Our Garden of Life is Transplanted
This week, the weather finally cooperated, and the children were ready to transplant their vegetables outside. We brought our pots, soil, gardening gloves and watering cans. We tried our best to plant as many vegetables as possible. Over the summer months, the daycare children and their supervisors promised to take very good care of our garden. I hope the children will get a nice surprise when they come back to school in September. Maybe they will be able to bring some fresh vegetables to the Soup Kitchen to feed those in need.
Farm Trip
Our trip to the farm was a huge success. The children enjoyed a wagon ride in the neighbourhood. While on the ride, they saw other farms, as well as a chicken coop (un poulailler). At the farm, the students were able to pet many animals: le cheval, la chèvre, le cochon, l'âne, le mouton, les canetons, des llamas." They were so excited to pet the 2 day old ducklings! They also saw some chickens lay eggs and some geese that honked at them. The rooster crowed many times and the smell .... ah, just like country fresh air!!
Looking for bugs
On our nature walk, the students found many bugs - "mouches, papillons, chenilles, fourmis,..." The insect that they found the most was the caterpillar (la chenille). There were so many baby caterpillars on the leaves. They had already started eating the leaves because there were so many holes in them. Madame Fleury found a dead beetle (une scarabée) and a dead dragonfly (une libellule). We brought them inside to take a closer look at them. The children could see 6 legs (6 pattes), 2 antennae (2 antennes), a head, thorax and abdomen. We could even count the wings. The children enjoyed making their own insects using materials in the classroom. They were very creative!
What's in a Pond?
After singing the song, "Le crapaud Fee-Fye", the children were asked what they could find in a pond. Using their prior knowledge, they came up with many ideas: frogs, turtles, toads, snakes, water, cattails, plants, ducks, fish, worms, ... They were excited to be put in groups again to demonstrate how well they synergized. Working together, they produced beautiful pond murals.
What is a slug (une limace)?
One day, Kohen asked if he could bring a slug (une limace) into our science centre in order to observe it. The students were very interested to see the similarities and differences between a slug and a worm. We used our computer to find out that slugs have 2 sets of antennae - one set for the eyes and the other for feeling. We also discovered that slugs have a breathing hole on one side of their body. There are many different kinds of slugs. They could live in the water or on the land. There is even a slug called a "banana slug." So interesting!
Our Celery Experiment
Madame Huneault thought it would be interesting to see how long it would take a celery stalk to grow in water. She asked Isabel and Waylan to predict how many days they thought it would take. Isabel predicted "10 jours", while Waylan said, "5 jours." Well, they were so surprised to see that it had started to sprout after 2 days! What good gardeners we have become!
Our Garden Has Grown!
On Monday morning when we arrived at school, we were all astonished to see how much our plants had grown over the long weekend! The children identified the plants that have grown the most (peas and beans - "petits pois et des haricots"), and they are continuing to carefully observe the daily growth of their plants. We will be ready to transplant sometime in June. They wonder how much more they will grow over the next weekend.
Kohen's Learning story
One morning, the children were wondering why there were so many worms in the school yard. Kohen asked if he could bring one inside the classroom to put in our science centre. He decided that it needed some mud/soil (de la boue) in order to survive. After observing it with a magnifying glass (une loupe), he wondered what it ate. He asked, "Qu'est-ce qu'il mange?" Other children became very interested as well. Mattais asked, "Où est la tête?"
We decided to do some research by using the Smartboard and the children learned that the worm has a mouth at one end and it uses the other end to go to the washroom. It does not have eyes. We also learned that it likes to eat the roots and pieces of leaves from plants that are found in the soil.
Jackson noticed how it forms different shapes. He said, "Il fait un S et un noeud!" Kohen and his classmates named the worm, Hannah.
We decided to do some research by using the Smartboard and the children learned that the worm has a mouth at one end and it uses the other end to go to the washroom. It does not have eyes. We also learned that it likes to eat the roots and pieces of leaves from plants that are found in the soil.
Jackson noticed how it forms different shapes. He said, "Il fait un S et un noeud!" Kohen and his classmates named the worm, Hannah.
Our Garden of Life
As part of our initiative to develop an outdoor classroom in the FDK yard, the students gathered to plant their "mini-gardens." They planted vegetable and flower seeds which will be transplanted into larger planter boxes during the month of June. Working together as a one-campus community, the students from St. Benedict's High School will be building the planter boxes for us. Father Jim and Mrs. DiGioseffo from St. Patrick's Church joined us for our prayer service to bless our new "Garden of Life." The children are hoping that their garden will yield a harvest, and perhaps it will be good enough to feed the hungry in our community. What a beautiful act of kindness and generosity.
Learning about butterflies
The children have been noticing butterflies outside. Madame Fleury asked them what they already knew about butterflies (les papillons) and they gave her much information: butterflies lay eggs under leaves, a caterpillar (une chenille) hatches, it eats many leaves (les feuilles), it makes a cocoon (un cocon), it transforms into a butterfly and leaves the cocoon. Then, the children made butterflies using coffee filters and coloured water. Stay tuned this week for more inquiry on butterflies.
Wind inquiry - part 2
This week, with the nice weather upon us, the children had the opportunity to try out their pinwheels. Madame Fleury asked them to run or walk in different directions to see if their pinwheel would turn. To their amazement, the pinwheel did not always turn when they walked in different directions. Leah explained that it depended on which direction the wind was blowing. They also discovered that the pinwheel turned faster when they ran faster.
What is wind?
The students have been noticing how windy it has been lately, so Madame Fleury asked them what they thought the wind was. They very quickly answered that it was air. But why is there no wind in the classroom? They realized that the air has to move or blow in order to have wind. They showed Madame that they could make wind by blowing the air and by waving their hands. They also suggested that fans and blow dryers make wind. They realized that wind can do many things, such as, make kites fly, make pinwheels turn, dry clothes and hair. Madame Fleury showed them an experiment with wind. She took a plastic golf ball and a blow dryer, and she asked the children what they thought would happen to the ball if she placed it above the blow dryer and turned it on. Most of the children said that it would fly up to the ceiling. But... to their amazement, the ball stayed just above the blow dryer!! Why? Waylan said that the wind from the blow dryer was pushing the ball up. What was pulling it down? Liam answered, "Gravity!" Good thinking, boys! Afterwards, the children made their own pinwheels. We'll have to wait for a good, windy day to try them out.
What makes a rainbow?
Madame showed the children a book about rainbows and asked them how they thought a rainbow was made. They knew that rainbows appeared after a rain shower when the sun is also shining. Ali piped up and offered her very intuitive explanation. She said that the sun hits the water droplets and a rainbow is formed. Exactly! The colours in the sunlight are separated when they hit a raindrop. Madame demonstrated this by using a flashlight (the sun) and a crystal (a raindrop). The students saw a rainbow reflected on the wall. Other students tried the experiment during activity centre time. They saw rainbows on the ceiling and on the walls. It was just like magic!
Looking for Signs of Spring
With the warmer weather upon us, the children were excited to go for our nature walk and look for signs of spring. They noticed all kinds of things: the snow has melted, the sun shines more, the birds are singing, there are puddles and mud on the ground, the grass is starting to grow and the buds are beginning to grow on the trees and bushes. We even brought some mud inside the classroom to add to our sensory bin. The students had fun making mud pies and cakes. Boy, oh boy, did it get messy! Take a look at our pictures.
It's raining in our classroom!
During the month of April, the children have seen some rainy days. They had many questions about where rain comes from. After having read some books and having watched some videos on the Smartboard about where rain comes from, we decided to make rain in the classroom. The students were amazed when they saw the water vapour rise from the kettle, collect in the glass to form a cloud, then droplets of water dropped from the glass just like raindrops dropping from the clouds. It was raining inside!
The Last Supper
On Holy Thursday, the children re-enacted the story of the Last Supper using bread and wine (fruit juice). They listened attentively as Madame Fleury blessed the bread and "wine" using the same words that Jesus said at the Last Supper. They then enjoyed this special meal and remembered Jesus in doing so.
The Easter Story
This week, the students listened to the Easter Story. Madame Fleury used eggs to tell them the story. In each egg was a clue to a part of the story. The students learned how Jesus died for all of us on the cross. He taught us about a new life in heaven. That is why we see symbols of new life at Easter - chicks, ducklings, lambs, eggs and spring flowers.