It was a fun, engaging, and inventive week learning about leaves!
We started off Monday with our weekend journals. We have been working on labeling our pictures, so we practiced by labeling Miss Duckman!
We then read the book Not a Stick by Antoniette Portis. It is about using your imagination to turn a stick into something else. We measured our paper with unifix cubes to see how big of a stick we could fit on it. We took those unifix cube rods outside to get a stick the same size. We discovered that if the stick was too long, we could break it to fit. We then turned our sticks into something creative!
We started off Monday with our weekend journals. We have been working on labeling our pictures, so we practiced by labeling Miss Duckman!
We then read the book Not a Stick by Antoniette Portis. It is about using your imagination to turn a stick into something else. We measured our paper with unifix cubes to see how big of a stick we could fit on it. We took those unifix cube rods outside to get a stick the same size. We discovered that if the stick was too long, we could break it to fit. We then turned our sticks into something creative!
On Tuesday we wondered if leaves changed colors and why. We went outside and collected all different types of leaves... and enjoyed some time playing in them :) We then broke into groups and sorted the leaves. We sorted by color, shape, size, and talked about texture. We discovered that leaves can turn MANY different colors.
We also explored dominoes in math for the first time. We talked about the number 1, identified it, and free explored the dominoes.
We also explored dominoes in math for the first time. We talked about the number 1, identified it, and free explored the dominoes.
Wednesday we further explored the leaves we collected. We then used watercolors to paint what we saw. The leaves turned out beautiful! Other centers included sorting leaves in the sensory table, creating fall patterns with beads, and building with pumpkins in the block corner. The students recreated Highwood Pumpkin Fest!
Thursday started with playing a shape memory game with our third grade buddies. It was our first time playing the game, and a great review of shapes.
We then did our leaf/fall themed centers again. We used our sorted leaves to think about the different colors, and then students mixed paint to create their own fall color. The students also played a new math game called "Clockonimoes", where the students need to count and add the pips on the domino, and then place it on the right number on the clock. They did GREAT with this! We also read Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Elhert, and discussed the changes and life cycle of a leaf/tree. We talked about the many changes it goes through (the tree growing, the leaves growing, changing colors, falling, and then dying).
We then did our leaf/fall themed centers again. We used our sorted leaves to think about the different colors, and then students mixed paint to create their own fall color. The students also played a new math game called "Clockonimoes", where the students need to count and add the pips on the domino, and then place it on the right number on the clock. They did GREAT with this! We also read Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Elhert, and discussed the changes and life cycle of a leaf/tree. We talked about the many changes it goes through (the tree growing, the leaves growing, changing colors, falling, and then dying).
Friday we wrapped up our leaf week by reading Leaf Man by Lois Elhert. The students then used their leaves to create something else- It's not a leaf, it's a... We glued them to wax paper and will hang them in the windows.
We then played Clockonimoes again, and counted and sorted dominoes as a whole class on our rug. The students are getting really good at adding the two sides together as well as practicing their one-to-one correspondence.
We then played Clockonimoes again, and counted and sorted dominoes as a whole class on our rug. The students are getting really good at adding the two sides together as well as practicing their one-to-one correspondence.
Additionally this week, we learned ck, e, and h in Jolly Phonics/Handwriting. We also blended words for the first time! I was blown away by how well the students did writing, blending, and reading the words. We also discussed the difference between fiction vs. non-fiction books, and read our first non-fiction books.
Next week... pumpkins!
Next week... pumpkins!