Science: Fall-en Leaf!

One of my most favorite parts of fall is the beautiful changes to the leaves. I love going on hikes and being outside during this time of year. Last weekend I went to Eaton Canyon in Pasadena and collected several different shapes, sizes and colors of leaves. If you haven't checked out this amazing park, I highly recommend it. At the end of the hike you are rewarded with a beautiful waterfall.

I brought the leaves into class and had students pick their favorite one. Students were able to choose other leaves around the playground, but most chose ones that I brought in. They were amazed with how big the leaves were! Once they picked the leaf of their choice, they had to use their 5 senses to describe the leaf and draw a picture of their leaf. They really enjoyed this science activity! :)

Social Studies: Needs and Wants

Need or Want?

It's important for children to understand the difference between needing and wanting something. To teach this important lesson to our class I decided to use my favorite children's author Mo Willems! My students LOVED these books! They laughed and smiled the entire time!! :)

Once we finished reading, we watched a video about needs and wants. Then as a class we completed making a list of things the pigeon wants and needs. They did an excellent job making these list! I was super happy because it was the first time we have ever discussed this topic. 

Then students completed the same activity on their own.

Language Arts: WILD about Turkeys!

Readng: Characters and Parts of a Book

Science: Using our 5 Senses with APPLES!

Sight, smell, taste, sound and touch...

Children rely on what they learn through their five senses. Therefore it's essential for them to understand which sense they are using as well as how to use other senses to have a better understanding of the world around them. To promote this skill we focused on using our five senses with an apple. To begin we watched a video discussing the five senses. Then we used our five senses to understand apples. I encouraged students to use very descriptive words. Children had a really great time smelling, tasting, listening, touching and looking at the apples. 

Beautiful apple and pumpkin farm!

Social Studies: American Flag

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

The American flag is a very important symbol to the United States.  We discussed that the the 50 stars represent every state in the United States and that the 13 stripes represent the original 13 colonies. The American flag is a statement of freedom and it symbolizes American values. We watched a video on the significance of the flag and then recited the Pledge of Allegiance. We discussed how to stand and show respect to the flag. When saying the Pledge of Allegiance, we are making a promise to our country that we will be respectful to it. My lovely students also learned how to use American Sign Language (ASL) to recite the Pledge of Allegiance! GO IVY KIDS!!!