Budding young artists

After reading the book, "Do You See Birds?", we had a discussion about how the illustrator, Barbara Reid had made the pictures. It turns out that she forms all her illustrations using plastercine! 

The students were quite fascinated by this. After watching some How to videos, they proceeded to make their own plastercine masterpieces.

They discovered that by using different objects such as pencils and rolling pins, they could give their plastercine some texture representing feathers, water, tree bark etc. 

There were many masterpieces to showcase.

Ducklings...in progress

Today, we "candled" the duck eggs with the blue group. Candling refers to shining a bright light into the egg and hopefully, being able to see the developing embryo. Each student got a chance to join a few classmates in a very dark room, and use the flashlight. We  saw many veins and lots of movement inside many of the eggs. 

Here is how we candle the egg, however, the lights must be turned off!

At one point, we found some eggs that weren't fertile. The eggs were very plain, and there were no veins visible. I explained that this egg was not going to develop into a duckling. The kids asked me why this had happened. I explained that there were many reasons and mommy duck maybe didn't lay the egg at the right time. One girl piped up "Maybe the mommy and the daddy duck weren't married!"

The eggs are set to hatch around June 10th. Stay posted. 

Making bread

On Thursday and Friday of last week, we baked bread and mixed butter with both classes. The students had a lot of fun mixing the dough, then kneeling it (punching it), forming it in the pan, baking it, and of course, eating it. We discovered that the cream took a lot of shaking to make it into butter. 

Shaking the cream into butter.

A special thank you to Mrs. Rajotte and Mrs. Gibson who helped us each day. 

Home sweet home

Both classes completed their clay bird nests this week. Those who had formed a nest then researched what materials the birds used to build their abode, and painted it accordingly. They then had to find out what colour of eggs that bird had, mix the paint to an appropriate colour, and painted the eggs. Some students showed their nests to Mr. Thompson, and explained what they had learned, while others taught their classmates some of the information. 

Painting a hummingbird nest, made of bark, moss, lichen and held together with spider webs.

We hope that if your child brought home a nest, they are able to explain what it is and why they chose to make and decorate it that way.

Coming soon...ducklings!

Now that our chicks have hatched and been delivered back to their farm, we have set the incubator yet again with duck eggs this time. They need to incubate for 28 days, making the eggs hatch around June 10th. The students were very keen to help prepare the incubator, and set the eggs. When we hatched chicken eggs, the incubator was set up in the library. This time, it is in our classroom, hopefully making it a hands on experience for us. Special thanks to the Rajotte family and Eileen (the bus driver) for donating eggs and sharing their know-how. 

Enjoying the great outdoors

I always joke that dandelion season is a Kindergarten teachers favourite season! With the green group today, we went outdoors, and explored a different area of our school yard. We discovered LOTS of dandelions, some old cattails, and a little creek (ditch). What an adventure!

Caution...construction zone!

We have started turning our dramatic arts centre into a construction area (there are some very excited boys especially😄). They are busy measuring, designing, sanding, clamping, etc. if you have some items at home that would enhance the experience, please feel free to send them in. We have screwdrivers, but no screws to fasten the wood together. 

Making nests

Through observation and investigation, we have discovered a lot about nests, and what materials birds use to build their shelter with. Using some of these ideas, the students have built their own nests for a specific bird species, complete with eggs. The nests are made with self-hardening clay, and we will paint both the eggs and the nests later, once they are dry. 

New School Pals

Hatching day has arrived...with all the usual excitement! When we arrived at school, 3 chicks had already hatched, two brown striped ones, and one tiny banty chick. Throughout the day, two more emerged, a black one, and a yellow one. I expect by tomorrow, there will be at least 2 more. Each of the students got to see them and hear their little "chirps!" 

It is so hard to believe that these vibrant little creatures are squished inside these eggs for the past 21 days!

Wood Scraps anyone?

"Building" is an every-present theme within most Kindergarten classes.  Lately, our students have expressed a keen interest in using tools and building more complex items.  As a result, we would like to turn our dramatic arts centre into a construction workshop.  If you could help us with any of these items (or other ideas that you can think of), we would be very appreciative:

•  wood scraps
• screws/screwdrivers
• plans for building simple items
• work gloves
• work aprons

  We were hoping students would have to make a plan and decide what to build before beginning a project.  With safety (and noise) in mind, we will not have hammers and nails. We are hoping to have a volunteer come in and build a birdhouse or 2 with us.  If you might be interested, please let us know!

Kindergarten Concert

Just to confirm, the Kindergarten concert for both the blue and green groups (Mme Wilson and Mrs. Sonnenburg's classes) will be Wednesday, May 6 at 6:30.  This is the French Immersion concert.  There is a concert on Thursday night involving the classes of Ms. Cameron, Mrs. Ellis and Mrs. Almeida's classes.  There are just too many classes and students to have one concert. We have asked that the students arrive at the school at 6:15 on Wednesday, dressed in their "spring best"!  Hope to see you then!