Check out the New Posts

As always, there are 4-5 new posts put up at the same time. be sure to click on previous posts to see them all.

Parent Volunteers

As always, we are delighted to have many talented, generous parents who come in year after year to help in our classroom. Jeanette Wilburn, a local chiropractor, comes in each year to talk to the children about their spines and nervous system. Each child received a keychain of the spine. thank you Jeanette!

Stocking the Quabbin

The most of exciting field trip of the year was in early April. We start at Gate 8 with Clif Read and meet with Jim Legacy and Ken Simmons. We learn about introducing children to fishing, a gateway activity for many other outdoor activities. Each child has the chance to empty buckets with several rainbow trout into the reservoir. At the end the truck shoots the remaining trout into the water to the excitement of all, including an eagle flying overhead! We eat lunch on the lawn by the Visitor's Center at the main gate, and then visit the trout hatchery where children feed the fish in the tanks. We also saw the truck being refilled with fish for another trip to the Quabbin.

Pattern Block Puzzles

In our geometry unit we looked at building patterns with different blocks that create the same shapes. The picture shows this being done with pattern blocks. We also created equivalent shapes with geometric solids. We went on shape hunts around the building, searching for cones, cylinders, spheres and rectangular prisms (among others). We played Fill the Hexagon, a game that lays the foundation for a later understanding of fractions. When we finished this segment we created a poster of all the combinations that are the same as the hexagon.

What's Inside Our Bodies?

We have been very busy learning about our internal organs and systems over the past two months. Our buddies have been a tremendous help in moving this project along. Most recently they have been helping us research different systems in the body as we prepare for our presentation at assembly. We have learned about our brain and nervous system, respiration, circulation, digestion, reproduction, elimination, muscular and skeletal systems. We plan to finish the model of our bodies with the addition of the rib cage tomorrow.