Learning About Mammals at the Zoo

Learning Trip to the Zoo
Our learning trip to the zoo was very special because of all the wonderful parents who joined us, our docent, Mr. Jason, and, of course, those incredible, fascinating mammals. Mr. Jason has had a lot of experience in the wild and at the zoo with all kinds of animals, so he was full of interesting information that got us all thinking about animals and ourselves. Parents and children alike were full of inquiries, and we all were enriched by this experience. The children and I enjoyed writing about this visit in our journals.  A big "Mahalo" to all the Magic Stone Parents who made our learning trip special!

Pumpkin Carving
We have six beautiful, big pumpkins sitting in our room! It looks a bit like autumn on the farm!  Oh, of course, there is also our handsome, little pumpkin, Senor Pumpkey, who writes the children messages each day on the Morning Meeting board. The children enter the room each morning anxious to read what he has written to them.  We have decided to see how long we can keep him. In a story we are reading, Pumpkin Jack, a little boy is sad to take his jack-o'-lantern out to the garden after it begins to rot. The kids decided we should see how long we can keep Senor Pumpkey, who has become our class mascot. They decided that if he is still around for Thanksgiving, we can make him into a turkey; at Christmas he can become a snowman or Santa, on St. Patrick's Day a leprechaun, and at Easter a bunny. This will be a very interesting and fun science/art project, I think.  We'll keep you posted!

I have enough parents for the Pumpkin Carving on Monday, October 29, from 12:30 to 2:00, but some parents will need to leave early, so if any of you would enjoy helping out, just come along. I need all parents who signed up to bring a good, sharp cutting tool that you will use to cut the children's designs.A good scraping tool for the insides would help, too. While you are cutting, the kids will be busy counting seeds. Thank you to all who donated pumpkins and to those coming to carve on Monday!

Inquiry Research
The room is nearly transformed into desert, temperate forest, rain forest, ocean, and Hawaii habitats.  We will be beginning our research on these habitats and specific animals in them. I will be sending a note home soon asking parents to sign up to help with our Inquiry research. You will enjoy helping the children read information about their particular inquiry and write it in their own words. The 2nd Graders are already quite accomplished at this, but the 1st Graders will need a little more support. 

Magic Stone Party
Last Friday we celebrated AS's birthday and combined it with a Magic Stone Party. What fun! The children voted to play Halloween games and came up with "Pin the Mouth on the Ghost" and a version of "Duck, Duck, Goose" that they called "Ghost, Ghost, Goblin."  Ms. Pang, AS's mom, provided ice cream and, of course, we all danced.

Be sure to check the photo gallery for some great shots of your children enjoying their learning at MPI!

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SPOOKTIVITY FUN!

Halloween is so much fun for children!  They love the art activities, spooky stories, costumes, and, of course, all the goodies. Your children spent this afternoon preparing decorations for MPI's Spooktivity celebration on October 31st. Mrs. Cutter organized the event for our class, and Mr. and Mrs. Yoshikawa, Mrs. Meyer, Mrs. Ichinose, Mrs. Eng, and Mrs. Trowbridge all came in to help. The kids love having parents in the room!  Mahalo to all!!  The children created ghosts from their footprints and bats from their handprints.  Both were decorated with googly eyes, beads, and glitter glue. There was a table for decorating Halloween cookies. Guess what! Those cookies disappeared as soon as they were decorated! Another table made Trick-or-Treat bags for Spooktivity. While waiting for the "hand-on" activities, the children enjoyed doing Halloween jack-o'-lantern mazes, scrambled words, word searches, patterning, and subtraction story problems. What fun! A highlight was when they gathered on the Peace Carpet and started singing a stirring rendition of the "12 Days of Halloween" for me and the parents.  An afternoon enjoyed by all!

Inquiry and Art Collaboration
The children are involved in a very exciting learning collaboration with Ms. Brooks, the art teacher. As they put  their finishing touches on realistic habitats full of animals they are researching, she is encouraging them to draw abstract animals to put in abstract environments. Please, take time this weekend to gather some of the materials that will add texture and design to your child's abstract habitat.  Be sure to write your child's name on the bags they bring in and, remember, just a little will do!

Mahalo, Mrs. Trowbridge
The children enjoyed a wonderful learning activity with Mrs. Trowbridge last week. She adapted Rudyard Kipling's "Just So" stories to their level, and encouraged the children to think about how they might write creative explanations for nature's wonders. We heard about how the camel got his hump and the elephant his trunk. When it was time to get ready to go home, they begged Mrs. Trowbridge for just one more. We will definitely have her back!

Dolphin Institute
Three knowledgeable, young scientists from the Dolphin Institute came to our class on Tuesday to tell us about humpback whales. Wow! We really learned a lot. Did you know that the male humpbacks are the only ones who sing, and that they all sing the same song each year? The song changes over time, but they all end up singing the same song in the mating grounds here in Hawaii. We enjoyed listening to some examples of the sounds that make up their songs. We also learned about how a primary male escorts a female and fights off other suitors. That's what a lot of the tail-slapping and breeching is about. Each child created a whale fluke (tail) and became a humpback dodging orcas, crab traps, fishnets, and other things that are dangers to humpbacks in the sea. Your children, once again, surprised our guests with the depth of their background knowledge and how quickly they incorporate new information into their scientific minds. They had answers for all the "why" and "how" questions!

Learning Excursion and Activity
Tuesday, October 22, we will be going to the zoo. Chaperones are welcome to accompany us on the bus again or meet us at the front gate.  Details will be coming home soon.  The focus of this learning adventure will be mammals.

On Friday, October 26, The Academy of Arts Ambassador Program will bring its Museum in a Box "Animals in Art" unit into all the 1/2 classrooms. An artist will explain how different cultures at different periods in history represented animals in art. On November 2, we will visit the Academy for a docent tour of "Animals In Art" in the galleries, and the artist will return on November 7 for classroom art activities.  This is an excellent program.  Look for a sign-up sheet next week for chaperones.

Pumpkin-Carving
We have more than enough pumpkins for carving day on October 29th. I think we have nearly enough parents coming to help, but don't hesitate to join in the fun, if you can.

Be sure to check the Photo Gallery for some great photos of our learning fun!

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Scientific Investigations and Geometry

Inquiry Learning Trip to the Aquarium
I'm sure your child has told you all about our very exciting learning trip to the aquarium. Your children impressed the program leader and docents with their knowledge of invertebrates, prehistoric ancestors of aquarium animals, scavengers vs. predators, adaptations, and evolution.  They just shook their heads and said, "How old are these kids?" You should be very proud of your young scientists. 

The tide pools were amazing. There were lots of humuhumunukunukuapua'a, sea cucumbers, and baby fish, and there was even a moray eel. Special thanks to all the parents who helped and to Mr. and Mrs. Trowbridge for furnishing the apple juice for both classes. Mahalo nui loa, supportive parents!

Please see Ms. Field's photo gallery for a great picture of the class at the tide pools.

Geometry
Our second graders are having fun learning all about polygons and the attributes of 3-dimensional geoblocks.  This is a very exciting unit that will focus on geometry but will revisit counting, addition, subtraction, and doubling.  Be sure to help your child practice their combination cards. I will be checking them soon. Look for a parent letter this week to help you understand what your child will be doing in the geometry unit. Have fun playing games from the last unit and all the new ones that will be coming home. I will send more sheets for playing the doubling game so you can play with your child.

Portfolios
The children will be putting selections in their portfolios soon and doing reflections on their learning.  They will choose books they are currently reading and a piece of writing that shows what they are doing now.  These will be the starting points for reflections on their learning progress throughout the year. It is always an exciting process for students and teacher alike. Look forward to seeing their portfolios in December at conference time.

Important Dates
Tuesday, October 16--Lyn Ford (Story Teller) and a visit from the Dolphin Institute
Tuesday, October 23--Honolulu Zoo
Friday, October 26--Museum in a Box
Wednesday, October 31--Spooktivity

Date to be determined--Foster Gardens to see 40-year-old plant

Mrs. Cutter is arranging for us to make Halloween decorations for the Dining Room during the week of October 15th.  What fun that will be!

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Animal Habitats and Exciting Learning Trips!

Grade 2 Math News
We are finishing our first Investigations unit this week. Your children have enjoyed learning math games and algebraic strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems. They are all making good progress and enjoying learning with this program. I suspect you are seeing the same enthusiasm at home that I'm seeing at school.  To tell you the truth, it is really fun for me, too! Your children and I appreciate all the patient interaction and support at home. Keep playing those games, practicing those fact cards, and having fun learning math with your child!  Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns.

Inquiry
We have a giant saguaro cactus growing in our classroom! Some very interesting desert animals are about to inhabit it. How exciting to watch our room transform into habitats for animals. The five transformation groups have chosen to create murals, bulletin boards, and hanging stuffed animals to bring visitors into the desert, rain forest, temperate forest, ocean, and Hawaiian habitats. I must tell you that your children are doing some great group work--contributing ideas, encouraging others, compromising, and helping each other.  When we made our "What Makes a Good Group Member" mind map, the most important thing they came up with was to "treat others the way you want to be treated."  I think we all should reflect on that!

Learning Trips
Mahalo to all the parents who will join us on our learning trips to the aquarium and zoo. I will be sending information home tomorrow about the aquarium excursion along with some special guidelines for all the chaperones. We have enough room on the bus for everyone, or you can meet us there if you choose.  Ms. Field will have zoo information for everyone when we get closer to the excursion date.

I was hoping to see a lot of creatures on the reef on Tuesday when we go to the aquarium because, according to the tide calendar, it will be "low tide" at 9:00a.m. Turns out that it will not be very low (.46), so we will probably just walk in the sand along the shore and see what we can see, then have some play time on the grass and a snack before heading for the aquarium. I think it will be fun for all. Visualize no rain!

Museum in a Box and the Dolphin Institute
We also have some very exciting programs coming to us at school. On October 26, the Academy of Arts "Museum In a Box" program will send artists with a box of objects that demonstrate how animals are used in art.  We will tour the Academy to learn more about animals in art on November 2, and then the artists will return to do an art project with the children in our classroom on November 7.  We will be needing chaperones for the Academy visit, too.

Ms. Field has arranged for the Dolphin Institute to come in and do a presentation on sea mammals on October 16. We are really looking forward to that and, also, a special presentation by Mr. McCormick on the animals of South Africa. 

Mahalo
A special mahalo to Mr. and Mrs. Meyer for coming in to teach the children about the endangered Hawaiian bat, the ope'ape'a, and engaging them in a fun art activity.  See the website photo gallery for some great photos of their visit and our other classroom activities.

Posted at 2:47 PM| Permalink