1/28/19

The class chose their new animal care jobs today.  We'll have these for the next three weeks, and then we will get new jobs after winter break.  In the spring, jobs change and things get exciting! 

Each week, I talk to the class about "Farm News".  Sometimes, the week's Farm News good; sometimes it's bad.  I always explain that life has ups and downs.  There are good times with happy, bouncy baby goats, eggs, new growth, sunshine, and health... and then there are times that make you question you abilities.  Question your choices.  Question whether or not all the working and raising and loving is worth it.  I told the class that I was not alone is these low times.  I began raising goats almost 20 years ago, and I have acquired many friends who farm.  We all go through moments like these.  To me, it is important to explain this to kids.  Often, we as a society try to sterilize everything for children. We try to present everything as if it is all guaranteed... as if it is always sunny... as if we, as humans, are entitled for life to be as such.  Farms offer the very real lessons that help to ground us, and I don't like to deprive my classes of these lessons.  So, today I explained that despite my best efforts, we lost a pig.  Yes, things like this happen... but it's never easy.  We cry, and we question ourselves, and we stay awake at night trying to make sure we look at things from every possible angle.  The bottom line is always this: after the tears have dried, we learn from mistakes, gather knowledge, and move forward.  I strive to be a good steward of these beautiful animals in my care, and we simply do everything we can to give them the best possible life!  Beyond vocabulary and writing and agriculture concepts, these are the big lessons are what I hope my students will learn and remember.

The class began working on their new art project.  We will hopefully finish these up next week and begin on our next big one.  It will involve an Eastern European artform!


At home, the class was shown three different European paintings of farm scenes.  They were asked to choose on of the paintings and write a story about it.  Just as I'd hoped, the students came up with vastly different storylines for the animals, characters, and settings!  I showed the painting and the class took turns sharing their stories.  We discussed the tone of the artwork and the different interpretations.  They did such a great job!

Since the day was so gorgeous, we headed back outside after reading our stories.  The kids were each given a set of gloves and we set to work pulling up old dead plants from our raised bed garden.  The kids needed some time outdoors, and this was a great activity to get them moving!





After lunch, the class presented their European foods.  Kids could bring in a dish from any European country.  We had Bosnian Ćevapi with Kajmak, shortbread, Swedish meatballs, a Nutella croissant ring, marinated olives and cheese, and more!  

The kids learned about Russia today.  We talked about this huge country and its different landforms.  The class talked about mountains, valleys, plateaus, etc.  They really enjoyed seeing the Russian alphabet, which uses the Cyrillic script.  They were even able to listen to part of a story in Russian.  We talked just a little bit about different types of governments today.  Next, the class shared information that they learned about different European countries.  They chose a country and dove into the big stack of library books!  I explained to the class the difference between reading for fun and reading for information.  Sometimes, we need to read each and every word.  But, sometimes it is helpful to skim to find information.  After you find what you are looking for, it is important to be able to summarize what you have read.  This is a skill that takes practice!  They enjoyed reading and coming up with sentences to add to new information cards.  They added all of their cards to the paper bags that had been decorated.  Next week, we will be using these bags in a fun activity!  

In science, we used a life cycle chart to talk about the life cycle of mosses and ferns.  They learned about different parts of the plant and how the spores move in the wind before landing and growing new plants.  The class added the life cycle chart to their science notebooks. Then, we headed outside for a little fungi, moss, and liverwort nature walk.  The kids pointed out moss, but once they looked closely they realized that they could actually see the stalk and spore capsule!  We talked about the way that fungi decomposes logs and dead trees, the way mosses and ferns can make their own food, and the way moss clings to surfaces.  It was a perfect ending to a perfect day! 

1/21/19

Due to the cold, the class didn't do today's animal care outdoor activities.  Instead, we talked about how farmers must go out even in the cold or rain or ice... or if they have the FLU!  Thankfully, the class was able to stay warm... and Ms. Holly did all of the jobs before class began.  I explained the class that the fate of the new calf has been determined: We will keep her!  The kids were very excited!  In other farm news, the Nigerian Dwarf goats are on baby-watch at for the next few weeks.  They have all been moved into the "Maternity Ward", given their CD&T boosters, and now they just get to munch on hay and relax!

At home, the class worked on writing very descriptive paragraphs.  They were asked to choose one animal on the farm and to describe it in detail... but not to tell what animal it is!  The kids loved listening to each paper and taking turns guessing.  I was very impressed with the quality of their adjectives.  They did a great job with these!

Next, the kids were given different animal cut-outs to glue onto construction paper.  Under each flap, they came up with different adjectives to describe the animal.  We called it "Adjective Farm".  This was a great way to practice with adjectives, but also to work on handwriting and spelling skills.  We used a "word wall" to keep up with all of the different words that we need to spell.














Once our Adjective Farm activity was completed, it was obvious that we HAD to get our wiggles out!  Thankfully, the sun had come out and things were warming up just enough to bundle up, get outside, and RUN!

After working on our oil pastel cows and eating lunch, the class added the adjective card to their stack of grammar cards.  We will be working to identify words that have different forms, making them nouns in one for but adjectives in another (example: happiness/happy, hope/hopeful, joy/joyful).

As we began our literature/reading lesson, I decided to practice our vocabulary words in a different way.  Ms. Sydney and I passed out whiteboards, markers, and erasers to each student.  Then, I wrote a couple of the vocabulary words that they had studied at home on the board.  Each of the kids came up with their own sentences using one of the words.  This was a very fun (and creative) way to discuss the different meanings.  Plus, whiteboards and markers make everything FUN!

The class shared their field guide entries on European landmarks.  In this chapter book, the characters aren't experiencing a lot of wild animals or plants... but they are visiting a lot of great locations!  In the "Places" section of their field guides, the students did a great job of writing down the things they have learned!  Further, they each took turns reading their journal entry on one landmark.  These kids are doing an awesome job with their writing this year!  We talked about the Eiffel tower, Big Ben, the Sistine Chapel, and more!  After each of the students had presented, I had my son present a project that he did for his high school Roman project.  He showed them a model that he created of the aqueducts, told about the construction, purpose, and effectiveness of the aqueducts, and answered their questions.  The kids loved it!


Next, we created our next set of paper bags for European countries.  The students enjoyed making them, but they have no idea what we will be using them for!  I'm hoping that I can create a FUN way for them to enjoy researching and learning about the interesting and diverse places in Europe!

In our book, the characters are visiting a sundial.  In class, the kids made their own!  We had to talk about Daylight Savings Time and how it effects the results.  These were simple, yet worked very well!

Our science lesson for today was on plant classification.  As we begin our unit on the plant kingdom, it is important for the kids to understand the difference between spores and seeds and between vascular and nonvascular plants.  We discussed these in class, and they added a page to their science notebooks that we will work with next week.







 

1/14/19

We began our day with a lesson on different breeds of cattle.  The class was able to see the different characteristics of dairy and beef cattle breeds on the screen and they asked a lot of great questions!  Our new little calf is part Holstein, and we continued to work on our Holstein-inspired art project!



At home, the students wrote about our new calf.  In class, we talked about the pros and cons of keeping a bottle calf.  The kids did a great job writing about this topic in their journals.  One of my favorite parts of Farm Fusion is the students' desire to share their creative writing assignments.  Each week, they cannot wait to stand up and read to their peers... and I love their enthusiasm!

In order to integrate a little math into our agriculture lesson, we discussed how dairy products come in gallons, pints, and quarts.  The class used pictures of different measurements to create a silly  "Gallon Man" project as we discussed the measurements as a class.  Hopefully, these kids will remember this lesson when the concept pops up in the future!


After lunch the kids enjoyed a visit from a special guest!  Ms. Karen Allen has a degree in Spanish and came to help the class understand the differences in the Spanish language across Mexico, Central American countries, and southwestern countries of Europe.  The class learned about Spain and even made castanets!


Our class has been researching different European countries.  They are also collecting or creative pictures from different of landscapes, flags, landmarks, etc from different European countries.  Today, the kids created paper bags to represent each country that we have studied so far.  The bags are decorated on the outside, and the class placed their informative notecards in the appropriate bags.  We will continue this activity next week before using the bags in a fun in-class activity!




In science, the class has been learning about the fungi kingdom.  We reviewed their lesson from home and then the class was able to see a spore print that I made from a mushroom the night before.  Although we won't be making spore-prints in class, I will post a video so parents and students can create them at home, if they'd like!  Next, the kids worked on a mushroom dissection!  They learned about the different parts of the mushroom, as well as the function of each.  The class learned how to create a wet mount slide, and we viewed slivers of the gills.  The kids will label the different mushroom parts in their science notebook before next class.