Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Caterpillars and Crows!




“Lots of people found caterpillars in the morning. Carly and Emma came into our classroom after recess and told us that the crows were eating our caterpillars! So we found lots of caterpillars in the afternoon and we hid them in the bushes so the crows won’t find them.” ~N.S
“Josh found me a caterpillar. I used a hat and some leaves to make a home for it. After recess I had to let it go because it was time to go inside. I had to leave it outside because they won’t live inside our classroom. I put my caterpillar in the bushes so the crowns won’t eat them. I put it there to hide it from the crows.” ~H.C
“I made an alarm for the crows that were eating the caterpillars. I banged a shovel on the pole of the play structure and I shouted ‘Crows eat a caterpillar! Alert! Alert!’ and I repeated it over and over again. I found 12 caterpillars at morning recess. When I found the 12th one it was time to go inside so I let them free, but not in the bushes because I didn’t know that crows would eat them. But they were okay because the Pre-Kers took care of them by taking them out of the place they got freed and taking care of them.” ~A.R
“Maya did find a caterpillar and she holded it. I did pick it up. It feeled like mushy chocolate.” ~A.G
“I accidentally threw the caterpillar that I found. I found a whole bunch of sand and I didn’t see that the caterpillar was on the sand. I picked up the sand and threw it at the crow. And if the crow got it she (the caterpillar) will die.” ~M.E
“A crow was looking at the spiky caterpillar and I looked at it, and then the crow was about to get it, it was flying and I ran to get it and I got it just in time.” ~E.E
“I tried to get one, but I still have zero. I tried to make a home for it. I put leaves in a bucket and I put rocks in a shovel. I didn’t get a caterpillar. And the crow ate one! He found it on the playground. He ate it because he is a hungry crow.” ~E.M
“I got to hold Josh’s caterpillar because I helped him make his caterpillars home. The caterpillar feeled like something was tickling me and walking at the same time.” ~J.R
“It was fun playing with the caterpillar. It liked the playground and house I made for him. I tried to protect him from the crows.” ~J.W.
“When I found my caterpillar it was where you ride on your trucks. I got a bucket and filled it with leaves. The crow was flying all over. First it was on the building, then it was on the play structure, then it was on the sand and then it flew away.” ~M.N
“I was the first one to catch one. It was very cool. I got another one so I gave it to Hadley. I wish I found 3 so I could give one to Jim. I made a home with leaves and I put flowers in mine. When it was in the bucket the caterpillar went all the way up to the top!” ~J.M
“The crow ate the caterpillar from the sand! The caterpillars were all over the playground! I think there were 10! I think there were 500! I kept my caterpillar on my finger and I helped John Pierre find one. On the first recess I had a caterpillar, but not on the second recess. I dropped my bucket and it fell out then crawled into the sand really quick. We (Terin, Anna, Carly & Emma) caught 15 caterpillars.” ~T.S & P.W

Friday, April 17, 2009

Spring Time at TCS!


This week we began our study of spring and poems. The children began the week sharing their thoughts and ideas of what spring meant to them. Here are some of their ideas.
Activities:
We swim at the beach and in the pools. ~N.S
People like to hike and fly kites. ~J.W
Plants:
Flowers bloom. ~M.N
Trees grow J.R
Leaves grow back onto the trees. N.S
Animals:
Animals come out of hibernation J.W
Bugs come out. A.R.
Bears come out of their caves. J.M
Beetles come out. T.S
Butterflies come out of their chrysalis. H.C
Bunnies and puppies are born. M.E
Fishes come out. E.M
Groundhogs and Whistle Pigs stop hibernating. J.M
Weather:
Sunny, windy, rainy, hot.

We then took these ideas to create mixed medium representations of spring (samples above) as well as acrostic poems (samples below).

Singing at home
Poems about Spring
Roses growing
It is the right temperature
New weather… Yay!
Growing plants
~J.R

Singing in the trees
Picking flowers
Running in the rainbows
I play with my friends
Noticing that spring is here
Growing flowers
~A.R

Sun is sunny
Plant flowers in the park
Rainbows come out
I play tennis
Noticing the flowers
Growing roses
~M.N

Shouting Hooray!
People eating pie
Rabbits hopping
I catch bugs
No snow!
Green grass
~T.S

Swinging in the trees
Petals blooming on flowers
Rain on our houses
I like playing with my brother
No painting on the wall my mom says
Going to the store with mom
~J.W

Smiling in the sunshine
Picking petals
Reading out loud
I have fun in the sunshine
No words to make people sad, just words to make them glad
Go to the sun and have some fun!
~N.S
Some people go to work
Playing baseball
Running for exercise
I like to chew apples
Newspapers to read
Growing flowers
~E.M

Swimming in the ocean
People flying kites
Rain comes from clouds
I like to fly kites
Notice that it rains
Grass grows green
~P.W

Sun warms you up
Puppies playing
Roses grow
I know that flowers bloom
Nice friend playing
Good morning sunshine!
~J.M

Swimming in the nice warm pool
Playing with friends in the park
Running on rainbows
I like to eat donuts
Noticing caterpillars hatch from cocoons
Great great spring
~E.E

Sun shines bright
People in a pool
Rabbits raise their babies
I like to eat ice cream in the shade
Noticing the birds eating
Green grass growing
~M.E

Swimming in the warm lake
People playing tag
Roses bloom
It is time to rest
Noticing the butterflies
Growing more flowers
~H.C