Snowflakes and Mittens

Let it snow!

In first grade we have been studying snowflakes. Thanks to one of our heroes, Wilson Bentley, who was the first person to magnify and photograph snowflakes, we know so much about what makes each snowflake special. 

After viewing Wilson Bentley's photographs here are some words that we gathered to describe snowflakes:

crystal, pretty, falling, white, beautiful, dendrites, precious, wonderful, six points, hexagon, cool, inspiring, edible, fragile, fun, fluffy, passion, sparkly, soft, different sizes, interesting, icy, yummy, different shapes, branches, dazzling and freezing.

Speaking of snow and heroes, another hero we learned about is Matthew Henson, a co-explorer of the North Pole. Ann B.B. read Keep On! which tells about the amazing adventures of Matthew Henson and his incredible life of bravery and kindness. 

Keeping with the theme of Heroes and snow, we read a beautiful story, The Mitten Tree about how an aged women touches the lives of the children in her community by knitting them mittens. The first graders noticed her generosity and kindness and how she had love in her heart to make a difference to others. Below are images of the mittens our first grades made in our symmetry activity which is displayed outside our classroom.

Estudio de los animales en el Jardín de infancia (Animal Study in Kindergarten)

To compliment el Jardín de infancia’s (kindergarten’s) study on “Animals,” in Spanish class the students have been learning a variety of names for domestic, farm and wild animals. In their homeroom class, each kindergartener chose a particular animal of interest to do further research. So, it only seemed right to explore this idea during Spanish class as well.

To introduce the students to the Spanish vocabulary for some particular animals, we read an array of books and viewed YouTube videos such as these:

Animales Domesticos para Niños y Bebés [2:11]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80Q1thtAXTU

Animales Salvages [2:25]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWlbQnn97SQ&src_vid=80Q1thtAXTU&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_1887963443

To help reinforce the learning, the kindergarteners participated in a variety of games and activities.

El juego de los matamoscas / The Fly Swatter Game

¿Dónde está ________? / Where is _______?

After learning their chosen animal’s name, the kindergarteners were presented with the Spanish vocabulary that describes some of their characteristics such as cabeza (head), ojos (eyes), orejas (ears), nariz (nose), boca (mouth), cuello (neck), cola (tail), cuernos (horns), cornamentas (antlers), patas (feet), and aletas (fins). We then played a game where the students were encouraged to label the correct body part verbally dictated. 

¿Qué está en mi cabeza? / What is on my head?

In this activity, the students were invited to divide into pairs. Each pair was given one pair of sunglasses and one card with a photo of an animal. The student without the sunglasses had to give clues to the student with the sunglasses and s/he would guess, in Spanish, what animal was “on their head.” When the student had successfully guessed, it was the partner’s turn to wear the sunglasses.

¿Qué animal es? / What animal is it?

This activity is similar to that of ‘musical chairs’ but no chairs are used. The students were asked to walk around the classroom, in their own space, until they would hear the word “stop.” Then, an animal’s name is called out and the Kindergarteners would “act-out” the animal sounds until they hear the word “stop” once again. All commands and name of animals are done in Spanish. This game was a huge hit!!

"León"

"Oso Panda"

"Oso Panda"

"Tigre"

To culminate the study, the students will have the opportunity to sculpt their chosen animal using Model Magic and write the Spanish translation of its name. Stay tuned!!

Ned Hector- Colonial African American Patriot Time Travels Back in Time to Fourth Grade

This week Ned Hector, portrayed by re-enactor Noah Lewis, paid a visit to our 4th grade classroom.  The class was fully engrossed in a discussion about the causes that led up to the Revolutionary War, when suddenly the door burst open and Ned Hector, dressed in full colonial patriot uniform, ran into the room wildly looking for his commanding officer to report to duty. We quickly discovered that Ned had traveled back in time and had been in the middle of the Battle of Brandywine when he was transported to our classroom.

He spent the morning explaining life during this time period and the many roles he, an African American, played in colonial society as well as the role other African Americans played in helping to win the Revolutionary War. Ned was a teamster and bombardier, and he role played with the students regarding what a day in that life would entail. Students learned about commerce and how the role of a person who owned a horse and wagon could change the economic fabric of a town and an individuals’ earning potential. The students also had a chance to learn about cannons and defense strategies of the time period.

 Noah Lewis closed out his presentation with a passionate explaining of the important role African Americans and people of color played in helping to win the revolutionary war. He spoke to how African American history is American history and how they are inextricably entwined.  After the presentation some of the students shared their thoughts about Noah's presentation. 

 

“I learned military strategy about the Battle of Brandywine.” John

Everybody no matter your skin color you are fighting for the same cause it makes no sense to not include everyone it doesn’t make sense to not want to include people because of the way they look. It wasn’t fair and they shouldn’t have done it. - Maggie

        "I liked the ending, it was deep." - Sofia

"It was pretty serious, when he talked about freedom and how people died for it." -Sophie

"It was kind of nice that he wasn't just blurting out facts... he got us involved and we actually got to feel what it was like." -Marcellus 

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Second Grade's 3D Amulet Printing

As an extension to our Ancient Egypt study, the second graders are in the midst of creating and printing Ancient Egyptian amulets that we have been studying using the 3D printer in our maker space. The maker space provides the students an additional opportunity to explore their amulet through the many different aspects of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics).

Each student researched and explored Ancient Egypt books in our classroom library researching two different amulets, the Ankh and the Eye of Horus. The students learned about each amulet and what it represented to the Egyptians.  After discussing the many different aspects of the amulets, the students chose either the Ankh or the Eye of Horus.

The second graders began the drawing process by drawing a 2D version of their amulet on a piece of paper. This process incorporated the “A” into STEAM!  

Next, the students used an application on the classroom iPad called Morphi where they replicated their image by sketching their amulet with their finger. The students added many details, making sure their drawing best represented their amulet’s true shape.

Once their sketches were completed, we headed to the maker space to get started on our 3D printing. First, the students chose the height and width of their amulet they would like to print. After their amulet was measured to their liking, they programmed the temperature of the printer to 190 degrees for filament and 50 degrees for the bed and hit print!

The second graders watched on with great excitement as their amulet began to take shape. This project was very exciting because it allowed the students to incorporate the many different aspects of STEAM learning. We hope you truly enjoy our 3D amulet collection!

SPCA Visits Kindergarten

Gathering the generous lower school donations

As part of their animal study, the kindergarten students have been collecting donations from lower school families for the homeless cats and dogs of the Montgomery SPCA. For the past two months, the animal lovers have been sorting and counting the many contributions for their cause. This week the excitement was at its height as the students prepared the collection for two special visitors from the SPCA, Steve the humane educator, and his dog Faith.

Sorting and organizing the collection

Counting all of the items in the bar graph begins

Taking pride in their hard work

First, all of the donations were carried into the classroom by some very strong kindergartners. Then the students took turns sorting the food, bedding and cleaning supplies into categories to create a bar graph on the floor. Predictions were made as the mathematicians worked.

How much did we collect?
Which group has the most?
Which group has the least?

The donations came in varying sizes so it was not a true visual bar graph and the students had to work in small groups to count the total in each category.

After several re-counts for accuracy, the class came up with the following totals:

50 cat food items
22 bags of dog food
1 bottle of Febreeze
4 large bags of newspaper (the children did not want to count the newspaper!)
17 towels for bedding
17 rolls of paper towels
1 collar and leash
112 total items donated

The kindergartners were so proud of all the donations collected for local homeless dogs and cats.

Steve, the SPCA humane educator, and his companion Faith

The best part of the visit, petting Faith

 In the afternoon, the kindergarten classes were ready for their special visitors. It was so difficult for them to contain their excitement, yet the students worked hard to wait patiently and calmly! Steve and Faith arrived and began their presentation on animal safety. We learned that you must always ask to pet a dog you do not know for some animals get scared and all are not friendly. Then the children practiced folding their fingers under and putting out the back of their hands for Faith to sniff. Then using two fingers, they were able to pet her chin, stomach or head. Faith's eyes and and back could not be touched for it could startle her.

Standing like trees if a strange dog approaches

Steve then talked to the kindergarten classes about what they should do if they are chased by a dog or if an unfamiliar dog comes up to them. The kindergartners learned that they should stand very still like a tree so, of course, tree standing had to be practiced! The kindergarten students were quick and eager learners and listened carefully to the pet safety tips that Steve shared with us.

Helping load Steve's van with our donations
 for the trip back to the SPCA

Before Steve left he answered questions and shared a recent story about the SPCA. Unfortunately, over the weekend, there was a fire at their Conshohocken shelter and the animals needed to be moved  to their other facilities in Perkiomenville and Abington. We were so happy to learn that none of the animals were hurt and everyone was safe. All of the items that the kindergarten collected would go to help all of these animals while they waited for new homes. At the end of the visit, the kindergarten students proudly carried the donations to Steve's van for the trip back to the SPCA.

This project all began with a deep love for animals that arose out of an authentic interest of the children. The SPCA service learning project integrated many aspects of our curriculum as the children practiced literacy, language, art, math and social skills. Art and writing skills were utilized as individual collection boxes and posters were created to start the project. Speaking skills were strengthened as kindergarten friends went to lower school classrooms to share their idea and ask for help from others with the collection. Cooperative social skills were necessary as students worked together to organize and sort items. Math skills were evident as a graph was created, predictions were made, and then data interpreted.

The power of the children's passion for animals was expressed fully and actively as they engaged in this experience. Empathy for animals and their needs was clearly evident and with individual and collaborative efforts, the  kindergarten students were able to put a voice to their ideas and make a difference in our world. The kindergarten students thank all of you who contributed generously to the SPCA collection. Remember if you would like to adopt a cat or dog, look to the SPCA for their homeless cats and dogs make wonderful pets!

Thank you!

Love,
Kindergarten

Third Grade Stick Passing Game

Students in third grade learned the Ghanaian song "Tiriba Ya." The loose translation of the song is  "Come and dance/play." This summer, I learned this song and a stick passing game that was created by one of my master teachers. This is NOT a traditional West African nor Ghanaian stick passing game, however, it is similar to some of the stick or stone passing games you might see played in the region.

Below are 3 videos that show 3 different stick passing patterns the third grade learned.  Each pattern increases in intensity and difficulty.

Pattern #1: This is a simple pattern where students play a repeated rhythmic pattern and just pass the sticks to their neighbor. Tap-Tap-pass

Pattern #2: In this pattern, students alternate between performing the pattern with the sticks then playing the pattern on their bodies, also known as body percussion. The sticks are still passed, but you only use them every other time. 

Pattern #3: In this pattern, sticks are taken out and every other person has the sticks. If you have the sticks, you perform the pattern using the sticks then pass. When you do not have the sticks, you perform the pattern using body percussion. So students had to alternate between two different ways of performing the patterns in quick succession. 

Third grade did a fabulous job and we had a great time! Enjoy!

Shaping Up in First Grade

In our most recent math lessons, first grade has been learning about the specific attributes of plane shapes and some fractions associated with these shapes.  We were puzzled trying to explain the subtle differences among a square, rectangle, rhombus and trapezoid since they all have four sides and four angles but the students were astute and were able to identify what made them each unique.  In one activity, the students worked cooperatively in small groups with pattern blocks to find out what different fractions could be discovered for each different shape by using smaller blocks to fill in the larger blocks.  The thoughtful discussions and excitement of discovering that occurred throughout the activity were wonderful! We even uncovered some new fractions! We figured out 1/6, 1/3, and 2/3!!

The students proudly shared their discoveries with one another and then went on to explore what creations they could make with all of these shapes!  We will soon be taking our shape unit to a new dimension, literally.  We will be exploring 3-D shapes or 'solid shapes' as they are called in our math books!