Weekly Activities

While walking on the trails with my daughter, she noticed some egg sacs in the creek.  At first glance, we thought they were frog eggs but after some more research we are wondering if they are salamander or newt egg masses.  We spent group time this week walking to the creek to see the egg masses and monitor any change.The children counted 4 egg masses. We also took this opportunity to learn about the frog life cycle.  We will continue to monitor the eggs. Time will tell us what they are!

During our forest walk last week, one of the conversations we had was about rain. The children named a number of things that need rain: plants, animals, fish, and oceans. We have begun learning about rain and the water cycle by conducting some experiments.  Prior to the experiments, some of the children shared their knowledge: Sofia - when the water disappears, it is called evaporation. Tyreese - rain comes from the clouds. Bela - the sun dries up the puddles. William - rain makes puddles. Precipitation: simulating rain when clouds get heavy. How long will it take the water to evaporate? How much precipitation will we collect? When our experiments were completed, we began painting a large water cycle mural.

Our new unit has begun: The Wonders of Water Transdisciplinary Theme: How we Share the Planet Central Idea: The decisions people make about water affects the whole world. The teacher questions that will drive the inquiry are: Why are local waterways important to Coast Salish people? (Connection) How is water used? (Function) How do people impact water sources ? (Responsiblity) On Wednesday, the entire class went on a walk through the forest in search of water. Prior to the walk the children made a list of what they might see along the way. The list included turtles, crocodiles, jellyfish, puddlles, a pond, a river and a stream. During the walk the children asked questions such as:  Where does the stream go? How do fish get in the stream? What are the big pipes on the ground for? Over the next 7 weeks we will explore this inquiry and the children's questions.