Earth Day

I'd like to think that in JK, we celebrate Earth Day, everyday!

 

A few opportunities presented themselves, and we explored how we can be stewards of the earth. We started off the week learning a new song by local singer/songwriter: Chris McKhool from his album titled: Earth, Seas and Air .

 

https://soundcloud.com/jk-atelier/mother-earth

 

We followed up with a simple craft that involved scissor cutting and shape recognition. You may remember our little song....

"Open and shut

Open and shut

That's the way we cut, cut, cut

Fingers on the bottom

Thumb on top

Do not let the paper drop

Open and shut

Open and shut

That's the way we cut, cut, cut!"

After viewing pictures of earth from space (from varying perspectives: northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere), the children observed the colours seen: blue, green, brown and white. Using their critical thinking, they deduced that the blue was the oceans (*note how there is more water than land on earth), that the green was grass, and the brown was soil :)   Many agreed that the white must be the clouds. 

The children "painted" their earth using a tool other than brushes. Straws were used instead. We covered some basics first; such as, we blow OUT of the straw.  (Not IN)  And some preferred to scratch the paint across the paper instead, using the straw. It's all about discovery!

We also had a lot of fun being at the Recycling Station last week! Thank you for sending in items for our Show and Share. Many eager volunteers grabbed a marker and paper to create labels for our bins.

 

The children took great pride in presenting their recycling, telling us what the product was and then what the packaging was made from. It really made them take pause. You should have seen the kerfuffle that the egg carton created. "Paper!?"  "What!?"  Voices were falcetto!

A drink bottle hits the plastic bin.

A soy sauce bottle makes its way into the "glass" recycling.

 

 

An infant formula lid from a "glass" bottle made its way into the

metal bin. That took some by surprise too -

"The lid from a glass bottle? But

it's glass?!"

I missed the photo opportunity of two of our friends dropping

their banana peels into the vermiculture bin.

"Hello Compost!"

 

And, I love surprises. One of our friends brought in an old cell phone. It didn't

fit into our tidy little labeled bins: glass, plastic, paper, metal, compost.

 

E-Waste.

 

This cell phone came with a recycling package from Rogers / fido. According to the package, in exchange for sending in your old cell phone, a donation will be made to a Canadian Food Bank. I haven't done my research about where the e-waste goes and how it is broken down, but the cause itself sounds good to me, and worth checking out this link to Phones for Food.

 

Perhaps as time passes, the children will continue to think about the materials that products are made from, and how recycling impacts our environment. It starts small ...

 

Thanks again for visiting the atelier. 

 

Easter

As warmer weather approaches and the snow piles melt, I often feel that time steps into "fast forward". Thankfully, the long weekend allowed some of us time to "unwind". And while Easter has come and gone, I want to share some of the fun we had in JK, before our little holiday.

You no doubt heard, Jack-Jack the rabbit made his kindergarten debut in kindergarten. We have one of our friends to thank for bringing in his dear pet. Our wonderful presenter answered many questions (e.g. Why isn't he talking? [referring to the rabbit] ) and we learned many interesting facts (e.g. rabbits have teeth that will keep growing, and chewing keeps them short ). 

 

 

We also read an emergent reader together (see Easter folder that went home) titled What Hatches? The children are becoming quite skilled at tracking (lifting and placing their finger under each new word) as we read the sentences on each page.

We decoded some new words, using the picture clues, and letter/sound associations. The class was divided on whether or not this page read, "alligator" or "crocodile". By being letter detectives, we were able to determine that since the word began with the letter "c", it was "crocodile" and not "alligator". Critical thinking at play!

And finally, like Jack-Jack, rabbits do not hatch out of eggs.

We did, however, record a song about eggs just for you!

 

(Check out our sound file below)

https://soundcloud.com/jk-atelier/colour-the-eggs

Thank you for visiting the atelier!

3 Billy Goats Gruff

Continuing with our tales of three, we have visited "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" - a Norwegian folktale.

Pretend play evolved when revisiting the picture of goats that one of our friends brought in for "show & share" and retells have been hilarious as the children give the characters "voice".

Inspired by the story, the children have intently building bridges. I printed up some pictures for the children to look at, and we briefly discussed bridge building.

These photos inspired some very creative structures and critical thinking.

This little engineer explains about his structure:

"I put it [the piece of drift wood] so the animals can go across.

The troll can not eat. And the big one [goat] can smash him

in the water."

The duo who built this bridge tag team each other in their description:

"It looks like a wooden bridge."

"First we line the square pieces [pointing to the bottom blocks], 

then we lined up the rectangle pieces."

"We put the rectangles in lines"

"The Troll lives under the bridge and then when someone comes

across the bridge he says, "WHOS THAT TRIP TRAPPING OVER MY BRIDGE?!"

By means of an explanation this builder shares:

 "My bridge is a little bit short and a little bit wide, like in real life."

"The Troll lives under the bridge."

"Maaaaaa [goat sound]! I want to cross the bridge."

"There is green grass [on the other side]. That's why he's crossing."

Making use of materials at the train table, these builders commiserate:

"This [bridge] is for trains and goats."

"The Troll lives under here."

Our story retells have come alive these last few weeks. The children continue to gravitate toward the bowls that contain 3 goats, 3 fish and a shark, 3 pigs and wolf dog, and most recently Goldilocks and the 3 bears.

Thank you for visiting with us at the atelier.

Tales of Three

Welcome back from spring break! Our week started with the 3 Little Kittens, and although they lost their mittens, they didn't need assistance from our Vet Clinic, which is still running strong! ( A "python" and a "dragon" came in today for some medical assistance).

We made a chart on ways that we could represent 3, and "spring boarded" from there into the tales of The 3 Little Pigs.

I am excited to show you how the children have been practicing their story retells. And I have to share that as I was driving into school one morning, I spotted a small load of hay that was dropped on the side of road.

That day I was inspired while reading our second version of the 3 Little Pigs, and being the scavenger that I am, that pile of hay made it into school the next day and was our provocation....

To play.

To explore.

To observe.

To create.

The hay adorned the house made my the first little pig.

Sticks were selected for the house made by the second little pig.

We then talked about how bricks are made. Clay? I just happened to have a package of clay sitting in my arts supplies, awaiting an inspired moment. What shapes are bricks? Rectangles, you say? The children got to "work".

Using a popsicle stick to help cut and shape the bricks.

Bricks are prepared for the house of the 3rd little pig.

The work of junior kindergarten is often tactile and stretches the imagination. I know the children will be excited to bring home their creations for a retell, but I am eager to have them displayed on our school bulletin board for a while. 

As always, thank you for visiting our atelier!

Dramatic Play

Knowing that the children relish dramatic play in the classroom, their interests and tangents are constant inspiration. While "Winterlude" was in full swing, the Hot Chocolate Shop was (and remains) a hit.

Two friends prepare for a day of business,

setting up their cups in the correct placement and order.

 

I had to work the crowd in order to get this photo opportunity.

Hot Chocolate and donuts are a "hot" commodity at this venue!

 

 

As the Hot Chocolate Shop remains popular, a new interest is emerging. I mentioned in our previous post about our fish, "Bluey", that stories of adopted dogs, sticky fur balls and wolf-pups inspired a recent transition from snow studies to animal interest. Perhaps it was also influenced by our read alouds, "Owen and Mzee", a  true story about the unlikely friendship between a 130 year old tortoise and baby hippo in Kenya, or "Little Pink Pup", a story about a piglet adopted by a dog and her litter. (Stories about animals that demonstrate kindness and caring =Valentines).

 

 

The animal interest remains strong with this group of children, and our recent "Show & Share" (which is ongoing), had the children bring in photos and stories of their beloved animals. I almost wish that we had started the year with this "unit", as the children are so keen to share. Who knew that cats love to drink from the toilet? Or that big dogs "toot" when they sit down? It is a non-stop comedic adventure! As the pictures and "tails" roll in, our bulletin board expands.

One board designated to "documenting"

the childrens' interests - their animals. 

 

Our morning message and letter/sound association has piqued the interest of some who are learning letters and some emergent readers (each at the perfect pace for them). When we sat down at circle with these emergent readers, "Animal School", I was so thrilled to hear them read......"I see a dog." "I see a pig."   You need to know that the ONLY thing I'd done is hand the books out! I hadn't modeled or read a word! I am so excited for the children to bring the book home to you.  



Our emergent reader, "Animal School". 

 

In the meantime, we also read a community workers book about veterinarians. This inspired our next dramatic play centre, and we brainstormed ideas.

 



Our chart stand featuring the childrens' ideas for

the development of our next dramatic play centre.

 

Some got eager with the creation of the sign.

I pulled some resources from the tiniest closet ever

(it sometimes reminds me of Mary Poppins' carpet bag)

 

 

We have so much play to look forward to with the development of our newest interest - the Vet Clinic. X-rays, nurses scrubs (can you believe someone actually said, "scrubs" as an item they'd like to have in the clinic?!), and stethoscopes are a big part of the dramatic play that will be popular in the class next week. You can be sure that there will be lots of opportunity for numeracy and literacy also.

 

Thank you for sending in photos of your pets, and inspiring our atelier.

 

Something Fishy

Thank you for being patient with me - while I haven't been dedicated to blogging, there hasn't been any shortage of fun in the classroom.

Recently, I'd been hearing stories from the children about a new dog that joined the family, a cat that left a sticky fur ball in a bed, and also "wolf-dogs" that will soon be having pups (a live feed video will be set up to watch the puppies!). These tales were in the back of my mind as I was inspired to walk into Pet Smart last weekend and pick up a Betta. I introduced the fish with the story Not Norman by Kelly Bennett (see it read here on You Tube. )

Our new class Betta fish.

He didn't have a name, and the children seemed to have a lot of fun brainstorming ideas with you at home. Thank you for your assistance. We pulled a name from the basket earlier this week, and our Betta was dubbed, "Bluey".

A bulletin board in the reading centre, displaying the 

"fish" names chosen by the children.

Inspired by the book, Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian (see it read aloud here on You Tube by Miss. Nona.), we started to keep a journal of Bluey's activities. Each day when he is fed, the calendar number is filled in. Then, we write the date at the top of our observation sheet, and someone scribes their observations. Finally, they illustrate a picture to go with it. Literacy and numeracy are "working" hand in hand.

Who knows - perhaps a class made book will be on the agenda. Bluey has already had some adventures. He was stuck in a tiny container for a few days (Perhaps you heard about the broken tank?) Now he sits on a shelf in his new tank (thank you - you know who you are!), with a beautiful backdrop painted by the children.

Bluey in his new tank, with a freshly painted waterscape in behind.

I'm sure the children will keep you "posted" on the adventures of Bluey, as he settles into our JK atelier!

No Two Alike



Many of our "tangents" seem to stem from experiences, song and literature. This one is no different. I shared a story ordered through a recent Scholastic book order, titled: No Two Alike, written by Keith Baker.

It follows the path of two birds through a winter landscape and touches on the similarities that we see in nature, and the differences that make each natural thing unique. Though there are more snowflakes than we can count (we tried :), no two are alike.

Images of snowflakes were then studied - what beautiful crystals!

                                   "Thank you"                                       "Imagine" (John Lennon)

Images of ice crystals by Masaru Emoto

We also created patterns with foam snowflakes.

In lieu of a light table, we used an "old-school" 

overhead projector and traced their outlines.

But we kept coming back to the images, and we found it hard to believe that no two could be exactly alike.

Love & Gratitude, Masaru Emoto

Then we got crafty. It was time to make our own crystals. 

With our supplies ready, we became little scientists.

We manipulated pipe cleaners to make a design with 6 points. Remembering that the star in the centre of our apples had 5 points ~ our snowflakes would have six. It was a tricky task manipulating and bending those pipe cleaners!  Make an X, bend one end over, etc...

Borax was added to warm water and we watched the Borax dissolve in the water.

 Then, we suspended our pipe cleaner snowflakes in the solution overnight.

(4 tbsp. borax per cup of water)

              A six-pointed "snowflake"                                         Borax crystals have formed 

              in a solution of Borax                                                    on the pipe cleaner

             and water.                                                                            overnight.

When we studied the crystals up-close we all agreed that no two were alike.

An individual "snowflake", covered in borax crystals. 

Borax crystals on display with our collaborative

painting, "Snowy Day" as a backdrop.

Thank you for visiting us at our atelier.