First week back

We had a great first week back from winter break! We wrapped up a few projects that were leftover from before, and celebrated the New Year by making some fireworks. We also welcomed a new student to our class, read a series of folk tales about Anansi the spider, and walked with our Forest Friday buddies to a nearby park. Below are some pictures. Welcome back!

Making family trees

Painting New Years fireworks

Forest Friday walk

Sharing what we did at the park with our buddies

"I played on the swings." - Rosalina
"I dug a pile of rock." - Cooper
"I pushed the merry go round." - Elie
"I rode the merry go round." - Levi
"Taryn and me raced each other." - Curie
"I played on the bike." - Alpha
"I played brownies with Maraskya." - Elena
"I played Star Wars." - Colton
"I was racing on a car." - Malcolm
"I played rocket blastoff." - Tyrus
"I played space adventure with Ty." - Emmett

Forest Friday buddies

Beginning the second week of school we started Forest Friday buddies! We are joining with a first grade class to do learning adventures in the mini forest and nature-based play space in our school's front yard. So far the kids have loved it. They each have a first grade buddy who they do the activity with, and then get to play whenever they are done. This week we read the book "Tiny Perfect Things" and used egg cartons to make our own collection of tiny perfect things in nature! Last week we drew our buddy in our science journal and practiced labeling with their name, then took pictures together.

Learning about birds with the Audubon Society

This month we were lucky enough to have two visits from the Audubon Society to teach us about birds! We learned all about owls, including practicing different owl calls and learning to listen for prey like an owl. The instructor brought a real (stuffed) owl for us to see, as well as owl feathers and owl pellets that we got to touch and explore. The next week she brought binoculars and we went on a bird walk around the neighborhood! The kids were so engaged and we saw quite a few birds, as well as different types of flowers and trees. Here are some pictures!

We also made owl masks on Forest Friday - pictures below!