11/26/18

Brr!!
It was chilly today, but we got out and spent some time in the fresh air!  The class chose their new animals to care for over the next few weeks, and even though it was cold, they did a great job tackling a new task!

Our Farm Fusion lesson was on guineas.  We had just wrapped up a turkey lesson, and guineas have a lot of similarities to turkeys.  They both have no feathers on their heads, and they both have 28 day incubation periods.  We talked about some of the big differences, though!  Their personalities are completely different (especially the poults and keets!), and they originated from entirely different continents.  We talked about their African roots and read an African folktale, "Guinea Fowl and Rabbit Get Justice".  Like most folktales, this story was one passed down through the generations and teaches life lessons.  We discussed the important lessons that it was trying to teach, and they will have an opportunity to work on their own (if they choose)!

We added a little bit of phonics to our guinea lesson today.   Because "guinea" makes a long e sound with an ea, and "keet" makes a long e sound with ee,  we talked about the tricky long e sound and how it can be made with ey, ie, y, ea, ee, or just e.  We made a chart on the board, and the kids discussed different examples that we could add to each column.  Hopefully, it will help with their at-home spelling and reading lessons!

Next, we worked on making snowflake ornaments out of pasta!  The kids first took time to work on some designs with different types of pasta.  Then, they glued the pieces together and laid them to dry on wax paper.  We will paint these next week!

The kids learned about helping verbs today.  We added this new card to their grammar card stack, and they got up on their feet with a fun little helping verb activity.  They will be working on memorizing the helping verb list at home, and they will have a simple worksheet to help reinforce what they learned in class.

Our Mystery in the Amazon Rainforest book has given the kids so much to talk about! They were all a buzz during our discussion, and they were SO excited to share all that they had added to their field guides! They had information on tarantulas, piranhas, blue morpho butterflies, chicle trees, and much more! In our book, the characters are searching for a legendary jeweled necklace that was stolen in the Amazon. I thought it would be fun for the kids to make their own necklaces that they could wear as they read!

A few of the students went above and beyond with their "Diving Deeper" research!  They researched the Incan Civilization and took turns sharing their findings with the class.  As we learn about the countries in South America, I wanted to give the kids a chance to be the teacher!  They drew a slip of paper from a bag.  On the paper was the name of a country or location in South America.  They will be working on creating their own lesson on their country!  They can get creative and present it to the class in any way they'd like.... They are the teacher!

Finally, it was science time!  To wrap up our bacteria lessons, the kids and I worked on a petri dish experiment.  We swabbed the indoor doorknob for Dish A and the outside doorknob for Dish B. Then, the kids wiped down the knobs with disinfectant wipes.  We swabbed each one again for Dish C and Dish D.  At home, the class will be writing their hypothesis and adding them to their science notebook.  We'll see what grows next week!

11/12/18

Yuck!  Today was our first nasty, rainy day of the school year here on the farm.  I handled all of

the soggy animal care before class began, so the kids didn't have to go out in that mess!

As the rain steadily poured, we were nice and toasty inside!  We began our day with a turkey review.  The kids did an amazing job with their creative writing assignment, and I was pleased to see so many using the terms that they used last w

The class drew names for a little ($10 max) gift exchange.  They will be keeping these a secret until the last day of class before Christmas break.  We'll celebrate in class under the tree on 12/10!

The turkey paper quilling projects were amazing! They completed the feathers and feet today, and they were able to take these home. I am very impressed with the skill and the determination that the kids showed with this. When I presented this, I explained that I had other plans just in case this was too tedious. Not one student opted for the easier version!

It was far too wet outside for any playtime, so we had an indoor picnic for lunch followed by some board game time!  They really enjoyed picking out a game and hitting the floor with friends.  We'll keep the games in class for any icky days.


Everyone did an awesome job with their sheet on linking verbs and action verbs.  We went over each question together, making any changes necessary. Keep studying your grammar cards!  We will be adding more and more... and routine practice will make it a piece of cake!  So far, we have completed three of the four types of verbs: action, state of being, and linking.  After Thanksgiving Break we will focus on helping verbs for a few weeks.

The rain really puts a damper on "getting our wiggles out", so we had to stop for an impromptu dance party!  First, we turned the Chicken Dance into the Turkey Dance.  Then, we just cranked up some music and jumped, danced, and twirled!  There is no way on Earth kids can stay cooped up for that long AND stay focused.  It's good to get up and move!





At home, the kids read the first five chapters of the new book, Mystery in the Amazon Rainforest.  They had so much to add to their field guides, and they were SO proud to show them off to each other!  We sat in a big circle and talked about anacondas, tarantulas, sloths, orchids, bamboo, the Amazon River, and more.  I feel like they have really started to get into the groove with these, and I am so impressed with how excited they are to read and share with each other everything they've learned.  We talked about the chapters and reviewed the vocabulary words.  They broke into groups for a matching exercise.  Most students really knew these words... but a few seemed like they hadn't worked with them very much at home.  Review games are always more fun if they are prepared!








Some students opted to do the Diving Deeper research assignment.  They learned about the rainforest and presented their findings to the class. There is just something captivating about the rainforest!  It captures the kids' imaginations!

Next, we integrated our reading topic with our grammar lesson.  Each student was given three strips of paper, each a different color.  On the pink strip, they chose a noun from their recent field guide entries.  They could choose any of the animals, plants or places from the chapters.  Then, they chose a "describing word" that described the noun.  They wrote this word on their green strip.  Finally, they had to choose a linking verb to link the two together.  Hopefully this tangible activity will help them remember the role that linking verbs play in sentences!

The class did a great job with their South American maps.  Today, we only focused on Brazil (the setting of our chapter book), Uruguay, and Paraguay.  We talked about how the Paraguay River divides the country into east and west, which was a great opportunity to practice the "Never Eat Soggy Waffles" pneumonic.  They will be studying some information on these countries and we will move on to others once we return.

Bacteria was our topic today in science.  The kids learned the differences between viruses and bacteria, and they also added some new flaps to their interactive notebooks.  We talked about the three main shapes for bacteria.  They learned about how certain types use flagella to move around.

To give an example right here from the farm, I explained that coccidia is a very common bacteria that is present most everywhere.  The term "coccidia" is a broad term.  There are different types of coccidia that can affect different species of animals.  (So, a canine coccidia will not affect poultry, etc.)  Most of the time, healthy animals can fight off a moderate coccidia load.  However, young animals that have weak immune systems cannot.  I explained that baby chicks that have not been exposed to a coop of existing chickens (or even in contact with used waterers or feeders) can become ill and die within 3-4 days of exposure.  Pre-treatment is simple and effective way of protecting many species.  If you have poultry at home and you frequently lose chicks once setting them out with the rest of the flock, you may want to pre-treat with DiMethox or Corid ahead of time!

11/5/18

The animals were all so happy to see the kids this morning!  Everyone was fed, brushed, and loved before we began our class day.  After a little "Farm News", which involved a tale of coyotes and a knocked down fence in the middle of the night, we began a lesson on turkeys.  The class learned some "Turkey Terms", and they wrote them onto their sheet.  They learned about toms, poults, caruncles, snoods, and all sorts of funny words!  Hopefully they will be able to incorporate some of these into this week's writing assignment!  

Next, the class took turns reading their writing assignment on their favorite farm animals.  We picked out sentences from them to discuss and review facts and opinions.

Art today was a complicated project for this age group!  I explained that they did NOT have to attempt paper quilling unless they wanted to (I had another method available that involved less fine motor coordination), but each and every one of them insisted on it!  First, they created the bodies of their tom turkeys.  Then, they used actual quilling tools and quilling strips to add feathers.  This is not easy for this age group, and they rocked it!  We'll finish them up next week!

To review the parts of speech that we have learned so far, we brought out the lapboards!  Although they may not be excited about writing down answers with pencils on paper, kids really enjoy writing with dry erase markers!  I called out definitions and examples and the students wrote the correct answer on their boards.  Once completed, they held them up high to check.  I cannot recommend this method enough!  It makes it fun!  The kids then learned about linking verbs.  We didn't discuss them very much, but we will work with them at home and talk about them in depth next week.

The class finished their chapter books!  Our characters created water filters to filter water, constructed rafts using bamboo and vines, and made their way out of the jungle!  We talked about the last section of the book and then made our way outdoors for a little raft-building competition!  In our book, Carter had a paracord bracelet that he used often.  I gave each team a length of paracord and a little "passenger" bear that would ride on their raft.  They ventured out to gather sticks and set to work!  This was really a team-building project.  Working as a group, compromising, making a plan, and sharing responsibilities is a VERY important skill to cultivate.  For some, things were rocky at first, but in the end they had worked with their teammates to create the finished project.  We floated them on water and compared their strengths and weaknesses.  Some floated well but had an uneven base.  Some help together well but leaned, and some were absolutely beautiful but sunk!  We talked about how the entire class as a whole would have made the perfect raft!

We wrapped up our study of Central America as the kids displayed and presented their country landscape pictures or writing assignments on the Panama Canal.  Those who decided to research the canal absolutely blew me away with work they put in!  We will be moving in South America over the course of the week.  At home, they will be working on a coloring map activity so that we can more effectively talk about the locations of South American countries in class.

We continued our lesson on germs today.  They learned about viruses last week, and we talked a little about bacteria today.  I included a germ booklet in their science notebooks.  This is an optional activity that would be good for those working on reading and writing.  (There are also some good tips on staying healthy during cold and flu season!)  The class will be learning more about bacteria in the upcoming week.

Let's keep hoping for good weather!  So far, so good!