The Pre-K Mountain Lions 2013-2014

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Home > Nature Education > September

September

September 6, 2013

Exploration in the Outdoor Learning Environment

Our new play yard is so much fun!  Children explored the new outdoor learning environment through play and creative projects.  We added another level to our discovery by asking our students to make a list of things that are "alive and not alive" in the play yard.  This is a tricky concept that we will continue to explore in different ways throughout the year.

Observations:

  • "Some flowers are alive. Something has to grow to be alive.  Water makes me alive." - Owen
  • "The dump truck is alive because it moves." - Woods
  • "The butterfly is alive because it flied." - Elli R.
  • "Some bugs are dead if you squish them. Something has to eat food to stay alive." - Ellie S.

This also lead to an increased interest in our resident hens and rooster.  We observed them during our outside times.  Two books this week, Rooster's Off to See the World by Eric Carle and The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton, added a creative element to our informal chicken study.  We wonder: Have these chickens explored the world? Do they bake bread too? Do they have friends that are cats or frogs?   

Observations:

  • "Chickens eat compost." - Smith
  • "Chickens eat worms and beans." - Brooks H.
  • "They give us eggs. We should go get them." -Brooks L.
  • "Do they sleep on their heads?" - Ava
  • "Buck buck buck buck boo!  That's the sound they make." - Gray

 

For more on our outside baking projects, please read our Project-based learning section with updates from this week!

Alive and Not Alive Exploration

September 13, 2013

Sunflowers with Farm & Garden

We finally got to check out the magical community garden here at school with our Farm & Garden teacher, Emily!

We started thinking about Farm & Garden in morning meeting by reading Eric Carle’s “The Tiny Seed.” When Emily joined us, we sang a song to the tune of “My Little Teapot” to help us remember what plants need to survive:

“Soil” –Willa

“Sunshine” –Abigail

“Water” –Cadence

We took a tour around the garden and saw beans, carrots, squash, zucchini, and the largest kohlrabi anyone had ever seen! Everyone was completely enamored by all of the ladybugs we saw, and we caught two bumble bees feasting in the pollen on one of the sunflowers. Our main mission, however, was to hunt for the biggest, tallest sunflower we could find, as well as some sunflowers without petals to hang in our class.

“We’re hanging the sunflowers so they can dry!” –Owen

“And then when they dry we can use the seeds and plant them.” –Carly

“It’s so big and heavy! I’ve never seen one this big!” –Cash

Once we picked the sunflowers, we rubbed the pollen off so we could see the seeds, and then tied string to the stem, and now they are hanging, with our names, over the window in the classroom. We hope to let them dry so we can get the seeds and then plant, or roast and eat them in the spring.

Come take a look at our new addition to the classroom and ask your students to share the sunflower song with you! 

Sunflowers

USA- McREL- Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning Content Knowledge Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 (2012)
Subject: Science
Strand:
Earth and Space Sciences
Standard:
1. Understands atmospheric processes and the water cycle
Level:
Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
Benchmark:
1. Knows vocabulary (e.g., rainy, windy, sunny) for different types of weather
Benchmark:
3. Knows how the environment changes over the seasons A
Standard:
2. Understands Earth's composition and structure
Level:
Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
Benchmark:
1. Knows that there are different materials (e.g., rock, water, soil) on Earth
Benchmark:
2. Knows properties of a number of Earth materials (e.g., rocks, soil, water)
Standard:
3. Understands the composition and structure of the universe and the Earth's place in it
Level:
Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
Benchmark:
1. Knows vocabulary (e.g., clouds, Sun, moon) used to describe major features of the sky
Strand:
Life Sciences
Standard:
5. Understands the structure and function of cells and organisms
Level:
Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
Benchmark:
1. Knows that living things and nonliving objects are different A
Benchmark:
2. Knows that living things go through a process of growth and change
Standard:
6. Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment
Level:
Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
Benchmark:
1. Understands that living things have similar needs (e.g., water, food)
Standard:
7. Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life
Level:
Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
Benchmark:
1. Knows simple ways that living things can be grouped (e.g., appearance, behavior, plant, animal)
Strand:
Physical Sciences
Standard:
10. Understands forces and motion
Level:
Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
Benchmark:
1. Knows the effects of forces (e.g., wind, gravity) in nature
Strand:
Nature of Science
Standard:
12. Understands the nature of scientific inquiry
Level:
Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
Benchmark:
1. Uses the senses to make observations about living things, nonliving objects, and events
Benchmark:
5. Asks questions about observations

September 27, 2013

Sunflower seeds
Removing sunflower seeds

As an ongoing farm and garden project, we are removing the dried sunflower seeds from our hanging sunflowers.  We will roast the seeds, separate them from the shells, and add them to our bread for harvest party. This is hard work and requires exceptional dexterity, attention, and persistence. Feel free to stop by and help us take apart a sunflower! 

Sunflower seeds

USA- McREL- Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning Content Knowledge Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 (2012)
Subject: Science
Strand:
Life Sciences
Standard:
5. Understands the structure and function of cells and organisms
Level:
Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
Benchmark:
1. Knows that living things and nonliving objects are different A
Benchmark:
2. Knows that living things go through a process of growth and change
Standard:
6. Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment
Level:
Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
Benchmark:
1. Understands that living things have similar needs (e.g., water, food)
Standard:
7. Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life
Level:
Level Pre-K (Grades Pre-K)
Benchmark:
1. Knows simple ways that living things can be grouped (e.g., appearance, behavior, plant, animal)
Author: Erin Tanzer
Last modified: 6/9/2014 10:30 AM (EST)