Last Day, Last Post

Well, we made it through the last day of school - also known as the hardest day of Mme Katie's year.  There were tears, warm hugs, and thoughtful cards and gifts.  It has been such an incredible year in our classroom.  I've been so amazed by this group of little learners.  It is hard to say goodbye to such kind, empathetic, helpful and keen students. Really, this year has been perfect.  It has been my pleasure to spend this time with you all.  Good luck in Grade 1 and enjoy your summer!

     

Butterfly Release

Last week we said goodbye to our beautiful butterflies.  We put wishes on their wings and opened their cage.  Some flew right away and sailed away until we couldn't see them anymore.  Others stayed in their cage until we gently encouraged them to leave.  It was bittersweet for the kindergartners, who loved them and took such good care of them.

We surrounded the butterfly garden in our courtyard and let our little critters go.

Making Paper

We made paper last week.  It is a messy and fun project that takes a couple of days and many steps:

We shredded and ripped up recycled paper scraps to make them small enough. 

We added water and stirred, stirred, stirred.  The soaking paper had to be left overnight.

With our hands, we ripped up the paper even more before putting small amounts 

into the blender and pushing the button (with supervision) to make our pulp.

We poured the pulp onto screens, sprinkled in our butterfly garden seeds, 

and squished all of the water out with a rolling pin. We had to set them out 

in the sun so that they would dry.

Peek at Our Week

The Grade 1s came into our classroom to explain their Winnipeg Humane Society donation project.  Over the course of the week, they collected lots of toys and newspapers to give to the WHS.

We did a science experiment to determine which objects rolled (rouler) and which objects slid (glisser) down our ramp.

I ordered the kids real shark teeth and they FINALLY arrived.  Better late than never.  Everyone got to pick a tooth belonging to the shark that they liked the most. There were six types to choose from.

 

We have our first chrysalis!  On Thursday we arrived to find that one of our plump little caterpillars had formed a chrysalis.  By Friday we had fifteen!  Now we wait about a week before our butterflies start to emerge.

Thursday and Friday

It was so much fun celebrating Spirit Week with the kinders.  As you'll see by the pictures, we have been moving and laughing a lot this week.  Here are our last couple of days:

Thursday

Pretending to be butterflies: Did you know butterflies hear with their antennae, taste with 

their feet, and drink nectar through a straw-like mouth (a proboscis) that they unroll and roll back up?

Here are our little caterpillars.  They've already doubled in size in only a week!

Friday

We had a Gym Blast today, which was a series of silly games.  Each child in the entire school got to participate in one of 12 games.  Unfortunately it took place in the afternoon.  The morning class got to enjoy the kindergarten game anyway!  They had to bounce ping pong balls out of their Kleenex box by jumping and shaking.  It was a lot of fun.

Learning About Butterflies

Today was 'Dress Like a Teacher' Day at Bannatyne.  There were so many cute little teachers running around.  This miniature Mme Katie made us all laugh.  Notice the headbands and baby bump? Everyone was buzzing about Londyn's costume.  It was so much fun.

We also officially started learning about the butterfly life cycle. We looked at pictures and props before acting out the stages.  Did you know a caterpillar pops its head off as it gets too big for it?!  It sheds its head five times before building its chrysalis.  Another interesting fact: a butterfly isn't just a caterpillar with wings.  When it enters its chrysalis, it breaks down into black goo, a pile of cells which rebuilds itself into a whole new creature, the butterfly.

We are eggs that have been laid on a leaf.  

We are the size of the period at the end of this sentence.

We've come out of our eggs and we are little caterpillars who spend our days 

eating, pooping(!), and resting. We also pop our heads off as we outgrow them.

We are spinning our silk chrysalises as we dangle under a leaf.  We break down into black goo before rebuilding ourselves as butterflies.

We emerge and pump coloured ink into our wings and wait for 

them to dry before we can fly.  Then we lay new eggs!

Farm Field Trip

Today we had an amazing day at Six Pines Farm.  We did so many amazing things:

Met and pet kittens, bunnies and one very lucky dog named Houston

Met and pet Norman the rooster and a fluffy little chick

Saw emus, peacocks, ducks, and all sorts of geese

Played in the farm's playground

Fed milk to a noisy, slurping calf

Climbed into a tree fort for a group picture

Rode a Morgan horse and a Palomino pony

 

Ate a picnic lunch in the grass

Went on a hayride

Met and pet donkeys and miniature horses

Met and pet lambs who were as young as 7 days old, and met a cranky goat

Met and pet three gentle, smiling llamas