I Know a Place To Go...

Last month we reported on the need for our students, everybody actually, to know how to calm down and focus.  As we mentioned, it sometimes takes practice finding a quiet place inside ourselves.  One way to practice is to have a quiet place out in the world, where you can go to breathe deep. This has been especially true around Boston recently.

Some of our second graders wrote about the quiet, calm places they can go and relax.  

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Communities: Part 2

Ms. Leverett-King's students aren't the only first graders who are studying community.  Furthermore, a city is only one of the types of communities we have.  Ms. Enos's first grade ESL class tackled another...

OUR FAMILIES

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Odes to a City

Recently our first graders have been learning about the idea of community, and all the different types of communities they belong to.

 

One type of community they learned about in Ms. Leverett-King's first grade class was the city.  After reading this GIANT book about cities, the kids filled a giant bulletin board (actually, two of them) with the essays on their experiences in their own city of Boston.

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The Worm Farm: Learning by Looking

"Today we are doing an interesting experiment," explained Ms. Flaherty, our head worm farmer.  We are going to see how much we can learn just by observing.  Does anybody know what that means?"

"Looking," offered one of the kindergarteners in Ms. Breneus's class, and she was exactly right.

Before the kids took an up-close-and-personal look at the red wiggler worms in their worm farm, Ms. Flaherty read them a book to explain more about what they would be looking at.  The kids learned that worms have no eyes, no ears, no legs, no arms, no lungs, but that they are still very well suited to live their lives digging through soil.  Or, in our classroom, digging through coffee grounds and wet newspaper.  

Instead of legs, they have bristles on each segment of their bodies that help them move. Ms. Flaherty moved a Slinky to show them how having so many segments lets the worm turn and maneuver.

The kids already knew that worms need to stay moist.  So they each sprayed a piece of paper towel to get ready for their temporary guest. 

Then they each got a worm and a piece of apple.  Since the red wigglers love apple peels, the kids wanted to see if they would wiggle their way in the apple's direction.

Then it was time for each student to do exactly what scientists do. They learned by looking. The observations came fast and furious.

"Mine is a real wiggler."

"Mine is hungry.  It's moving toward the apple."

"The bristles are so tiny!"

"Mine is staying in the coffee dirt.  Maybe it's scared."

"It's so soft," says one scientist, carefully touching his worm."

"Mine loves its worm tunnel," said another, "but he didn't stop to eat some.  Why?"

That's science for you: It raises as many questions as it answers.

The Worm Farm: Paying a House Call

It's been a while since the red wiggler worms set up housekeeping in Ms. Breneus's kindergarten classroom.  In fact it was time for our gardening expert Ms. Flaherty to check in on them, to make sure they had everything they needed to be healthy and as happy as worms can be.

Off came the cover, so Ms. Flaherty could look at the wigglers.  She wasn't the only one who was curious.  The worms seemed to be okay; they were indeed wiggling.

One boy asked to hold a worm.  He had to learn to be gentle and not squeeze.  

He enjoyed it so much that Ms. Flaherty decided all the kids should have a chance.  Next week, she'll come and the kids will get to look closely at the worms like scientists and learn through observation.  Maybe we can bring some magnifying glasses so they can really get a good peek.

Ms. Flaherty explained that we didn't want the paper to dry out--or, the worms either.  So each student who wanted to could spritz the paper one, two, three times.

As Ms. Flaherty circled the room giving the kids turns, other students drew pictures of their new class pets.  Here is Emanuel's.

Brianna did a fine job too.

Goodbye Butterflies!

Just a few days after Mother's Day, the first graders in Ms. Haney's class had a mother type experience themselves. They raised young living things from babyhood until it was time to let their loved ones go out into the world.

It was time to release the Painted Lady butterflies.

The kids brought their goodbye letters to the garden in the schoolyard. They also brought their four butterflies in their mesh container. It was the only home these butterflies had ever known.


















One student after another stepped up to the butterflies to say a formal farewell. Saying goodbye brings up all sorts of feelings.



















Some of the kids were sort of happy to launch the butterflies into the world.
























Others had more mixed feelings.
























Then it was time to let them out. There was a moment when each butterfly was free to go but didn't really know it yet. Suddenly they were all off on the wind.



















It's hard to let go even when you know it's the right thing.

Fishing for More Knowledge

As you might remember, Ms. Harden's fourth grade class went to the New England Aquarium. You can read about their partnership with the aquarium and their visit here.



















While they were there, the kids had an assignment to study the animals in the Boulder Reef Exhibit. They were supposed to think about the kind of living place (habitat) the animals had. Then they each had to pick one of the creatures and write about how it was suited to live its life in that environment.

Time was short, however, and there were rays to pet and penguins to watch. Luckily Jessica, the educator from aquarium, had a date to come to the Perkins to continue discussing habitat and adaptations.

There, the kids had a chance to talk about the observations they had written down. Here are some examples of their work:

































































































Jessica had a chance to talk about many of the adaptations the kids mentioned. She also added a few more of her own.

To the blogmaster, author-in residence Susan E. Goodman, one of the best parts of the assignment was having the kids write down questions THEY had at the bottom of the page. In the case of--

Renny: How fast does this animal (seastar) move?

Isabel: Why do fish get scared when you tap the glass?

Shakira: Why do the (seastar's) suction cups look macaroni?

Curiosity is great. How else do you learn? Questions are great. How else do you learn? You can be sure that most discoveries made by scientists began with questions they wanted to answer!

The kids will be answering these questions and more when the next part of their scientific adventure begins--WRITING THEIR OWN CLASS BOOK ABOUT AQUATIC ANIMALS AND THEIR ADAPTATIONS.

Fishing for Knowledge at the Aquarium

The Perkins School now has a partnership with the New England Aquarium. And, Ms. Harden's fourth grade class is learning about animal adaptations--aquatic animals, that is. Jessica, an Aquarium educator, has already visited the Perkins, bringing some animals into the classroom.

Last week, it was the fourth grade's turn to visit her--along with everything else at the Aquarium from 80-year-old, 500-pound Myrtle the Turtle to the most beautiful seastars.

Before the kids went in, they got some ground rules: Don't drop anything in the water; after all, gum can get stuck on a seal's coat. And, don't tap the glass. It scares the fish!

Then Mrs. Harden added, "Make sure you look a as well. In fact, each of you will have to come back and report on two things that you never knew before."



















Just two!?! The kids set off in small groups with teachers and chaperones and learned something new just about every minute! Ms. Harden's group went to see the seals first, reading signs about each one and then picking them out in the pool. Cordova makes yelling sounds.



















Isaac can't see so well. Nevertheless, he manages to see a trainer's signal and do the trick that gets him a fish!


Another group stared for a long time at the leafy seadragon exhibit. It takes a while to realize that the seaweed is actually a seahorse.

"What is that animal's adaptation?" the chaperone asks. "Camouflage!" the kids answer.

The seadragon was something new, but not the idea of camouflage. Since the kids had been studying adaptations, they know that all living things have special things about them that help them fit into their worlds.

They learned even more about the subject when they visited the Boulder Reef Exhibit. There, Jessica asked them to act like scientists as they looked at the tank of creatures. Then they filled out a paper with their thoughts about how the bodies and actions of these animals helped them live on the reef.
























Some of our kids learned that cownose rays and little bonnethead sharks liked to be petted. That's probably not an adaptation, but it is a fun activity for fish and kids alike.

"I was surprised," said one girl, describing her reaction to touching the ray. "It feels so soft--and a little greasy."



















Azaryah wasn't as interested in touching the fish. She had a favorite spot, scrunching down to watch them eye-to-eye. "It's more fun," she explained. I can see them better and actually watch what they are up to down there."

Good for her, that's just what scientists do.