First Field Trip

Today we took our first field trip to Litzsinger Road Ecology Center in Ladue. This was a great experience, partially because we got to plan the trip ourselves based on what we have been learning in class. The students were divided into five groups of four, and each group was led by a volunteer. Each student had science booklet to complete, and each group was given a gardening bag containing a shovel and an empty container. We had four main objectives:

1. Collect soil from a specific location (prairie, woodland, near the road, upper creek bank, lower creek bank) in their container, and draw and describe their dig site
2. Find five different bug boards located at the center, and pick them up to count and draw what they see
3. Find examples of weathering and erosion
4. Turn over a log and look for signs of decomposition. 

Because we had such great volunteers and I knew my students would be on their best behavior, I was able to float back and forth between all of the groups. I loved hearing the students' inquisitive questions and seeing the joy of learning on their faces. The students had the opportunity to explore with their volunteers for about an hour and a half, and each group traveled all over the center's grounds. Students found lots of worms, insects, fungi, new plants, and even a deer skeleton. At least one group saw live deer. We all learned lots of new things (including me) and got to put our classroom learning to the test. There was even time for some groups to skip rocks in the creek.

The time went very quickly and nobody was ready to leave. It was awesome to hear the students so excited about learning, and just to see them explore nature. Several of the volunteers told me how impressed they were with our students' behavior and said they were one of the best groups they had ever had. The volunteers were also impressed with the kids' understanding of erosion, weathering, soil, and decomposition.

We brought back our soil samples and other great nature finds to explore further in the classroom. This was a wonderful experience and such an extension of our classroom learning. The best part is that we get to go back at least once more this year (maybe two!)

Unfortunately, I was not able to get pictures of every group (they got really spread out), but I took a lot. 

The bus ride

Writing in their science journals

They found cool seed pods.

Sydney, Olivia P., Max, and Wyatt stopped to check under a log.

Gus stops to look at the cup plants.

Olivia, Audrey, and Sarah explore the prairie.

Kira, Marin, Pete, and Eddie listen to their volunteer.

Finding the remains of a dead deer.

Looking under a log

Kira and Eddie show off a worm they found.

Wyatt, Zack and Eddie share ideas during our debriefing afterwards.

Soil, Rocks, and Erosion- Oh My!

For the past few weeks, we have been learning about earth science. This unit is all about natural resources, soil, rocks, composting, and weathering and erosion. One of the great things about this unit is that we are getting outside to dig and explore nature. We have also been bringing nature into the classroom. This week we sorted rocks and explored with soil. It makes the classroom a little messy, but it's all in the name of learning.

Groups sorted their rocks based on different properties- color, size, texture, etc.

Today we learned about the different layers of soil- topsoil, subsoil and bedrock. I found a song called the Topsoil Dance on YouTube and we sand and grooved to the music. Here it is, in case you want to groove to it at home. Ask your children to show you the actions we used.

Right after science we went outside for an extra recess to celebrate Sarah's birthday. I guess the song is catchy, because I caught some girls singing it outside. I love how music can help you remember things, and when you throw in dancing, it just makes it fun.

Today we made posters to demonstrate our learning about soil layers. They turned out pretty great (and kids were singing the song while they worked).

Maya with her soil layers poster.

Alex shows off his soil poster.

Science learning is going to get even more exciting soon, as we are waiting for our worms to arrive! Come back to our blog soon for news about our worms.

Fifth Grade Buddies

On Friday we met with our buddy class for the first time this year. Our buddies are fifth graders in Mrs. Brown's class. We got together and matched everyone with a buddy (or two) from the other class.

Then we read a book together called Mrs. Spitzer's Garden. It is a great book about a teacher who is given a new packet of seeds each year and takes great care of them until they grow into beautiful flowers. I was so impressed with how well the fifth and second grade students listened to the story. Even though there were over 40 students gathered together, it was completely silent!

Then we had a great discussion about how students are like flowers, who need a lot of love and support to grow. We talked about how our buddies could also help us grow. Since Keysor's theme this year is grow, we are hoping to tie that theme into all of our activities together.

Then the students worked with their buddies to create large paper sunflowers. We even glued real sunflower seeds to the middle. It was a lot of fun.

Olivia P. and her buddy Treasure show off their giant sunflower.

Mrs. Brown and a fifth-grade student

Madeline and her buddies with their sunflowers.

Mrs. Bartin with Clayton and his buddy

I am very excited that we have been paired with a super group of fifth-grade leaders. I know they will teach us a lot this year, and I am confident that our amazing second grade students will also teach them a few things.

All of the Bartin Bunch with their buddies

Our Class Pledge

After being together for almost two weeks, our community came together to create a pledge. We discussed the importance of rules, but decided that we all knew the rules such as "don't hit" or "keep your hands to yourself" and didn't need to write them down. Instead, we wanted to create a promise to each other about how we would treat each other and expect to be treated in our classroom.

I was so impressed with our conversation. The students had high expectations for themselves and each other. For example, one student thought our pledge should say, "We will try our best." Another student said, "We should do more than just try, we need to do our best."Have I mentioned that I love this group of kids?!

I love what we came up with. I think it perfectly reflects my own thoughts about our classroom community, but I love that it came from the students.

After writing the pledge, I brought out a stack of multicultural construction paper and asked the students to find the color that best matched their skin. We had a great conversation about different skin colors and honoring all of our differences, inside and out. They found their best match and helped each other trace their hands and cut them out.

Here is our final product. I think it is pretty awesome.