Hi all,
Monday we charted our seeds' growth. Everyone got a close up look at their sprouts, or not sprouts. We discovered that our lentil seeds had not grown and were quite mushy. Someone suggested that the friends with lots of sprouts share with the children who had none. Yay! The kidney beans and popcorn were growing fantastically.
Tuesday we repotted our seedlings. Everyone got to scoop dirt, place rooted seedlings in cups, and add water. We placed them in the window for more sun. The children decided that when our seed experiment is complete they want to take their plants home instead of planting them in our yard.
We started growing our food rainbow. During snack and lunch we noticed what different colors of fruits and vegetables we're eating. We are writing them on the food rainbow each day. We have purple eggplant, purple carrots, and purple plum. During snack we tried some leafy green vegetables. Some friends were surprised that they liked the way it tasted and wanted more! Some didn’t think it would be very good at all. Another friend said they only eat salad if mom’s there. We added arugula and dandelion to our rainbow.
We began music with Alex. While half of us were in the classroom we heard the sounds of a drum. The children told us they used our maracas too.
We read The Giving Tree (again), and talked about all the parts the tree gave to the boy. Two people questioned if the tree could still be happy after giving everything away. We looked around our room for things made from trees and discovered bunches. Then we looked in our mind's eye around the big room and found more. Trees Are Nice. Another book on our shelf.
We peeled apples using The Amazing Apple Peeler! It cores, peels, and slices all at once. Only $19.95! The children identified several simple machines on it, many wedges, a screw, and a lever. We boiled the apples into applesauce. Yum! Two children said they didn't want any but one of them changed their mind when we were serving it.
Melissa joined us for circle on Friday. She works for the Environmental Protection Agency and explained what that means. She brought two fish sponge friends that went swimming in a river. During their swim the water became polluted with mud, cow poop, gasoline runoff, trash, and fertilizer. Friends were able to add cups of the pretend pollution to the water and watch as it got cloudier and dirtier, making it harder for our fish friends to swim. Melissa passed around rubber bands, we wrapped them around our hands to feel how it’s hard to move. She told us this happens to fish and birds when they swim into plastic and their fins get caught. It makes it harder for them to swim to clean water. She explained a little about acid rain, she said it won’t hurt our skin but it feels bad on the skin of animals. We talked about ways we can keep the water clean: pick up our trash, recycle, and clean up our dogs' poop!
We have added blank books to our drawing and writing area. Everyone has their own book to use after snack, lunch, or at dropoff. The children are adding each day and will bring them home at the end of the year.
In the big room, we are playing with blocks, food, babies, wheels and the jungle gym. However, during quiet time we regularly have seven to eight sleepers.
See y'all in the morning,
Therese and Anna