The Pumpkin Inquiry

We started a pumpkin inquiry this week. Students had the chance to learn what a life cycle was using a pumpkin. The life cycle begins with a seed, then a vine, out comes a sprout, then a flower, and finally a pumpkin! They created their own life cycle using loose parts. We also borrowed books from the library to help us understand the life cycle of a pumpkin. You can see our life cycle on our bulletin board outside the classroom. 

This picture shows the seeds, a nice vine, and the beginning of a sprout. 

There were over 200 seeds in one pumpkin. We wondered what could be inside the hard shell of the pumpkin. Ask your child what they found inside. 

We figured out how many seeds were in the pumpkin by counting by 5's and 10's. 

In this picture you can see they are making 5 by using 3 plus 2. 

It's Pumpkin Week!

There's been a lot of pumpkin talk this week. We had a student bring in some mini pumpkins that were green, blue, yellow, white and orange! We couldn't believe pumpkins came in those colors. 

The students used them to compare sizes, create shapes, and make patterns. You will notice on some of the pictures students used their hands to measure which one was tallest. 

Using their hand to determine which was tallest. 

Arranging pumpkins from biggest to smallest. 

Making a rectangle with pumpkins

Students also make pumpkins out of playdoh. They didn't know what a Jack-o-Lantern was, so then they decide they wanted to make their own!

Pumpkin BRAINS!

Making a green, orange pattern. 

We are very excited to have our own pumpkin in our classroom!  On Friday, we got to investigate it through measuring it with cubes.  We also drew a picture of our class pumpkin with our block towers next to it, and we recorded how many blocks high our pumpkin was.

Loose parts number wall

We completed our loose parts number wall today! The students now have their own wall that they designed to recognize numbers and their value. We are trying to become more independent. Students will be encouraged to use the number wall when they are requesting how to make a certain number. 

Students were organizing their loose parts to better understand the number concept. 

In the picture below, a student was encouraged to put 4 buttons on one side, and 4 on the other. Together all the buttons equal 8. 

Wikki Stix's and popsicle sticks are a great way for children to create and build. Students were building forts, sleds, boats, and even creating letters. 

"look Ms. I made the letter E...

and if you turn it this way, it's  M"

Another student made a bubble gum pack:). /b/ for bubble gum!

Fire Safety

Here are a few more pictures from our fire safety week. In these photos the students were building structures and ensuring they made an exit strategy in the event of a fire! 

You will also see photographs from our fire safety scavenger hunt. The students checked off each item as they found it. 

We had some special guests today! Fire chief Cory and fireman Kent came to talk to us about Fire Safety. Students probably asked you to check your fire alarms today! It's also important for them to have an exit plan in case there is a fire in their house. Create a map!!:) 

We also had one of our student's brothers from grade 5 come join us for a 'how to draw' session. He showed us how to draw a ghost. We are getting ready for Halloween!