Week Five Photos

These photos go with the post Week Five Notes (week of Oct 3).

this stickie note inspires a quick SWI lesson on < history >

once I bring up the schwa they all want to get dictionaries and find examples

my Great-Uncle Wally's dictionary used to be the biggest of them all

(Random House Unabridged Dictionary, first printing, 1966)

then a few months ago someone donated this monster dictionary from 1959

(Webster's New International Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd edition)

my favorite dictionary is actually from 1938 but the children aren't allowed to touch it because it is just too fragile

 

our collected lunch trash becomes a Trash Timeline lesson

first the children lay out the Time Cards in order, then try to place each category of trash by the card which states how long it will take to decompose

a topographic map lesson with an ordinary rock

for both the rock (in a clear plastic bin) and the kit, you place a piece of tape up the side marked off in centimeter increments

working with a teammate, pour colored water until you have reached the first centimeter line

trace around the rock (or plastic mountain) with a grease pencil, carefully following the line of the water

then pour in more water, stopping at each centimeter marking to record the new water level by drawing a line

we did think that the markings are both easier to draw and easier to see with the rock

the key point is that -- when viewed from above -- the markings are closer together where the slope of the rock is steeper and father apart where the slope is shallower

a rock is also free!  all you need for this lesson is a large irregularly shaped rock, a clear plastic bin, masking tape, a ruler and pencil, a grease pencil, and some food coloring (optional)

 

cardboard continues to be King at recess time

the "hot" new trend is to play "The Floor is Lava" with the entire yard, and all ages of children worked together to very carefully make a pathway of boards and cardboard so that they can get safely all the way around the house!

the October block for the Pterodactyls is Famous Inventors, but we are also doing a yearlong theme on Legends of the Saints

they will add to the MLB throughout the year

now that we have covered all of the lowercase letters, and the capitalization rules, we can begin to add the Saint stories we have heard to the MLB

the brand new Binary Mat!

the first inventor we are studying is Leonardo da Vinci; framing the MLB as being similar to his famous "inventor's notebook" makes it really fun!