We started our first science unit this week! We are beginning by learning what it means to look closely and observe the world around us, using our five senses. We went on a walk around our school grounds and each kindergartener chose an object that they wanted to study further. We called them "found objects." Many kids chose sticks, rocks, or leaves, and some chose tomatoes or flowers from the garden!
Next we talked about how to notice various features of our objects, including texture, color, and shape. Then each scientist sketched their found object in their science journals.
This was their first introduction to the concept of labeling their pictures, which is a great skill for writers during our Writers Workshop time that will be starting soon. As you can see at this point in kindergarten, a label usually consists of just the first letter in the word, such as "F" for flower. Eventually by the end of the year, we'll be writing words, sentences and questions in our science journals.
We have lots of "found objects" from nature available in the classroom, including those that kids bring in and put on the Wonder Table, as well as others that are available during free choice and math time. Here are some pictures of the creative structures the kids have built with the natural objects!
We also got to spend lots of time in the garden this past month! The school is lucky to have a community volunteer that supervises the garden during kindergarten recess several times a week, so the kids can harvest vegetables and play in the "digging pits" during their recess time.
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| Bringing in broccoli flowers to share with the class! |
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