working hard, we often need to give our brains a break. Here we are scooping friendship onto our heads with Maximo from GoNoodle!


We love doing science investigations together. Did you know that raisins can dance?!?



Kindergarten is so much fun!

~Mrs. C

Sunday, October 4, 2015

We Love Apples!

In honor of the start of fall, we put on our scientist hats last week to do some work with apples!

Monday, we looked at the life cycle of an apple. We even acted out with our bodies what it would be like to complete the apple life cycle. In order to share our learning we made a life cycle to bring home.

Tuesday, we looked at whether various objects from the classroom would sink or float in water. We then took our learnings to create a prediction (our best guess) about what would happen with apples. We graphed our class predictions and then found out that apples DO FLOAT! We drew a picture to show what happened and to share with our families.



Wednesday, we explored the question "How can we keep apple slices from turning brown?" We use 5 different liquids (water, soda water, lemon juice, soda, and vinegar) and a control to try and find a solution. We observed the apples right when we put them in the liquids, 3 hours later and then the next day. We found that water and lemon juice kept the apples from turning brown best. 

Thursday, we made apple sauce! Students got to help prepare the apple sauce by cutting the apples into small bits and then after cooking it in the crockpot, we smashed the apples. Then we got to eat it and it was delicious! Mr. O even came and had a try!


Friday, we discussed how in the world there can be physical and chemical changes. We then created a chemical change of our own by making Apple-Canos!


What a great week!

~Mrs. C