Squirmy Wormies!

The arrival of the earthworms always fills our Kindergarten classrooms with curiosity, giggles, and screams! Check out our videos below to see how our first encounters went!

Meeting the Worms...

Our class has been very busy learning about the needs of living things and comparing their bodies and environments.  With a special delivery of worms this week, we were able to have a more 'hands-on' experience to help us complete our research.

Check out the videos below to see some of our students meeting the worms for the first time!

The Great Outdoors

Our study of plants and garden inhabitants has sparked some exciting individual research projects with our students. They have been diligently hunting for seeds in their fruits and vegetables in the cafeteria, as well as in the plants and flowers they have found outside at recess.  We have even had some students who carried out their investigations at home as well. 

Angelo showed off his pine cones, which we learned are the parts of the pine tree that carry the seeds.

Maribel brought in her watermelon seeds which we later added to the math counting sets station.

Stavros brought in a whole collection of seeds that he grouped into different categories and then wrote about.

Stavros's seed collection definitely proved that seeds can come in all different shapes, textures, colors, and sizes!

Breanna introduced us to a squirmy fellow she found in the soil.  She also found several snail shells!

Kailtyn showed us how plants can be used to inspire beautiful artistic masterpieces!  She shared with us that her grandmother is a florist, and she awed us with a lovely piece she made with petals from her grandma's shop.

Adan brought in a bright bouquet of dandelions.  He showed us where the roots had been and reminded us that the seeds are in the flowers.



Wild about Worms!

Our class couldn't wait to meet a group of tiny, slimy, wiggly friends this week :)  We're talking about worms, of course!  Before we were introduced to the little creatures, we read the book "The Diary of a Worm" and watched a Wild Kratts worm video on PBS (see this month's page to learn more).  We learned that worms don't have ears, eyes, a nose, or feet like the other animals we've learned about- only a mouth.  We practiced finding the worms heads by first locating the ring band that goes around their body.  The Kratts video also taught us that worms prefer not to come out when it is sunny because it can take away their moisture and hurt their bodies.  They can, however, come out in the rain as it is easy for them to move around in.  Since they don't have feet or legs, they have to move around by contracting and expanding their bodies like an accordian.  Worms live in underground tunnels and have a diet that consists of leaves, plants, and fruit.  Farmers love worms because they help make the soil ready to grow crops.  The girls in our class seemed to be the really adventurous ones when it came to handle the worms- they 'dug' right in!  We had some guys, on the other hand, who didn't want to be within 10 feet of the squirmy friends!  Check out our pictures and videos below to see what our encounter was like: