Spring in the Kindergarten Classroom
Dear Kinder Families,
The end of the year is upon us. We’ve been busy. We’ve loved your children very much. Here’s a glimpse of our time February-May. We’re not going to give a whole run down because it’ll take a long time to read and longer to write. Suffice it to say, these 8 beautiful souls have been growing and learning and we are honored to have been a part of their school journey, and of their lives. Some photos in no particular order, starting with the fabulous kinder cafe, a yearly tradition where kindergarteners put together a restaurant and invite the first graders (who ran the restaurant last year) to dine with us.
Kinder Cafe day: From start to finish.
Some prep happened days before like choosing a menu, making the menus, putting together packets of money, baking the cookies. The rest was one full day of work, a high pressure affair. We had a deadline and these five and six year olds came through!
Felting hearts made of wool from our alpacas for this year’s fifth grade graduates.
We went on a field trip to the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History for their First People’s program to learn about the Ohlone Indians of our region, the Amah Mutsun Tribe. The docent was very impressed that the kids had already made acorn flour and knew so much about native plants and animals.
We learned about the butterfly life cycle. We were so lucky to have a monarch chrysalis attach to a chair on our patio. We saw the butterfly just moments after it emerged after watching and waiting for several days. We were all amazed, especially Ezra.
Spring time drawing of the glorious persimmon tree. Their final observational study was looking at their own faces in the same manner they carefully examined this tree through the seasons. At the tree, they noticed the bark, moss, lichen, leaf color, what’s on the ground and so on. With their faces, they made sure to draw all of their features, notice how their hair lay, moles and freckles and dimples, do their ears show, and so on. If you haven’t made it into class to guess which self-portrait is your child’s, please come!
Rosebud’s parents, Dave and Lindsey, came to teach the kindergarten’s about tools and helped them build a mythical creature out of wood scraps that evolved as quickly as the ideas flowed. The final creation was a flying, fire breathing, ridable, alpaca!
Making watercolor volcanoes. This was part of our rock cycle study. The kids also made fossils, wrote rock reports, created rock cycle posters, identified different kinds of rocks, and created a museum for their big buddies to tour.
Sorting rocks into categories
Rock cycle posters
Rest time. One hard thing about the transition to first grade is no rest time! But, they’ve built their stamina and Orchard kids can do anything.
The culmination of the Snuffle’s hedgehog project. An exploration of 2D and 3D shapes. Using story to bring concepts to life. This is a favorite for the kindergarteners year after year.
In this project, children had to buy supplies using pennies, read labels and figure out how much they could afford with their limited funds. Their critical thinking skills were on full display with this activity.
Another story project that involved math was based on the book, Teddy Bear Cures a Cold. The kids measured and built beds for their stuffies and also went on a teddy bear tea party and picnic. This big bear of Tara’s was the surprise guest.
Making cubes — part of the 3D shapes project. Also, practicing partner work with rotating partners. Not always easy for kindergarteners but always ultimately rewarding and a great lesson.
The kids made their own dice and practiced various adding and subtracting games with them.
Nature art in the fairy garden
Aliya making her bug puzzle. Bugs, frogs, and birds were also areas of study these past months.
The creativity flowed during our Makers club and recycled art projects
Color mixing experiments. The kids were amazed they could create rainbows using only primary colors.
The redwood grove
PE activities included: Practicing throwing and catching, soccer drills and kicking goals, playing a hide and seek game called sardines. Their favorite games have been capture the flag, gagaga and sharks and minnows. They also love hiking to the redwood grove.