Plants in the Midst: Observations

A few weeks ago, the children put a flower (with no roots) into some soil with a potted plant. We have been monitoring the flower and today the children noticed that it has dried up but the plant is thriving. The children concluded that the even with water this flower could not survive without roots.

From this, we checked on the beans we have been germinating as well as the carrots and pumpkins. The carrots and pumpkins are not showing any visible signs of growth yet. The beans, on the other hand, have begun to display roots. The children took the seed coats off the beans and were able to see where the roots and the plant itself are beginning to grow. We will plant the rest of the beans and monitor the growth.

Our discussions over the past week have related to the life cycle of the plant. Today the children made a book depicting this cycle.

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Similarities and Differences Between Friends

We are nearing the end of this unit of inquiry. Next week is already our summative week. Our focus this week was likes/dislikes: do we have to like the same things as our friends? I asked this question to the children. All of the children said yes except Rocco. Rocco said "friends don't have to do the same things." "Do we have to like the same things as our friends?" Using the book, Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley (the story of two great friends), we listed the traits of each character.. The children found out that Pearl and Charlie were complete opposites yet were the best of friends. I asked the question again. Esme and Simone changed their response. Simone replied that "that friends don't have to do the same things but sometimes we do." We wrapped up by making "Wanted: Friends" posters. Some of the qualities listed on the posters were: Rocco: caring Simone: someone who is nice Alfie: play with me Bela: someone wi...

Storm Drains: How we impact water.

The car wash The clean creek Today we explored where water goes when it enters a storm drain and the impact we have on what flows into these drains. The children experimented with different types of utensils at the water table. The children were able to see how water passes freely through the different openings and how other items can also pass through. We used these utensils to recreate how storm drains work. We created a creek and watched what happened to the creek when different types of pollutants pass through the storm drain. We also simulated washing cars. The children noted that the soap goes down the drain with the water. "Oh no, are fish will be sick!" commented Sofia. Simone thought we could give the fish medicine to get better. This started a conversation on how difficult it would be to give medicine to all of the fish in all of the creeks!! The children noticed how dirty the water was and that living things would not survive in our p...

Helping Hands

Through different stories, we have been discussing the qualities of a friend. The one quality that the children unanimously agreed upon is that friends help one another. In the story, The Little Red Hen, the Hen did all of the work by herself. The children thought that the Dog, Cat and Goose were not good friends because every time the Hen asked for help, they refused. Before we reached the end of the story, I asked the children if Hen should share her bread. There were mixed responses however, the majority of the children thought Hen should share. Louis' first response was to not share but he quickly changed his mind and said "sharing is caring!" This coming week, the children have asked to make bread and share it with the entire class. "I hug my friend when he is sad." "I blow up a balloon for my friend, Amalia, when she pops her." "I help my friends when they fall." "I help carry stuff for my friends." ...

Weekly Activities

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