What a difference a weekend makes!

Observations:

When we returned to school on Monday, we noticed that all three white carnations had changed colour: blue, yellow and green. We also saw that the blue carnation had the most intense colour.

We still wondered how they changed colour and why the blue carnation had the most intense colour.

Our students determined that the flowers drink or absorb the colour through their stems. The food colour in the water travels up the stem and into the flower. They also remembered that we accidentally added a whole bottle of blue food colouring to the water. This resulted in intense colour.

Further Questions:

We still haven't determined why the green carnation was the lightest?  Further investigation is required!

Literacy

We learned a new song this week:

I Am A Paleontologist

to the tune of "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

by Deanna Jump

I am a paleontologist

and this is what I know,

I study bones and fossils

from creatures long ago.

I put the bones together

a dinosaur you will see.

This is how they looked

come learn along with me.

Before singing this song, we put on our word detective "glasses" and looked for sight words. Children took turns circling common words such as "I", 'am", "me", "you".  We were impressed that, after our dinosaur inquiry, many little ones recognized "paleontologist" and "fossils"!

At home encourage your child to be a word detective. At story time, have them identify letters and words they know on the page. This is an effective way for early readers to quickly recognize sight words without having to sound them out.

Math

This week we began exploring the concept of symmetry. Using pattern blocks and paint, we created symmetrical designs and spring pictures. Our little ones were proud of their work!

Art

While visual arts are always an important part of learning in Room 103, this week's activity was so cool! We made huge paintings using tempera paint and plastic cars! We drove through the paint to create action paintings in the style of Jackson Pollock.

As a follow-up activity we watched a  video about the artist Jackson Pollock, Art With Mati and Dada. In this animated short story, the characters enter into the swirling action painting of Pollock and learn about some of his techniques.