Nature Study with Beatrix Potter Weeks 1 and 2

Week 1 (9/22/16): We made paper bag nature journals.  Each week, we'll be reading one of Beatrix Potter's stories and then focusing on one animal and one plant from the story.  The nature journals will come home after our 7 week class has finished.


Week 2 (9/29/16): "The Tale of Peter Rabbit"
Animal: sparrows
Here's some neat information about sparrows (including audio of their call)
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/song_sparrow#

Plant: lettuce
It may be a little late to plant a fall lettuce crop, but it's worth a try!  Lettuce sprouts in about a week, and should be ready to eat pretty quickly, especially if you plant a spring mix.  Our nighttime temperatures will be well above freezing until late November this year.  (My seed recommenation is Ed Hume.  They're local, so the seed varieties for sale will grow in our area.)

The Cobbler and the Elves

Today we read the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of The Cobbler and the Elves.
Students kept their hands busy molding play dough into shoe shapes, elf shapes, etc while teacher Melanie told the enchanting story of the little elves who work through the night making quality leather shoes for the Cobbler.
Then, each student was given a paper hat, ears and a cotton ball to create an adorable elf hat!  They had so much fun wearing them while they acted out various scenes to their favorite story.

Nov. 5, 2015

Tomorrow we will be decorating a candy house for the story Hansel and Gretel. Are there any food allergies or restrictions we need to be aware of?
____________________________________________________________

Cinderella

This week, we listened to the French fairy tale, Cinderella.

Finger puppets helped us tell the story about a beautiful girl dressed in rags who is forced to be a servant to her step mother and two step sisters.  She had to sleep next to the fireplace, and was covered in soot.  Her sisters mockingly nicknamed her Cinderwench.

We got a taste of what it must be like to spend the day cooking and cleaning for two lazy sisters.  A feather duster and a broom were passed around, and we happily swept up bits of tissue paper into a taped-off square on the floor.  The feather duster proved to be a popular tool, as squeals of joy could be heard while dusting high and low (and tickling our friends).  Another fun challenge was to balance three plates- one on our head, and one on each arm while attempting to walk down the hallway without dropping.

The highlight of the story was the when the Fairy Godmother appears.  We loved hearing about her magic wand and how she was able to magically transform garden critters into horses and coachmen for Cinderella.

We discussed the question "If YOU had a fairy godmother, what would YOU wish for"?  Ask your student their answer to this question.

We finished our day by making our own magic wands, and reading the fractured fairy tale "Chickerella".

Have a magical week!

the Princess and the Pea

Today we discussed the classic fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea (from Denmark).  The prince was searching all around the kingdom for a real princess to be his bride. The fairest maidens he found shouted too loudly, had terrible manners, and were too bossy - definitely not marriage material. Then, in from the storm came a girl who needed shelter for the night.  A pea was placed under 20 feather beds and 20 pillows to test her true royalty.  We all know how the story ends...the girl revealed she was a REAL princess because she tossed and turned all night due to that little pea.

We decided to put the pea to the test in our classroom.  20 feather beds (towels) were stacked on top of the table, and a pea (marble) was placed underneath.  We took turns climbing into the bed and tested whether we could feel the pea- testing if we were REAL princes and princesses!
Oh!  The tossing and turning!  The miserably uncomfortable beds!   Those of us that are true royalty were crowned.

MOTHERS:  a marble pea was sent home with each royal student.  They plan to place a pea under mom's mattress to test if she's a REAL princess..  If your student asks you "how did you sleep"?  you'll know why they ask.

10-1-15

last week we read a Snow White story from Turkey. We played "The Ring" and "Mongala".

This week we read "Jack and the Beanstalk". We planted  magic beans, while we created a play dough version, our magic beans "grew". the kids climbed the beanstalk and found treasure at the top. We also planted a real bean in a cup with a wet paper towel to seem how long it takes for it to start growing. I will ask for reports on their bean's growth.

Next week we are reading a Mermaid story from Alaska called "The Legend of Aymee and the Mermaid". We will have some fish fun.

week 1 and week 2

Yesterday in class we read Sootface: an Ojibwa Cinderella Story. We compare this story with known Cinderella stories. We made a paper bag Indian vest the kids were encouraged to use Indian symbols for decoration. Also each week we will discuss the stories country of origin and the flag for that country.
Next week we will read The Magic Needle: a Turkish Snow White Story. We will be playing children's game from Turkey.