This week we finished our Pumpkin Unit! I think that the kiddos and I agree that our pumpkin unit was a blast! We did so many things - we melted crayons on a pumpkin, made pumpkin volcanoes, counted pumpkin seeds, learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin, and so much more! Let's take a look at the week:
STEM Challenge: HELP! A runaway pumpkin is on the loose. Can you stop the pumpkin from rolling away?
To begin the challenge, we read the book, "The Runaway Pumpkin" by Kevin Lewis. I then asked the question ... How can we stop a pumpkin from running away? I gave the kiddos time to experiment rolling a pumpkin down our "homemade" ramp. We learned that the pumpkin rolled further when we rolled the pumpkin on its side. The pumpkin rolled about 4 or 5 feet! I then asked the kiddos to create a plan to stop the pumpkin at the bottom of the ramp. Our first attempt failed. We used a scoop chair that we learned was not heavy enough to stop the pumpkin. We then looked around the room and found another chair that we thought would work (100% the kiddos idea....they even thought to put the chair laying down with the seat in front!) After testing our design it worked! Success! Another group used a bin full of legos to stop their pumpkin from rolling. We learned so much through this STEM activity! We learned that pumpkins roll best when on their side. We learned how to build a ramp. We discussed different vocabulary such as "heavier" and "lighter."
Pumpkin Letter Bingo: We practiced identifying letters and making their sounds.
Life Cycle of a Pumpkin: We worked hard this week on sequencing the life cycle of a pumpkin.
STEM Challenge: Can you build a structure to support five little pumpkins?
October Self Portraits: There are many reasons why we paint self portraits.... 1.) gives children time to study their eyes, nose, mouth, and the rest of their face and body - and how it all fits together - perfect for teaching children how to draw basic body shapes, 2.) children learn how they are both similar and how they are different from their friends, 3.) great platform for developing fine motor skills and documenting the progression. Please check out the back wall in our classroom to see all of our self-portraits!
PE and Music
Happy Birthday Everly!
Happy Birthday Zach!
Field Trip: The Grove/Pumpkin Trail
Reminders:
Next Friday is carnival & our classroom party. Parents and family are welcome to attend both events! I will send out an email next week with more details.
Next week we start our Spiders Unit!
