Dear Parents,
We began our week examining our seeds for changes. The children said, “I see roots!” “Mine has grown!” “I see little green leaves.” “They’re growing, like people when they’re a little younger.” “Those little roots, they grow into corn.” And, “They’re sprouts.”
We charted the growth on a paper. Everyone colored in a square if their seeds had grown. We all colored in squares, yellow for popcorn, black for chia seeds, and brown for garbanzo beans.
We took our tether ball into the yard and tied it to our tree. Many are thrilled to play the game, even if it means the ball occasionally comes back and bonks you in the head. Some children thought it was funny.
After discovering many insects in the yard, we talked about closing the doors to keep the bugs outside. This sparked an exciting conversation about roaches getting into the house. One person said they live in the basement of his house. Another said that when they were in Paris, one got into their hotel room and they put a cup on it until Daddy got back. Another person said one was in his house and Mama hit it with a pan! Someone else said they had one in their bedroom one time and Mama and Daddy got it.
On Tuesday we made collages using different textures and glue. We also made new green play dough. The children rolled long and short snakes, pancakes, and a caterpillar.
The children told us that they bloomed like flowers, in music with Alex. While half the class was blooming, in the classroom we read about seeds and used coloring crayons in our blank books - which are blank no more.
We took turns replanting our seeds from their baggies in the window, to cups with dirt. We added water, and now we wait for more growth.
After eating apples for snacks, we decided to put our apple seeds into a baggie with a paper towel and water too. So far, the only thing that happened was that the water turned orange. Why is it orange? We thought of all the apple colors we know: green, yellow, and red. Hmmmm. Someone asked, "How are we going to grow a tree in that little bag?"
We found a dead baby bird still in its shell. There were flies surrounding it. The children wondered what happened to it. We talked about other birds, and animals, robbing eggs from nests. “Why do they do that?” someone asked. The class knew that many animals eat other animals. We talked about the flies and ants eating dead animals too.
We played outside the whole day on Thursday. And Friday! We had circle and snacks outside too.
On Friday we took turns making butterfly prints. Everyone chose between yellow, black, purple, or pink paint. We folded our papers, pressed, and opened to reveal…butterflies! A few friends gasped with delight at seeing the designs.
We made birthday cakes in the sandbox, played family, swung up to the treetops, and the jungle gym became an airplane where the flight attendants passionately discussed whether they served everything, or only tacos!
Have a grrrrrreat weekend,
Therese