11/27/17

Today began with some Farm News.  We talked about recent animal sales, which caused a little sadness amongst the class.  We discussed the reasons behind selling livestock, and how on a farm, there is a constant of births, sales, deaths, and purchases.  These are the lessons that I love teaching here on the farm.  Throughout an entire school year, the classes are able to get a realistic view of life on the farm! 

In science, the class will be learning about different organisms over the next few weeks.  They learned about plants, seeds, and photosynthesis today!  They discussed the different things that plants need to survive, and then worked in groups to create terrariums.  The class set their domes in the sun, and during lunch they were able to see the condensation forming!  The kids talked about the greenhouse effect, and how these terrariums will be a great place for their seeds to germinate.

In grammar class, the group reviewed nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adjectives.  We then talked about adverbs.  They learned about adverbs last week, but since it was a holiday week, it needed a big review!  The class added the adverb card to their grammar card ring, and they will be working with both adverbs and adjectives at home this week.  They will also be incorporating what they learned today about descriptive words into their journal entries for next week.

Today's art lesson is getting us into the holiday spirit!  The class used different textures to create a winter tree scene.  At this age, just learning to wrap materials around a shape is a lesson in itself.  They did a great job following directions, working together/sharing, and working through a little frustration!  The end results were beautiful!

For history, the class learned about the first year that the Pilgrims spent in the New World.  They learned about the hardships they faced, the temporary homes they lived in, the permanent structures they built, and the roles that Samoset and Squanto played in their survival.  They worked on the next “pocket” of their Colonial America booklet, titled “The New World”.  They will be rereading the material at home and completing the Words to Know vocabulary sheet.  We will add these to our pocket next week!

Our math game today was a hit!  The kids broke into groups of 2 or 3.  Each player drew two cards.  They had to subtract the greater card from the lesser one.  The player with the highest difference between their two cards won the round and collected the opponent’s cards.  At the end of the game, the player with the most cards in his or her stack won!   They really did a wonderful job helping each other with subtraction, and they were so motivated to do math because it was presented as a game!  Total success!

Throughout the day, we make a point to “get our wiggles out” and get some fresh air.  To me, this is very important!  Kids at this age (or adults for that matter) can only focus for a certain period of time before needing a release.  By letting the students know of upcoming breaks, it lets them look forward to a release and helps them to actually focus and be mentally present for learning time.   

11/20/17

Lego Math Skip-Counting Lesson!

Time with the Zebus

Art!

Grammar - Adjective Investigators

Meeting the Alpacas!

11/13/17

Our class began yet again with some exciting Farm News!  No, Esther the goat has not kidded yet.... but we have two new miniature zebu on the farm!  These zebu are very small, and will be a absolutely fantastic addition to our program.  A huge thank you to Little Tots Estate for such gorgeous cattle!






Our science lesson was all about forces and motion.  The class moved from station to station completing a series of experiments.  They used bouncy balls, toy cars, pinwheels, marbles, and tops to make their observations.  They discussed friction, energy, forces, and more.  The findings were recorded in their motion booklets, and they were even able to keep some fun treats!

The class has learned about the first three types of verbs so far: action verbs, state of being verbs, and linking verbs.  Today, they learned about the last type.... helping verbs!  We will be working on memorizing the list of helping verbs.  Although it seems tedious now, it will help for years to come!  Please keep studying those grammar cards at home.  I promise, it pays off!


In art, the kids learned about the Israeli sculptor Yaacov Agam.  Agam was born in 1928 and is known for his optical and kinetic art.  He created agamographs, which the students learned all about today.  The class created their own Thanksgiving themed agamographs.  It was a little tricky to color two different images at the same time, but they did a wonderful job!




Our history lesson was all about the Mayflower.  The kids are at the beginning of a huge study of Colonial life.  They will be creating a book of their activities and information they gather along the way!   Our writing assignment correlated with the history lesson, as the kids wrote either stories about journeying to the New World or letters to friends or family explaining the difficulties of the voyage on the Mayflower.  As always, this sweet class impressed me!  Giving children a reason to write and an opportunity to share their ideas with friends is a fantastic motivator!

11/6/17

Today began with a super fun science lesson!  The class has been talking about states of matter.  At home, they found an example of a solid, a liquid, and a gas.  The students brought them in and shared their findings with the class.  Afterward, the group did an activity with ice cream and soda!  They talked about the solid, liquid, and gas that were used in the activity, jotting their observations down in their notebooks. 

The class worked on a handwriting exercise today.  We read different sentences, pointing out the verbs and nouns in each one.  Then, the group wrote the sentences in their very best handwriting.  We worked on technique… making sure we began our letter b’s at the very top and “bouncing”, and making sure the letter d’s started off like a c.  At home, they will be working on the next few pages.  Try to be sure to focus on technique, not just on getting it marked off the list!

During grammar time, the kids reviewed the parts of speech that they have been studying with their grammar cards.  They did an amazing job with that state of being verb list!  We talked about the difference between action verbs and state of being verbs, and then they learned about linking verbs.  I explained that the words on the state of being verb list can also be used as linking verbs, just like we can be students, sons or daughters, brothers or sisters, grandchildren, etc. but we we are still just us!  Although linking verbs can link nouns to adjectives OR to other nouns (predicate nominatives), we are not going to be diving that deep.  I taught them that linking verbs connect nouns or pronouns to adjectives, such as in sentences like, “I am hungry,” or “The dog is silly.”  The class worked on an activity where they chose nouns and adjectives and wrote them on certain colored construction paper.  They made noun and adjective “links”, and then they used yellow construction paper to connect the two words with a linking verb.  Hopefully, this hands-on activity will help them remember the role that linking verbs play in sentences.

These kids are really doing an amazing job with their creative writing!  I love how excited everyone is to hear each other's stories.  This positive motivation is exactly what I aim for!

In art class, the kids learned about George Seurat and pointillism.  They learned that sometimes, to see the big picture, you have to stand back and not stay so close!  The class worked on their own pointillism project using Q-tips.  They worked hard, and they turned out great!

 

Some of the students were able to record their Native American poem today.  Everyone else will work on memorizing it this week, and we will record theirs next Monday!

Ms. Gina finished reading our Magic Treehouse read-aloud today.  This book correlates with what the class has been learning in history, and we will continue to use our reading time to further explore Colonial America!  Our history lesson today began our journey with the Pilgrims across the Atlantic.  The class learned about the Pilgrim’s first attempt to live in Holland, which did not go well.  Then, they learned how difficult the decision was for the Pilgrims to leave on the voyage.  We talked about the preparations for the trip, the different voyagers that were aboard the Mayflower and the Speedwell, and the horrible conditions they endured.  We will be compiling all of our Colonial America assignments to create a big booklet in class for each child.  Please be sure to send in completed assignments and send back the printed reading materials!  We will need them in class!