Wednesday, October 5, 2011

October Newsletter


I can’t believe that it is already October!  I hope to see you all at the Lower Grade Harvest Festival at 3 on Wednesday, October 12 in the small schoolyard!  The children will harvest the produce for our cafeteria, as well as make some other treats, such as lemonade and cucumber mint dip!  Below are short descriptions of what the children will be up to during the month of October!

PRE-KINDERGARTEN
Pre-K scientists will continue their study of the five senses during the month of October.  The students will use their sense of hearing to go on a “listening walk,” use their sense of touch to make Oobleck, and use all five of their senses to make and test popcorn!  We will end the month with a pumpkin study.

KINDERGARTEN
Kindergarten scientists will continue to learn about trees during the month of October.  The students will compare and contrast different types of trees.  They will explore different shaped leaves in order to identify what tree they have come from.  The students will also examine what happens to trees during the fall season.  We will end the month with a pumpkin and squash exploration!

FIRST GRADE
First grade scientists will continue exploring insects.  The students will observe live mealworms in the classroom.  They will become familiar with the life cycle of an insect as they observe the mealworm larva change into a pupa and then an adult beetle.  While making these observations, the students will also become familiar with the structure of an insect body, including the head, abdomen, thorax, antennae and exoskeleton.  Finally, the students will explore what an insect needs to survive. 

SECOND GRADE
Second grade scientists will take what they have learned about rocks and shells during the month of September to begin a more in depth study of rocks.  The students will observe and sort different kinds of rocks.  The students will also act out different experiments, such as rock rubbings and placing the rocks in water, in order to learn about their different properties.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Mystery of the Honey Locust


Second Grade scientists have discovered a scientific mystery in the schoolyard!  The children discovered tiny white larva coming out the the seed pods of the Honey Locust tree in the yard.  After collecting the pods, the students opened them up to look for evidence of insect larva!  Although we only found one actual larva, the students did find many seeds with holes in them.  The children continue to investigate what insect  is feeding on the pods!

How Old is This Tree?


Kindergarten scientists are exploring trees!  This week they examined tree trunks, learning that you can tell the age of a tree by  counting its rings.  After looking closely at pieces of tree trunks to identify the bark, heartwood and rings, the children then made their own trunks using paper plates.  Can you tell how old these trees are?

Meet the Mealworms!

First Grade scientists have been studying Mealworms!  This week they set up homes for their little insects.  The kids decided that the Mealworms needed:
-Food- Oatmeal

Our Mealworm homes!
-Water- in which they get from a piece of apple!
-Oxygen
-Shelter
Keep checking back to see how our Mealworms grow and change over the next couple of weeks!