Investigating Owl Pellets

We had the opportunity to look at some owl pellets during our Four Winds lesson this week. We learned that owls often swallow their prey whole, yet cannot digest parts of this food. They will regurgitate one pellet a day which is filled with interesting items such as fur, bones and skulls. Angela and Bhavna led this lesson, which also included information about the ability of owls to use silent flight. Ask your kindergarten kid what they found inside their pellet.

Here is a link to a family project of owl observation. A live cam follows the adventures of three owlets that selected a flower box as their home. http://www.ustream.tv/okcowlcam





 
 
 

Spring Conferences

I am so glad that we had a chance to meet  to discuss your child's progress in kindergarten. I am especially proud of our "conference leaders". The kids did a great job sharing with you. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have additional questions or concerns. I appreciate your support in this learning partnership.

Green Eggs and Ham

 We started our project by looking at the boxes of eggs that were donated to the class. These eggs were all from local families.One egg farmer is a first grader right here at UES.  She came by to answer the questions we had about the eggs. We learned that different types of chickens can lay different colored eggs. We also learned that the eggs are usually found in the nesting boxes, but sometimes they are found in funny place, like mud!

 We first cooked some eggs  to see what yellow eggs would taste like.




 We then took a look at a recipe for 'Green Eggs and Ham." Your child should have that recipe in their green folder!

Eggs were cracked, a drop of blue was added( blue and yellow make green) and lots of scrambling took place!  

Finally, eggs were added to the griddle, and cooked by Karen(Mallory's mom). Some kids added ham to their eggs, and some did not.

Ask your child about their experience tasting "green Eggs and Ham". What did they think? Some kids thought they would like them, and others did not. How did the predictions turn out?Were green eggs better than yellow eggs?

  

Many thanks to all who donated supplies and helped with this green project!

One kindergarten kid made "Green Eggs and Ham" at home, because she needed to miss school that day. Way to go!

 

Dr. Seuss Study

We have been learning about Dr. Seuss this week. Your child should be able to answer these questions: Was he really a doctor?(no) Did he have other names that he used while writing?( yes - Theodore Geisel and Theo LeSieg) How many books did he write? ( over 60).

We will continiue to read Dr. Seuss books next week, and will vote on our favorites too.

ECO Survey

You’re invited to complete this survey about the ECO program at Union Elementary School. You can either take the online survey here or fill out a paper form that will come home in your child’s folder. If you choose to complete the paper copy, please return it to your child’s teacher or the front office by Thursday March 14.

The ECO advisory group will hold an open meeting soon with parents, teachers, and North Branch Nature Center staff to evaluate and plan for next year. Stay tuned for more information—we’d love to have your input.

If you have any questions or comments, contact Lesley Allen (229-1547) or Laury Saligman (505-0582).

KinderArt-Tar Beach

We are currently studying Faith Ringgold. She created a story quilt titled, "Tar Beach".We have been looking at her style of art, and have created our own stories of where we would like to fly to, if we could fly.In Tar Beach, Cassie flies over New York City, and dreams of ways she can care for her family.

Enjoy this clip of Faith, describing her story quilt.

Cozy Day

The class has been really working hard to follow the social curriculum, and to remember CARES. We have really been focusing on  C(cooperation) and S(self control). Together, the class has earned over 1500 hoots to recognize these behavioral choices. Screech visited the class(see above) and we also decided tog ether on a celebration day. Cozy Day with cocoa was the request of the class(with a  few requests for hot dog day too.) We celebrated with a very cozy day of stories, painting, and cocoa.  Mrs. Fry came from the library to share a cozy story, and Toni( Chi-Chi and Chen-Chen's mom) volunteered to take some photos. In the afternoon Janna( Russell's mom), and Ada came to help serve the cocoa.It was super easy. The recipe was easy too- 1bag of MILK chocolate chips, and 1 gallon of milk in the crackpot for 2 hours. What a lovely, cozy day before winter break!

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ECO - Tracking Fun

We had a fresh snowfall for our ECO tracking lesson!

Mrs. Timm( Mallory's grandma) documents the learning.

Dan( Amelia's dad) is looking for clues- I think...

Looking for tracks and trails- is that a snowshoe hare?

Beautiful forest

Time to explore

and climb

and look for nature clues.

Looking,

and following trails...

Still smiling, after a busy morning of ECO!- Thanks to Dan, and the Timms for their help.

Thanks for coming all the way from Wisconson, Mr. and Mrs. Timm!