Animal Needs/Emperor Penguin Project

To conclude our study of aminal needs and focusing on Emperor Penguins, I gave each of my friends an egg of their own to care for over the weekend.  They were so excited and brought them home warm and cozy.  I was very proud of the wonderful job they did parenting their eggs.  A few eggs received minor bumps and bruises, however most were fine.  My friends were very surprised to receive their own "Penguin Chick" as a reward for their hard work caring for their eggs. We had so much fun learning about animal needs with this memorable project. 

Time to Hibernate!

 As a part of our studies surrounding animal needs and animals in winter, we decided to hibernate in our busy “bee” classroom.  I checked the thermometer  and observed the temperature was dropping, so we concluded that it was time to eat a lot and store fat to prepare for hibernation. Our classroom was transformed into lairs filled with hibernating bears. Our breathing and heart rate slowed, our body temperature dropped and our metabolism slowed down. We discussed signs of spring and when it would be time to wake from hibernation. We emerged at the first sign of spring and were so hungry! We needed to eat immediately. We had an amazing time investigating hibernation. 

STEM Snowflakes

After reading Snowflake Bentley, my friends put on their engineer hats, designing and creating magnificent STEM Snowflakes. They are amazing engineers and their snowflakes were quite impressive. 

Research shows that early exposure to STEM has positive impacts across the entire spectrum of learning. For example, early math knowledge not only predicts later math success, it also predicts later reading achievement (National Research Council, 2012). I love engaging my friends in STEM activities.

Gingerbread Baby Stem

 

                             

We put on our  engineering hats & created enclosures to protect our Gingerbread babies from that sly fox. 

Happy National STEM Day!

We put on our engineering hats & created structures from cranberries to represent Native American structures at the time of the Pilgrims arrival in the new land. 

Solar S’mores

We learned about solar energy & created a "Solar Cooker" to make s’mores. I strive for hands -on & active engagement with my young students. Hands-on learning increases student engagement, motivation, and retention. This activity was so fun and yummy, too.

Arachnids

We loved investigating arachnids this week. We composed a song about arachnids & concluded our studies by making edible spiders.  Yummy!