Graphing Jelly Beans and the Limbo

We are doing a jelly bean unit for Spring. In reading groups, we are making a book called, "Jelly Beans." It is another Sing to Read book. These books are great because they are set to song. When we are finished with the book, I'll try to get a video clip of them singing it. We have also been working with jelly beans in math. Yesterday, we did a fun estimation activity with jelly beans. Today, each student was given a small bag of different colored jelly beans. The students sorted and graphed their jelly beans by color. They did great and loved eating the jelly beans when they were finished. They are looking forward to more jelly bean activities tomorrow.
In P.E., the students have been doing the limbo. They love it! I managed to get two video clips of them today. Very fun! :-)

Graphing their jelly beans



A few students holding up their finished graphs



Pictures and video clips of the limbo:

Flower Glyph and A Birthday

Today, we celebrated T's 6th birthday. He shared some delicious birthday cupcakes with us. We also did a fun flower glyph today. The glyph required the students to use some of the things they've learned in science this week: the parts of the plant and what plants need to grow. Their glyphs turned out great and are proudly displayed in the hallway. Lastly, both of our butterflies have come out of their chrysalises! We are so excited! :-) We will be releasing them next Friday.

Happy 6th birthday T!

Flower glyph directions

Some of their finished flower glyphs

Plants, butterflies, and Sorting

This post is a summary of some of the things we have done this week. On Tuesday, we started learning about plants. We read about the things plants need in order to grow (sun, water, and soil). Then, we put what we learned to good use and planted our own plants. Each student planted a marigold seed in their own individual pot. The pots are in the window, so they will get plenty of sun. Also, it is the students job to help water them everyday. We are so excited to see them grow!
In other news, both caterpillars are in their chrysalises. I have placed both chrysalises on a stick in a butterfly net. We love watching them everyday, and we have been recording their progress in our butterfly journals 1 to 2 times a week.
Today, we did a fun math project. Each student was given many fish, and we had to decide the different ways we could sort the fish. After we practiced sorting them several different ways, the students chose one of those ways to sort their fish and glued them to their piece of paper. They did awesome! Also, we made a class pet graph in math yesterday. The students had to draw pictures of all the pets they own on individual pieces of paper. Then, we graphed our class' pets. Our class has a lot of dogs!

A friend holding up his flower pot

Here are our pots sitting in the window - Grow, grow, grow!:

Our chrysalises in the butterfly net:

An example of a page from a friend's butterfly journal:

A few friends with their fish sorting projects


This is our new student - she joined our class last week!

Here are some of the finished projects in the hallway:



Our class pet graph:

Class Picture

We had our professional class picture taken on St. Patrick's Day. I just received it this afternoon, so it will be a sneak peek for parents. I wanted to share this picture, so long-distance family members can see it too. Surprisingly, the whole class was there. Enjoy!

The other adult in the picture is Miss Campos (kindergarten para)

Butterfly Symmetry

Today, we used symmetry to make beautiful butterflies. First, the butterfly was in a jumbled up puzzle. The students had to cut the butterfly pieces out and assemble them into a butterfly. Then, we talked about how butterflies are symmetrical. Each student colored their butterfly so it was symmetrical. Now, we have pretty butterflies hanging in our hallway. Also, we are very excited to report that both of our caterpillars have gone into their chrysalises!
Here are the symmetrical butterflies:

Life Cycle of a Butterfly

With our caterpillars growing and changing, we have been learning a lot about the life cycle of a butterfly. We have read several books about it. Today, we read another book and made a special life cycle wheel. On the wheel, we wrote each step of a butterfly's life cycle and drew a picture to go with each step. Here are the finished wheels:
1. A butterfly lays an egg


2. Out comes a caterpillar


3. It makes a chrysalis


4. Out comes a butterfly!

Zebras, Reading, and a Birthday!

We had a very big day today. We made zebras this morning. They were really fun to make, and the students loved the googly eyes we used. We have also been working on a book called "Creepy Caterpillar" in reading groups. Today, I videoed 2 of the groups reading the book. They did a wonderful job, especially since it was a Level E book! Then, in the afternoon we experimented with certain fruits on whether they would sink or float. I didn't get any pictures of this though. I was too busy! If that weren't enough, we also celebrated B's 6th birthday. She brought in delicious cupcakes. We loved them!

Four friends holding up their finished zebras

A close up of a zebra

Video clips of 2 different reading groups reading "Creepy Caterpillar" (I love the Facebook comment!)


Happy 6th Birthday B!