5/13/19

Well, that's a wrap!

I must say, this year has been pretty magical.  I decided today that out of everything that I raise and grow here, I love growing little people the most!  We played and laughed and learned all year, and today was the cherry on top.  This group has come such a long way.  Not only have they learned new concepts, terms, etc., but they have learned how to communicate, how to give and take, how to display frustration in healthy ways, how to help others, and how to be responsible.  I am immensely proud of each and every one of them!

I hope the lessons they learned here on the farm help them to tackle obstacles, come up with solutions, handle disappointments, overcome heartaches, and revel in the beauty of this amazing life. 

 

5/6/19

The school year is definitely wrapping up... you can feel it in the air!  In May, the kids are always especially active.  So, we "got our wiggles out" many times today!

After our animal chores, the kids met inside for a little lesson on chicks, ducklings, turkey poults, and guinea keets.  (We mixed in some phonics as we talked about different ways that the long e can be written.)  Each of the different types of poultry have specific personalities!  The turkeys are usually shy and reserved.  They move slowly and duck and hide when they are scared.  In contrast, guinea keets are completely spastic!  They freak out and run at full speed, even running straight into things!  The class met a few babies, and then we got up out of our seats to duckwalk around the building.... yes, even me!

While they had snack, the class read their barn cat stories that they worked on at home.  Their writing has improved so much over the year.  By the end of our stories, the class was vibrating with energy once again!  We made our way to the yard, and the kids and I "shook it out" to some music!  I cranked up "I Know a Chicken", and the kids and I sang as loudly as possibly while shaking out "eggs" to the music!

Last week, the kids learned the importance of soybean farming.  They were able to see how slow the process of candle-dipping can be!  This week, each student was able to choose their own essential oil scent (or make a combination of their own), and then they made pour candles in 4oz jars.  We reviewed the terms transparent, translucent, and opaque.  I think they will remember those terms from here on out!

We ended our day with a game.  Two students were our livestock guardian dogs (or LGDs), and the rest were the foxes.  The foxes had to run across the yard and carefully step into their den (hula hoop) without knocking it down.  One by one, the foxes entered the den until it fell.  Then, they all had to sprint back to base before the LGD's caught them!

In the afternoon, the kids talked about the last few chapters of Swiss Family Robinson. They have been doing a great job with their reading comprehension questions!  We reviewed them, discussed the different places on the island, and worked on their map activity.  They used acrylic paints to lay out the island's main features.  We will assemble all of the pieces to this project next week.

Show & Tell!

The class did an awesome job on this week's writing assignment!  They could choose to write a research essay on ostriches or to get creative and write about how the story would have been different it their own family had been stranded on the island instead of the Robinson's!  


The kids learned about birds, specifically owls.  Today, they learned how owls swallow their food whole and then regurgitate the hair and bones in the form of a pellet.  The class worked in groups to dissect owl pellets and investigate the findings.  They compared the bones they found to their charts, and they were able to determine what types of animals were consumed.  They were also able to tell that owls each more than one rodent at a time!  Some owl pellets contained multiple skulls!







We will be wrapping up our school year next week, and I cannot believe it!  This year has simply flown by, and this group of students has been an absolute joy to teach!

4/29/19

Last week, the class learned about quotation marks and how to use them.  They worked in groups to come up with short skits, with the farm animals as the characters.  They worked together to write down their stories, and then we created puppets for the animals.  This week, they added the finishing touches, practiced with their group, and then presented them to the class!  It was a perfect day for some outdoor theater!

Our rescue barn cats have been on the prowl and keeping the rat population here on the farm to a minimum.  One of the young cats, Mrs. Chippy, has made friends with the baby lamancha goats.  They hang out and play together, and they are even similar in color!  The class played an outdoor game called Barn Cats & Field Mice.  The three "cats" had to chase the mice and catch their "tails".  If the cat tagged them, they had to go sit out under the canopy.  But, the mice could grab an extra tail and rescue their friends!  There were sweaty faces and tired kids by the end!

Once inside, the class heard a short lesson on soybeans.  Most kids don't realize how useful soybeans are, and how they have many uses outside of being food!  I showed the kids a big bag of flaked soybean oil.  We talked about the difference between transparent, translucent, and opaque, and then the kids were able to see how heat changes the soybean oil from opaque to transparent.  In Swiss Family Robinson, the Robinsons just dipped wicks into an oil from berries to make candles.  I morphed our literature lesson with our agriculture lesson today, and the class was able to see how time consuming it is to dip candles!  At first, everyone was excited to give it a try... but once a few came up to participate, they realized that it would result in very delayed gratification!  We continued to dip the candles throughout the day, and the kids were able to see how the wax builds up to create a candle.  Next week, we'll work on a simpler and much quicker soybean oil candle so that the class will be able to take something home!

After lunch, the class had their long-awaited show and tell!  There were giant stuffed llamas, maps of their upcoming summer road trip, robots, Legos, and even tadpoles!  

Last week, the class used watercolor paints and watercolor paper to create an ocean background.  This week, they began creating a map of the island from Swiss Family Robinson.  At first, they brainstormed and came up with a list of all the spots on the island: Falconhurst, Whale Beach, Flamingo Marsh, Cape Disappointment, Tentholm, Prospect Hill, and more.  They made their own creative outline of the island, and then they used paints to begin putting it all together.  Next week, we will add details and labels to the island and overlay the island to their watercolor oceans.  

The class read their Reader's Journal entries on boa constrictors.  Some students decided to create a poem like Ernest did in Swiss Family Robinson.  Ernest wrote a poem to celebrate the life of their brave donkey, and so a few students chose to write an ode to one of the class's farm animals.  Our own donkey, Delilah, even had a poem of her own!  

We reviewed the notebook questions for chapters 12-14 of the book, and then moved on to a lesson on Africa.  At home, the class looked up some different biomes that are found in the continent of Africa.  We talked about these and discussed information on a slide presentation.  The class loved the mask art!  We will be doing an African themed art project in class next week!  The kids have a flip book to complete at home, and we will use it to guide our geography lesson next week.

4/22/19