Our unit on sound is in full swing, and we've been working hard making new discoveries about how sound is all around us. Most recently, we made drums, went on a virtual field trip to learn about animal sounds, and explored the science behind how our ears process sound. We've been learning so much! We've looked at how string instruments make sound, and we've made pan flutes using straws. Now, we're looking at how drums make sound; specifically, how the material of our drum and our choice of drumsticks affects the sound we create. Students were given a choice between a plastic cup and a paper cup. Most choice plastic, but a few chose paper! Students were then allowed to decorate their cup using a combination of markers and stickers (we love some extra fine motor practice!). Once everyone's cup was decorated, we flipped them over and used them as drums. First, we used our fingers to drum. Then, we tried using our hands. Finally, we used classroom objects such as pencils and crayons as our drumsticks. This was by far the favorite choice, because it made such a great sound! Along with Mrs. Sidders' class, we had the opportunity to go on a virtual field trip the Great Smoky Mountains and learn all about the different animal sounds you can hear there. Thanks to some park rangers, we got to listen to some animal sounds and guess which animal made it. We also got to learn about how animals use their five senses to find food in their environment. It was a great connection to everything we've been learning so far! We got to put on our scientist hats recently to learn about how our ear processes sound. The students were fascinated by all the different parts! Everyone loved the cochlea, the part of the inner ear that looks like a snail shell and turns the vibrations into a nerve signal the brain can process. After playing a virtual game where we put the pieces of the ear in the right place, we used PlayDoh on the same diagram to practice forming the different parts. This was such a hit that we're bringing it back again tomorrow, and on Wednesday we'll be creating our own ear diagrams using construction paper. I can't wait to see how they turn out!
We have just one more month in this unit, and we'll be ending it with the creation of musical instruments using recycling. After all of this, I'm sure they're going to turn out fantastic!
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February is always such an exciting month with lots of milestones and holidays to celebrate! After our 100th Day, we created pan flutes using straws, celebrated Valentine's Day, and chose a country to learn about for the Intercultural Fair coming up in March. It's been busy, busy, busy over here in kindergarten! Our pan flutes turned out better than I ever could have imagined - these students are so smart! We used everyday kitchen straws, cut them to different lengths, ordered them by length, and taped them together. Then, the students got to blow on their pan flutes to discover what kind of sound they would make. They were surprised to find they made a 'windier' sound that a normal pan flute (which we looked at before), but were still impressed by the sound they made. Furthermore, we tied in our current math concept of measurement when we ordered the straws by length. Students had agency in their pan flute building as they got to decide what length to cut their straws, and we all worked together to make sure the tape was nice and strong. Valentine's Day was a blast - we spent the morning creating bookmarks with our Big Buddies, who then led us in some gym games once everyone was done. In the afternoon, we had our party and Valentine exchange, complete with homemade bags decorated with plenty of hearts! We capped off our day with a heart craft now hanging in the hall - the students did all the cutting, pasting, and writing themselves. We wrote about things and people we love, and I was so impressed by their sweet responses! Our current unit of inquiry is about sound - how it's created, how it moves, and how it is all around us. Ms. Lori was kind enough to share some of her incredible musical instruments with us - the glockenspiel, the recorder, and the class favorite: the trombone! We met up with Mrs. Sidders class and practiced being principled listeners during her demonstration, then asked lots of great questions when she was done. I'm sure many students were inspired to create musical instruments of their own! Speaking of things to come, we began looking forward to our Intercultural Fair happening in March. Our class explored the globe, and had lots of great questions and observations! Students were amazed by how large the oceans are, as well as how far I had traveled. They loved finding Ohio on the globe, and were even curious about the construction of the globe itself. After much exploration, we decided that we would research the country of South Africa: the same country where I did my student teaching! Stay tuned for all the wonderful things we're going to learn! With all the excitement happening, we've still been having fun in the day-to-day. With student-led demonstrations on how to find Balance, visits to the library, and new skills learned on the playground, the discoveries never seem to stop!
We just celebrated our 100th day of school! How incredible to think we're over halfway through our school year, and our students are 100 days smarter. We kicked off our day making 100th Day hats, then learned about the letter Yy for 'Yippee, it's the 100th Day!' After recess, we had a special 100th day snack, counted to 100, and made a book with 100 stamps during math. After lunch, we shared our collections of 100 things and wrote about ourselves at 100 years old. The students loved seeing their 'aged' photos! Finally, we capped off the day the best way we know how: by saying Hooray for 100th Day! |
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May 2024
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