Blog Archives - Exploring Kindergarten

Exploring Kindergarten

Penguin Inquiry

1/28/2018

Over the last week the children each created three 'wonder questions' that they wanted to answer about penguins. With their Big Buddy, they spent some time on the Chromebooks researching the answers to their questions. They then copied their findings and drew pictures in their Penguin Books.

Penguins, Penguins, Everywhere!!

1/28/2018

Walk like a penguin!

We thought we'd try waddling like penguins - which wasn't too hard until we added an "egg". We pretended that we were Emperor Penguins who had their egg on their feet. The hard part was trying to move without letting it drop on the ice!

Our Discovery Centre

The children have been imagining and using their creative thinking with the items at our Discovery Centre - penguins, chicks, and their predators.

Penguin Provocations

I put out some penguin items to provoke some thinking and to give some inspiration for drawing and writing in the classroom.

Special Delivery

1/28/2018

Last week we received a special delivery - a box from Antarctica. Mrs. Connelly delivered it to our classroom. We noticed that it even had air holes and snow on the top.

We opened it up to find our new penguin friend, Percy. He came all the way from Antarctica because he heard that we were learning about penguins. Included in the box with him was a note about his journey from Antarctica to Kamloops.

He will be fun to have in the class as we continue on our research journey!

How Do Penguins Stay Warm?

1/28/2018

We wondered how penguins stay warm in the cold. We read that they have a layer of blubber or fat under their feathers. So...we conducted an experiment. We created a "blubber glove" using butter to create a layer of fat. The children dipped their hand in an ice cold bowl of water. Brrr...they all agreed it was too cold!! Then they put the blubber glove on and put their hand back in the water. The blubber glove protected their hand from the cold...just like the blubber does for the animals living in Antarctica and the Arctic.

We also tried the 'penguin huddle'. Emperor penguins huddle together against the cold, windy weather of Antarctica using their body warmth to stay warm. We tried it with little groups.

Wonderful Winter

1/23/2018

Some of our Winter art

Our Class Tree:

Melted Snowmen:

Oh, no!! Our snowmen melted. I wonder why:

Making them was messy...but fun:

Winter Trees:

Our finished products turned out great!

Loose Parts - Snowflakes

It's A Blizzard!!

Penguin Inquiry

1/21/2018

As a whole class, we started our new unit of study by thinking about pets. We created a class graph of who had pets.

Next, we created a t-chart of animals that we thought would make good pets. It created a lot of interesting discussion about what should be considered a pet.

Then we looked at books to see what we could discover about things that people do to take care of pets. The children also shared the kinds of things that they do to take care of their own pets.

To pique curiosity about Penguins, I set out some books, some stuffies, and little figures at our Discovery Centre. The children enjoyed choosing to go to this centre throughout the day.
Then we wondered:

In order to answer this question, we will need to do a lot of research to find out more information about penguins.

And so it began...
We started by creating a list of what we think about penguins. Some of that information might be true...but it might not. It was just our thoughts - BEFORE doing any reading or research.

Then the children looked through many non-fiction books about penguins to see what they could discover. Even though reading is difficult for them at this age, the pictures can provide lots of information...and lots of questions!

After looking through books, we created a class "Wonder" chart - things we wondered about penguins.

Speed Stacks

1/21/2018

We went to the library and Mrs. Sauer taught us about Speed Stacking. She taught us the proper way to stack and de-stack the cups. There are certain ways to do it properly.

Then the children got a chance to try it. It was tricky but they were starting to get the hang of it! Very soon at lunch time, Mrs. Sauer will be hosting the Speed Stack Club once a week in the library. The students can choose to go there instead of going outside.

Wonderful Winter!

1/21/2018

The Mitten

We did a short literature study of the book The Mitten by Jan Brett. We have read the story a number of times and, using masks, the children re-enacted the story using our large mitten. During Activity Time a number of the children took the initiative to use the giant mitten and the masks and act out the story many times!

Many of the children made their own paper versions of the story and some of the children also used our finger puppets to re-tell the story as well as.

Mitten/Glove Graph

As a part of Math, we created a mitten/glove graph. The children all got to "hang up" their answer to the question.

We read the children's book, The School Book by Todd Parr. We compared all the activities that he had included in his story book to what we do at school. There were many similarities.