Pumpkin Patch

Our Class Takes A Trip To Hudak's Farm stand
On our second field trip, our class got an opportunity to participate in many fun and educational activities. We picked out a pumpkin, decorated it with vegetables and plants, and got to see how the food from our school is tuned into compost. The farm uses the compost to then grow their wonderful vegetables and fruit. We also experienced an old fashioned way of getting dried corn off the ear. Later that week, we were able to go outside and each student pressed their own apple and tried fresh pressed apple juice.

Monarch Migration

Our Class Migrates To Mexico

Our class participated in an incredible activity last Friday. We were able to incorporate an authentic learning project where the students were the butterflies making their way to the mountains west of Mexico City, Mexico. We were treated to class made salsa and chips, quesadillas, Spanish music, and traditional dress. This culminating event featured a "cross pollination" of many content areas and was just a blast!! Our afternoon ended with the release of our butterflies.

Salsa And Seeds

Our Class Makes Salsa And Finds Out About Seeds
We made salsa on Thursday for our "Butterfly Migration" on Friday. We used tomatoes and peppers from our school garden and students were able to chop, blend, and mix. We also took a look at how seeds disperse and tasted a variety of seeds. It was a very fun week with lots of opportunities for hands on learning.

Hackett's Apple Orchard

Our Class Visits An Apple Orchard

To kick off our apple unit, our class and the rest of the kindergarten classes took a trip to Hackett's Apple Orchard. Our students went on the trip knowing a little about what happens at an orchard. We got a bunch more information about the work that it takes to run an orchard and how much fun it can be!! We learned how to turn an apple "eye to the sky" to protect the branches and the "spur" which will be next years apples. The white layer that forms on the apple is called the "blush" and can be conveniently polished off, as many students tried before biting into one of the the three apples that they picked off a tree to bring home. We saw giant pumpkins, rode on a tractor drawn wagon, learned about the history of the orchard, and saw many different varieties of apples. The playground was also a huge hit and the bus ride home proved that it was an activity filled day. Our focus the next two weeks will be a many activities around apples. We made applesauce on Friday with apples I got at the orchard and we will hopefully make tarts with some more.