Sound/ music inquiry

Last week we started a new inquiry on sound. We brainstormed and listed all the sounds we hear in our daily lives, both indoors and outdoors. Our list was so long, we were surprised how many different sounds we hear everyday! 

We read the book The Sounds Around Town written by Maria Carluccio. 

The Sounds Around Town

Written by: Maria Carluccio

Learning about different instruments. We read the book Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin written by Lloyd Moss and illustrated by Marjorie Priceman. 

We watched various videos of live orchestras. It was very interesting to watch the conductor and identify the different instruments. The students were fascinated with the crescendos and decrescendos in the performance.   

Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin

Written by: Lloyd Moss

Illustrated by: Marjorie Priceman

Exploring different instruments and their sounds using the Smart Board. 

 

 

Playing different instruments and discovering various sounds. 

 Learning about sound vibrations using a cardboard box and different sized elastics. 

Watching the beans vibrate as we beat the drum.

Growth mindset

St. Anne is taking part in a school wide focus on growth mindset. Mindset is how we think and perceive events and encounters in our daily lives. 

We can have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. If we teach children how to have a growth mindset, they will be more resilient, think positively and develop perseverance. They will view challenges and failures as growth opportunities.   

We read The OK Book by Amy K Rosenthal. We talked about trying new things and not giving up if they are difficult. We wrote about what "we are ok at;" things that we've enjoyed trying to learn. 

The OK Book 

Written by: Amy K Rosenthal

Illustrated by: Tom Lichtenheld

Turning "red" thoughts into "green" thoughts. Changing our thinking from negative to positive. 

We read the book It's Okay to Make Mistakes. We talked about how it is important to make mistakes so we can learn from them. 

It's OK to Make Mistakes

Written and Illustrated by: Todd Parr 

Flower shop dramatic play

Changing our dramatic play area into a flower shop. 

Our caterpillar and butterfly inquiry

On Monday we welcomed 5 new caterpillars to our classroom! We are beginning a new inquiry on the life cycle of a butterfly. Over the next two weeks or so, we will be watching these caterpillars transform into butterflies. Stay tuned for updated pictures. 

Monday: Day 1  

Wednesday: Day 3 

Look how big they've grown in only two days! They've also started to shed some of their skin.

Friday: Day 5

Monday: Day 8

One caterpillar has climbed to the top of the cup, it is ready to pupate.

Tuesday: Day 9

Overnight a chrysalis has formed! Two other caterpillars are getting ready to pupate.

Tuesday: Day 16 

Transferring the chrysalis' into the butterfly net. 

Wednesday: Day 17 

We have a butterfly! One butterfly emerged from the chrysalis. 

Our caterpillar and butterfly sensory bin with beans. 

Exploring different books on butterflies. 

A song on youtube by Harry Kindergarten we enjoy about the life cycle of a butterfly. 

Click here to watch a great video on the life cycle of a butterfly from National Geographic TV.

Matching and ordering the life cycle of a butterfly on the Smart Board.  

Putting the stages of the butterfly life cycle in order.

Our classroom butterfly display.

Memory game: matching different types of butterflies. 

Labeling the parts of a butterfly.

3D shapes

Learning to identify and describe various 3D shapes: cube, sphere, cylinder, cone, pyramid and rectangular prism. 

Sorting shapes on the Smart Board. 

A video from youtube from Harry Kindergarten we love about 3D shapes. 

We also enjoyed watching this video on youtube. 3D shapes are used to make these interesting people. At the end, all of the shapes are sorted. It gave us the idea to try to build various things using different 3D shapes. 

 Building using different 3D shapes. 

Our 3D shape experiment. When using a ramp, will 3D shapes stay, roll or slide? We made and recorded our predictions. 

We thought that the sphere, cylinder and cone would roll because they are round and have some circular surfaces. We also thought that the rectangular prism and cube might slide or stay because they have flat sides. 

We noticed that the cylinder, cone and pyramid could be placed on the ramp in multiple ways as they have different sides and points.