Gingerbread Houses

This week we invited families in to help design, construct, and taste gingerbread houses with their hijos or hijas. 

The initial plan was to incorporate mathematics into the activity, through the creation of walls of 10 MnM's, using different groups to equal ten.  For example, 3 + 7, on one cracker, maybe 1 +9 on the next. 

However, the students and their families got so involved in the design, almost every group had forgotten to remember the math!

Our project resulted in six beautifully constructed gingerbread houses.  Not only did the students have to work collaboratively with their parents, but also within their group.  Each group only received a set amount of crackers, frosting, M'n'M's and decorative candies. 










Students had to problem solve, ration their supplies, reason with construction issues, share with each other, and communicate their ideas with the group. 

Second Trip to Burchfield

This week our class traveled to the Burchfield Art Museum to view it's latest exhibits on display. 

Students were tickled, and slightly embarrassed by the beautiful collection of portraits by Alexander O. Levy. 

https://www.burchfieldpenney.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/

There was also a precious work created solely out of tea!  Students were able to enter and actually touch and rake the tea leaves.

But perhaps the most influential work, was the sculpture collection of fruit.  The students stopped, lingered, and paused to sketch and study, not only the sculptures, but the breathtaking shadow art that the sculptures created on the walls and floor.  
 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

My Thankful Turkeys

Our unit of study about harvest, ended in a brief celebration of Thanksgiving, due to the huge winter storm. 

In our brief time, each student acknowledged something that they were thankful for, after we had a whole group discussion about being fortunate. 

Students wrote about it, and then decorated their "Thankful Turkeys."

The First Snowfall

Students entered the classroom today, bubbling with excitement over the weather!  It was snowing!  One by one they came in off the bus, bundled like little Eskimos.




Many students this year in our class are new from Puerto Rico and have never witnessed snow before, let alone play in it!





We worked all morning, and I watched as they looked longingly out the window, at the beautiful, peaceful snow, falling to the ground. 






So at recess, they bundled up again and went out to play in it...just for a little bit.

Some students made snow balls, some were trying to make little snowmen.  It was wet snow, and it fascinated the students that it stuck together.  We got some fresh air and some exercise in our winter wonderland. 

Students catching snowflakes.

Celebracion de Puerto Rico

Ayer nuestra escuela tuvo nuestra celebración anual de Puerto Rico y su cultura. Este año nuestro tema era alimentos de Puerto Rico y platos tipicos.

We began preparing by researching information about foods from Puerto Rico.  However, when we showed the students photos of the foods, the students had more than enough information to contribute about the foods. 

We immediately recognized that these students needed to share their experiences during the show.  We also incorporated a song, and several students interviewed staff about their favorite Puerto Rican dish. 

Our Puerto Rico Day celebration was a success!

Agricultural Center

Recently, students in first grade were given an opportunity to visit the Agricultural Center on the Hamburg Fairgrounds.  The theme was "Farm to Table," but really exposed the students to many different aspects of Agriculture. 

There were three stations.  My group began with some holiday favorite foods such as pumpkin and cranberries.  The students discussed the characteristics of these foods and formed hypothesizes about their qualities (sink or float, will it bounce, texture, etc.). 
Meanwhile, two large turkeys observed their conversation with the instructor from behind!
The session ended with a turkey craft.

The second station was about vegetables.  The instructor talked about, passed around, and eventually the students tasted three new vegetables. This session ended with a game.  It was a "turkey footprint" version of musical chairs inside the garage.  The students had to step on a footprint before the music shut off, and they had to "gobble gobble" like turkeys to the music in between.    

The last station was about Thanksgiving.  The instructor read a Thanksgiving book to the students, and then had a discussion with them about the holiday traditions celebrated in their homes.  The students created a pilgrim hat, and ended with a Thanksgiving Bingo game. 

We would like to extend a thank you to our new friends at the Fairgrounds.  They provided this field trip to our students for free.  My group enjoyed themselves.