Tapping our maple tree

On Tuesday we had special visitors from the nature center come to tap our maple tree in the front yard! First, we learned about features of maple trees, and how to identify them. Then the naturalists taught us about we collect sap from maple trees, showed us the tools they used, and we got to count and see just how fast the sap was dripping out of the tree! 

A few students got to pretend to be maple trees while the naturalists showed them how people collect the sap using a hose system when they have a lot of maple trees.  

Lastly, the students learned about how the sap from the tree is made into maple syrup. We talked about how the syrup many of us buy from the store is different from pure maple syrup, and then the kids were able to taste test two different syrups! They got to decide which was their favorite, and which they thought was the "real" maple syrup. Everyone had so much fun, and it was such a nice day to be outdoors!

Celebrating Earth Week and the start of spring

Last week was National Environmental Education Week, and also the first week of lovely spring weather! We did lots of reading, talking and observing what's happening outside this time of year. Here are some of the kindergarteners' predictions about what spring will bring:

We also decorated Earth Day bags to be given away at the local grocery store on Earth Day:

We also talked about the importance of wondering, and opened up a Wonder Table where the kids can bring in anything they find that makes them wonder. So far they've brought in fossils, rocks, sticks, photographs from nature walks, and more!

The Wonder Wall is a place where they can post questions they have about how things work:

Then we spent some time reading and talking about ways we can help protect the earth to make it a healthier and cleaner place for us to be. We read a few books, and then made posters about how we can help!

We also decided to take advantage of the nice weather and read outside with our 4th grade reading buddies!

Our school has a Little Free Library in front, so some buddies were curious to see if any good books were inside :)

On Forest Friday, we visited our Sit Spots again, which have changed a lot since the winter! After observing the changes (and getting caught in the rain), we went back inside to add our observations to our Time Wheels. The Time Wheels are also called Phenology Wheels, and each season the kids have added an illustration of their Sit Spots. In the end we'll have four depictions of the Sit Spots, one for each season, which will be a great way to highlight the seasonal changes that occur in nature!

What do you do when you wonder something?

Today we had an awesome spontaneous discussion during our reading minilesson, which was focused on how to take notes while you're reading a non-fiction book. The book was about what happens in spring, and someone wondered what worms do during the winter! They asked the reading teacher, who then asked me, but instead of giving them the answer, I decided to put it back on the kids to see what they could do to find the answer. Immediately they came up with some great ideas!

First, you can write the question on our wonder wall.

Then, you can try looking in a book. One student went to the library to check out a book on worms, and got straight to work.

Another suggestion was to "do research" by checking Pebble Go (a kid-friendly science website).

And the last suggestion was to check another informational video website we watch. It wasn't working today, so we settled on BrainPopJr.  Lo and behold, we found the answer, and learned a lot more about worms in the process! The team shared their answers with the class, and we made a chart of what you can do when you are wondering about something:

This was a great example of cooperative learning and independent knowledge-building! The kids felt empowered to answer their own question, instead of relying on a teacher or other expert to tell them. I was very proud!