Exploring and Sharing our Knowledge of Pumpkins

It is pumpkin season here in Ohio!  Miss Reese and I brought in some pumpkins and set up some areas for the kids to look closer, notice and wonder.

They are really starting to create amazing observational drawings as scientists!

I set up an invitation for them to explore the concepts of heavier, lighter and equal as they measured the weight of pumpkins.

 They had some papers that they used to make their thinking visible and show what they noticed.

As they explored they became more interested and started wondering about pumpkins so we recorded our wonders and started exploring to find out the answers. I notice they are wondering more and more!

I set up experiences for them to use the arts to show what they noticed.  They look in the books and create based on what they read in the pictures and what they know.

This is a pumpkin blossom with a little green pumpkin starting to grow on it! Very observant!

We read books and watched videos to learn as much as we could and then collaborated to make a project that showed the outside and inside parts of the pumpkin.

As they were drying in the hallway, another teacher came in and said she noticed what we have been doing and asked if we would be willing to teach her kids how to document as scientists and teach them  some facts they wondered about pumpkins. I asked the kids if they would be interested and they were very excited about doing this!

They each documented a pumpkin to have an example to show them.  Knowing they were going to share these and use them to teach, they did their absolute best work!

We invited Mrs. Hoppel's class to our room and showed them how to do observational drawings like a scientist.  Taking on the role of teacher was so empowering to these kids! Then they let their new friends document the same pumpkin on their table, guiding and encouraging along the way.

We decided to make them an informational big book to teach them some things we learned about pumpkins. The kids signed up for a page to create and then got to work!

After practicing with our classmates as an audience, we invited Mrs. Hoppel's class to come and listen to our presentation!  The kids did great!  They read their parts and spoke clearly into the microphone!

We gave them the book to keep in their classroom. They were very excited to take it with them and made us all thank you cards!

To finish up, the kids predicted which pumpkin would have the most seeds.  They wrote their name on a post-it and put it next to the pumpkin they felt would have the most.

We cut open the pumpkins and dug in! They separated the seeds from the pulp.

Next, I set out some 100 charts.  They counted the seeds by putting them on the chart, then putting all 100 seeds into a cup labeled 100.  This helped us to figure out how many seeds.

With 718 seeds, the big orange pumpkin had the most!

Here are a few other experiences going on in our room as we studied pumpkins.

Here they are learning the proper way to make letters to encourage good handwriting!

Here they are practicing reading and writing sight words.

Paper has been added to our Library Area encouraging them to write about their favorite parts in the books they are reading there.

Some loose parts were added to the clay and their creative thinking was wonderful!

These witches and monsters definitely made me smile!

Stories are starting to grow around our room in our play.  Here at clay we are starting to ask them, "What story do you see in your sculpture?" It gives them ideas for writing!

An invitation to measure pumpkins by height and circumference.

They use the colored water here to try to create colors that match the leaves. This was challenging but  they did not give up!

We are asking them in all the areas of our room, "What stories do you see here? What story did you play out with your legos/blocks or in home living?  Look at how focused they are as they write about the adventures happening as they played legos.

Leaf rubbings to help them notice details in the leaves structure.

We planted some pumpkins seeds and cut a pumpkin open to observe what happens to it.

To celebrate the end of our pumpkin inquiry, we made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!  Cooking with kindergartners is so messy but so fun! We decided to make enough to give to Mrs. Hoppel's class.

Mrs. Hoppel's class made pumpkin hot chocolate and made enough to share with us too! So we got together, ate and enjoyed the relationships building with these classes!

Miss Reese ended her student teaching with us this past week.  She was wonderful and we will miss her so very much!

The kids have been expressing a very interesting interest for our next inquiry!  This will be a new one for me!  You will have to wait and see what it is!

Exploring Apples

We have been learning to look closer and document through pictures things that we notice as scientists.  Now we are learning how to use writing along with our pictures to document what we notice, created or did! The kids are learning how to say a word and write down letters for the sounds they hear. They are also learning that it is okay if the words are not spelled quite right. This is giving them the freedom to write independently. This skill will also ultimately help them grow as readers.

Here in Ohio, the apple orchards are very busy harvesting apples. It is the best time to get local apples and fresh apple ciders in the markets and stores! Apples are everywhere! Our amazing student teacher, Miss. Reese set up the room for exploring apples. She filled the science area with different varieties of apples for the kids to observe and some books about apples for research.



The children did a great job of showing the small details they noticed in the apples.  We have been learning about labeling as writers so they labeled some parts of their apples in their documentation of what they noticed.



Miss. Reese set up this STEM opportunity in our math area! It reinforced the concepts of one to one correspondence, measuring by comparing taller and shorter stacks, and identifying more or less by looking at groups of objects and numbers. It also started a conversation about grit (doing hard things without giving up) and problem solving. They also recorded how many they stacked and wrote the number. Some wrote sentences about how many they stacked and also weighed their apples and added that fact to their papers!



The record holder was this little friend who stacked 8 apples!



Another STEM opportunity that Miss. Reese set up was this challenge at the Engineering Table.  Can you build a bridge that can hold one or more apples?



They did a great job of figuring out how to make a sturdy bridge so the bridge wouldn’t break and the apples wouldn’t fall! They were definitely having to use critical thinking skills as they designed and problem solved. They worked hard to record the designs of their bridges and how many apples they held.









They showed what they noticed about apples through sculpture. This hard clay is great for developing the finger muscles we need to be able to hold our pencils correctly and write. Our fine motor skills need a lot of work!







They also enjoyed creating apple art and using paint to show what they noticed about apples! I was impressed with their eye for detail here!



They integrated math and art by creating patterns and art with apple prints.



Miss. Reese set up an experiment after the kids noticed our apples turning brown after they were sliced. They predicted what would keep the apples from turning brown? Vinegar, water, lemon juice or nothing? It was the lemon juice!





We also tasted apples and collected data by graphing which apple we liked the best. We listed words that described how each one tasted! Here are the results.



As we ended our apple study, the kids created the different apples we had in our room. They observed them, painted them and since we have been talking about labeling, we labeled them with words that described them.





Here are our labeled apples along with documentation showing what we did as we learned about looking closer and labeling! Throughout this experience, I have noticed kids starting to get more comfortable with writing! I look forward to seeing them grow as writers and use their writing skills naturally more and more during our day!

Here are a few other invitations that have been set up for them to explore in our literacy and math areas!

Below is a game called “Stack-It.” The kids take a cup. If they can identify the letter and sound they can use it to create a structure. If not they set it in their “to practice” pile.  When they are done. They record th Eleuthera they knew and have a friend help them practice the letters they didn’t know.





Here, they use the play dough and stamps to match capital letters with the lower case letters.

In the math area, they have started sorting objects in different ways. We are learning to name the rule that they sorted by.





Here I set out an invitation to sort beans and work our fine motor skills at the same time! I loved how they all used the materials differently!



These kids are obsessed with creating patterns in the math area. Here are just a few!





Miss Reese did a fabulous job of putting together some amazing experiences for her first inquiry!  She thought hard about the environment and the experiences she could set out for them to explore.  She is only with us for two more weeks and we will be cherishing every moment we all have left  with her as a part of our classroom community!