Amazing Ants

May 19, 2016

In kindergarten over the past week or so, we have been very interested in ants.  The children found ants outside and began asking questions about them.  Then they found ants in the classroom, and they became even more interested!

A few of our students began making houses for the ants out of paper, so we thought we should find out more about ants to determine what kind of home they would actually like to have.  We went outside in the afternoon on May 19th to do some research, and see some ants.

We were lucky enough to find an area outside that had a lot of ants.  We wondered if there might be an ant hill nearby, so we went to get some food to see if we could observe the ants more closely.  We found some cookies and candy and put them on the ground, and the ants came running!

We took lots of pictures and videos, and drew pictures of what we saw.  The children were very engaged.  The inquiry continued after our outdoor time.  The children looked through many books to find out more about ants.  We learned that ants have 3 body parts: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.  We also discovered that ants have 6 legs.

The children used their new knowledge to create ants out of tissue paper and plasticine.  We even made antennae out of pipe cleaners.  One student let us know that ants use their antennae to smell things, and then the students were leaning over to put their antennae on the table, or their food so they could smell things.  One student even "smelled" her mom at pick up time!

"The Forest Kindergartens"

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Inspired by our trip to Mountsberg yesterday, we wanted to let the children have even more time to explore nature and engage in some outdoor learning in the forest.  We decided to go on a short walk to the forest behind St. Ignatius Catholic School down the street.

We began the lesson by talking to the children about the trip yesterday.  What did they like or not like about the trip?  What was the same or different about their outdoor learning on the trip and our outdoor learning at school?  Did they like being in the forest?  What materials did they find there?  Did they want to go back?

The main differences we noticed as a group were that in the forest there are way more sticks, and you can use those sticks to make cool structures, like the one Jayden built at Mountsberg.  In our yard, we don't have those kinds of materials.  We asked the children if they would like to get some branches, sticks, and logs, and the response was an overwhelming YES!

We then told the children that we could go on an adventure right then to find some big sticks and branches.  They were very excited as we set out on our short walk.  We made it to St. Ignatius fairly quickly, and only had to take a few steps into the forest behind the school to find a magical place for our students to play and learn.

After we let the children explore and have some play time, we let them select something to bring back to school with them.  Each student had the option to bring a stick or a larger branch with them.  Some children chose to work together to bring larger branches, and some were happy with sticks.  Everyone was excited about having sticks at school to build forts.
Finally, after we returned and had some time to reflect on our walk, Mrs. Piquette printed out some of the pictures she had taken.  The students were happy to see themselves in the pictures, and encouraged to write about their experience using invented spelling.  This was done at the teacher table, in small groups.  Some of the captions the children wrote were:

"I am collecting sticks"

"I am climbing"

"I am on the fort"

"I am touching the sticks and branches"

We all came back together in a group to share our writing and our experiences.  We ended the lesson by creating a collaborative writing piece to retell what happened on our forest adventure.  The children called it "The Forest Kindergartens."  We hope you enjoy it!

The Forest Kindergartens

One sunny, warm day, Kindergarten A went for a walk to the forest.  When we went to the forest, we saw lots of forts.  We saw lots of ants.  We saw lots of butterflies.  We saw lots of branches.  We picked the branches up and brought them to the school so we can play with them.

When we were at the forest, we noticed there was a pond there.  We saw lots of trees and lots of leaves.  We had a lot of fun and we want to go back again.  We want to go even farther and look around and see if we can find any more forts, sticks, and branches and logs to bring back.  Maybe we could see more cool things.

Curriculum Connections

Social Development

• 1.2 Demonstrate the ability to take turns in activities and discussions
• 2.1 Use a variety of simple strategies to solve social problems

Emotional Development

• 1.3 Express their thoughts and share experiences
• 2.2 Demonstrate a willingness to try new activities and to adapt to new situations
• 2.5 Interact cooperatively with others in classroom events and activities
• 3.2 Recognize places and buildings within their community, both natural and human-made, and talk about their functions

Language

• 1.2 Listen and respond to others for a variety of purposes and in a variety of contexts
• 1.4 Follow and provide one- and two-step directions in different contexts
• 1.5 Use language in various contexts to connect new experiences with what they already know
• 1.6  Use language to talk about their thinking, to reflect, and to solve problems
• 1.8  Ask questions for a variety of purposes and in different contexts
• 1.9  Describe personal experiences, using vocabulary and details appropriate to the situation
• 1.10  Orally retell simple events and simple familiar stories in proper sequence
• 4.3  Write simple messages, using a combination of pictures, symbols, knowledge of the correspondence between letters and sounds, and familiar words
• 4.6  Communicate ideas about personal experiences and/or familiar stories, and experiment with personal voice in their writing

Science

• 1.1  Ask questions about and describe some natural occurrences, using their own observations and representations
• 1.3  Explore patterns in the natural and built environment
• 2.3  Select and use materials to carry out their own explorations
• 2.4  Communicate results and findings from individual and group investigations
• 3.1  Identify similarities and differences between local environments
• 3.3  Identify ways in which they can care for and show respect for the environment
• 4.4  Select and use tools, equipment, and materials to construct things using the design process

Nature Play at Mountsberg Conservation Area

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Today we went on an adventure to Mountsberg Conservation Area.  We left the school at about 9:30am, and didn't return until almost 2:30pm.  It was a very busy day, and the students had a great time.  We had a few students snoozing on the bus on the way home, and it was no wonder.  We were outside all day, enjoying nature and exploring the conservation area.

Mountsberg has a variety of programs for field trips, and their "Nature Play" program, designed for kindergarten to grade 1, fit our needs perfectly:

We took a lot of pictures and videos, as our students were so engaged in their exploration.  We found bugs, spiders, and a lot of different types of branches, logs, leaves, and special materials in the woods for us to build with.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful moms of our students!  We hope your day is filled with laughter, fun, and above all some time to relax.  Today we want to share the gift of music with you all.  Recently we recorded our kindergarteners singing outside.  Just click on the image below to hear. Enjoy!

KA Problem Solving Circle

The kindergarten teachers at Sir Isaac Brock have begun a teacher inquiry that will drive our program for the rest of the year and into next year as well.

Our inquiry question is:

What impact does teaching our students problem solving strategies, within our play-based program, have on their ability to solve problems independently during play?

In Kindergarten A, we began by asking the children what a problem could be.  We made a list.

The list of problems we made as a class was compiled during a focused group learning time.  We encouraged the children to identify problems they had in class.  The list includes:

• people screaming in your ear
• stealing
• hitting, punching, poking
• kicking
• pushing and shoving
• wrestling
• hiding toys
• when you're hurt or sick
• not including others
• not being nice
• not showing respect
• not being responsible

As you can see, this is where we first introduced the idea of a circle.  The children were very receptive to the concept.

Of course, the next step was to identify what problem-solving actually means.  Most students immediately said that problem-solving means saying you are sorry.  There was only one problem with that: what if you are NOT sorry?  Mrs. Piquette and Mrs. Proud role-played a scenario where it was okay to not be sorry.  After all, a lot of the time, children are not sorry for what they do.  We emphasized that it is okay to not feel sorry but that the problem still needs to be fixed.  Then we brainstormed ways to solve problems without saying sorry.  This list includes:

• telling someone to stop
• using your words (and being specific - don't just say "stop," rather say "please stop [doing that action] because ...)
• share your feelings (e.g., when you [do that action] I feel...")
• change something (a behaviour, the words you are using, etc.)

Our Original Problem-Solving Circle

This was the original circle that we came up with as a class. We first talked about how problems make you feel: sad, angry, frustrated, disappointed (all words from our students) and how USUALLY you feel happy when a problem is solved.  Mrs. Piquette wondered if you ALWAYS feel happy when a problem is solved, and the students agreed that you don't.  For example, when solving a problem means giving up a toy that you really wanted, you may not feel happy, but it was the right thing to do.

The children talked about what pictures we could use to put in the circle, and they also agreed that they should try using the circle two full times before going to an adult for help.

In our Professional Learning Team, we have come up with the following summary of our inquiry:

Student Learning Need:  Students have difficulty solving problems independently and with peers in the play-based learning environment.

Purpose Statement:  The purpose of this inquiry is to investigate the social problems that arise within a play-based program and to explore a variety of problem solving strategies with our students in order to determine the best model for our students.  Our goal is to give our students the tools to solve problems independently in a play-based learning environment.

Inquiry Question:  What impact does teaching our students problem solving strategies, within our play-based program, have on their ability to solve problems independently during play?

Is it Working?

We have been focusing on this inquiry in our class for a few weeks now.  As a team, Mrs. Proud, Mrs. Piquette, and Ms. McCormick have been tracking the instances of problem solving in our classroom.  We keep a tally each day of the number of times a student comes to us to help them solve a problem that could be solved independently using the Problem-Solving circle.

Our numbers are encouraging.  That is to say, we are noticing that since we introduced the finished problem-solving circle to the class and sent a copy home for parents, we have seen a dramatic decrease in the number of problems that are brought to us.  We are hoping that the next step will be an increase in instances of independent problem-solving (as pictured on the right).  We will share our data once our observations are complete in a few weeks.

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Here a Chick, There a Chick, Everywhere a Chick, Chick.....

Friday, April 15

Today Layla brought in a very special show and share.  Layla and her family have chickens at their house, and her mom asked if it would be okay for her to bring in some chicks for her show and share. We said a very enthusiastic "YES!"  as we knew how much our students love animals.  The result was a fun show and share and some VERY engaged students.  Each student had a chance to see and touch the chicks and Layla showed how to feed them.  A huge thank you to Layla's parents who came in and brought the chickens so we could see them.  What a great show and share!