Opera and Sid the Science Kid

We had 2 special events recently - we got to watch the Springfield Regional Opera perform "The 3 Little Pigs" and we were able to take a field trip to see Sid the Science Kid live at Juanita K Hammons Hall. 

We also took a field trip with Ms Davis' and Mrs. Chastain's class to Juanita K Hammons Hall to watch the live performance of Sid the Science Kid.  Sid the Science Kid is a PBS tv production about Sid "who is an inquisitive youngster who uses comedy to tackle questions kids have about basic scientific principles and why things work the way they do.   For several students this was their first time at Juanita K and the first time to see a live professional performance.  The performance went along well with what we had been learning in science -- our FIVE SENSES!  I will admit that was a coincidence but what perfect timing. All of the students enjoyed the performance and it sparked a lot of great questions afterwards.  If you haven't already, be sure to ask your kiddo about it! 

The Springfield Regional Opera came to school and did a special assembly performance of The 3 Little Pigs. Prior to the performance we investigated what an opera was and how it would be different than the ballet, the Snoopy musical and any other performances we've seen. Hopefully your kiddo can tell you some key points about Opera (most all of the story is sung, "pretty" music, voices change pitch frequently, not a lot of group songs, they sing loud).   The kiddos loved the performance and were entranced by it!   Big thanks tot he Springfield Regional Opera for making this possible!    

Another New Adventure

It seems like this school year is the year for new adventures in our classroom. We've began so many new explorations, stretched our minds in new ways, and definitely learned how to adapt to having a split classroom.  It has been a great adventure so far and I know the kiddos would agree.

This past week we added something new to our learning experiences.  Skype sessions.  Thanks to a project fulfillment via DonorsChoose.org, we were able to get the technology in our classroom that would allow for us to use Skype.  Once the kids learned what it was and how we would use it, they were excited!

 I wanted to use Skype to enhance some of the learning we were doing in our classroom, with science, social studies, and even math.  There are so many different ways to use Skype in the classroom.  We first Skyped with a class of 1st graders in Massachusetts that I had recently "met."  This classroom was also using the yoga balls and we used this Skype session as a way to learn more about the balls and see them in action. It was a HUGE HIT! The Massachusetts teacher, Ms Hewitt, and I have decided to use this opportunity to allow our classrooms to continue to connect with each other in order to learn about different communities, foster relationships with peers, and build upon the sense of a bigger world.

We used Skype on Tues to connect with Dr Don (my uncle) who taught us a little about how the brain sometimes plays tricks on us and modeled that with an optical illusion.  He also taught us about being a scientist; reminding the kids that being curious and inventive is a good thing and leads to a new or expanded learning.  He challenged the class to think of some questions for our next Skype session that we would like a deeper explanation of and he would do his best to help us out.

In the upcoming weeks we have 2 other Skype sessions tentatively scheduled as well.  We will be Skyping with a friend of mine in the Middle East who also donated to the DonorsChoose projects for the Skype materials and for the yoga balls. We will be using that time to say a personal thank you as well as expand on our current Social Studies unit on cultures and communities.   We also have a session scheduled with the author of the Howard B Wigglebottom books for a lesson on listening skills where she will be reading the book aloud, do a mini lesson, and then we'll get to have a Q&A time. A REAL LIFE AUTHOR!

I'm not sure I can possibly demonstrate their excitement with this latest adventure.  I, for one, am excited to use it as a way to move the walls and take our learning outside of Fremont, to the other side of town, outside of Springfield, past the boundaries of Missouri and broaden our cultural awareness, making our children greater stewards and hopefully more understanding members of our society.  I'm eager to see where the kiddos take us on this Skype adventure.  They have mentioned using it to call upon experts; experts in space exploration, experts on different careers, experts on animals.  Again...the sky's the limit with these kiddos and I'm continually amazed.

So stay tuned for more updates on our Skype sessions.

The Mole

Did anyone come home last week and share with you about "The Mole?"

If not, you really need to ask them about the little mole we had in our classroom. It was an experience!  After those few days full of rain, rain, and more rain, the kids finally got to go outside for their morning recess. It was during that lovely recess that they found a dead mole; one that had drowned.   Mrs. Englebrecht carefully brought it inside (using all health/safety precautions) and we got to use that opportunity to learn about moles...up close!

The little critter on a bag of ice. Notice the difference in his front and back paws? 

We displayed him on the overhead projector so that we could all see his tiny features. We were able to compare his front feet to his back feet, noticing the size difference and pondering why that might be.  They got to see his tiny mouth, look for his eyes and ears and notice his fur colorings.   We did all of this with Mrs. E being the only one touching him (not me...yuck!)  Mrs. E then took the mole on to other classes for them to see and we had a LOT of new questions so we changed our plans and started a mini-research on moles.

We were able to find videos of moles above ground beginning their tunnel. We saw videos underneath ground...a moles-eye view.  There even was a video where we inside the tunnel and could see the mole digging a new hole.  It was impressive.   We looked up pictures of their tunnels, learning about food runs, burrows, permanent tunnels and why there is always that mound of dirt at the top of their tunnel.   As much as I still think those critters are gross, I learned A LOT about moles.

Looking at him via the projector, getting that close up look.

The kiddos then had more questions after we did our research. They each wrote down one more thing they were wondering (to wonder is to want to know more about....one of our vocab words :) )  Questions included: How long do they live? How tall can they get? Can moles be a pet?

Overall it was a GREAT learning experience that I'm glad Mrs Englebrecht chose to take on.  It's amazing what all comes about when we decide to stop and use those odd, nasty, unconventional happenings as a teaching time and go where the kids' wonderful minds take us!

Dried Foods

In a follow up to our Little House in the Big Woods post here, this one shows you our journey into dehydrating food.   Let me first start off by saying how this was my first time with a dehydrator and I truly only knew what I was doing thanks to directions that I printed off the internet!

In one section of their story, Ma and Pa mentioned drying foods (fruits and veggies and meats) which started a whole discussion on why and how.   This lead to our adventure into dehydrating foods.

Last month, the students brought in foods they would be interested in drying.  The foods included lemons, limes, apples, bananas, and tomatoes.  This was going to be an interesting experience.   

We started at 8:40am, hoping that most of the foods would be done before we left at 3:10pm.  We got to see the whole process, discuss how the dehydrator works with heat and air and then were able to taste the fruits of our labor. We also discussed how the pioneers didn't have a dehydrator but decided that they used air and heat too, just differently. 


Here are pictures that our Class Reporter took to document our process.  Unfortunately we don't have pics of them trying the foods although they did enjoy most of the items!  Dried lemons seemed to be the least favored ones of them all with tomatoes coming in second.   Check out the last picture, too, that shows all the dried foods we've tried as we did this exploration

Mr Rob -- Construction Expert

In case you haven't heard...

Fremont is building on!

We might be just a little excited around here because it means so much to our school family and it will make such a difference with our students in the years to come. 

You might remember an earlier post where we noticed the utility flags (pssst...click here to read it).   Well we have a parent in our classroom that knows a thing or two about utility flags and construction so I sneakily got him to come into our room and share his knowledge (okay, it wasn't very sneaky. I politely begged him to come and teach these kiddos more than what I could).   He graciously accepted and the kiddos seemed to soak up so much more from an Expert than just listening to me.   

Grant's dad, Mr Rob, taught them more about utility flags and their purposes. He discussed why it's important to call before you dig. He showed them pictures of underground pipes that had been accidentally busted.  They saw pictures of tools used to locate those buried pipes. We all left that session knowing more about utility lines and safety than I had imagined. They even got to take home a bookmark that Mr Rob made, showing the different flags.

We love having experts in our room and I'm happy that this expert is part of our classroom family! We definitely will have Mr Rob back again as we start to see other signs of construction happening on our school grounds.


Mrs. Cantrell's Class

Little House and SOO MUCH MORE

Do you know the TV series Little House on the Prairie?  What about the book series it was based on?   Well I've made a few posts (here and here) and have mentioned in our last few newsletters about how we are reading The Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This story takes place before Pa, Ma, Mary, Laura, and Carrie move out to the prairie. It tells the tale of them moving out to their little house, the trials they take on, and they ways of living in the pioneer days.

Mrs. Englebrecht reads little bits of the book to the classroom each day, taking time to stop and explore what's really happening in the book.  This time to really dig into the book and understand has brought about lots of learning opportunities.  They've researched black bears. They have learned about covered wagons, and how people lived and traveled back then.  They've studied Wisconsin (where the family is living) and taken that opportunity to learn about how weather is different in different locations.  They know too how the weather in Wisconsin affects life for the family and animals.   They've explored dried foods, rag dolls and why that's all they had, traps, phrases like "Saved my bacon", and so so sooo much more.

I know the kids have enjoyed the book and we're not even close to finishing it! It has been quite the learning opportunity and the kids don't even realize that we're sneaking some valuable learning time into their read aloud.  We've had several opportunities to take this learning a little bit further and give them the chance to see it in action.

After learning about how the family dried their foods and some plants they got to taste beef jerky (which got mixed reviews).  I borrowed a food dehydrator and students brought in foods to dehydrate - big success.  I'll get another post with pictures up later this week, documenting that adventure.

We had Ms Anne come in and model for us the music of those times, getting a chance to envision ourselves in that moment, doing what Laura and Carrie and Mary might have done (see that posting here).

Recently they discussed how Ma would spend an entire day doing a chore, like drying foods or making butter or mending. They thought about how it would take a whole day to make something like butter - something that we can just go to the grocery store and get when we need it.  Closer to our Thanksgiving break we'll be making our own butter...and bread!

I can't wait to see where this book and the kiddos lead our learning in the next few months.  I can guarantee you another few posts and updates as we continue this journey.  Mrs. Englebrecht and I already have a few ideas but we're waiting to see where the kids take us.

I really hope your child is talking to you about this experience as well as sharing with you their favorite key moments.  If not, use this post and the following posts to spark a conversation with your Cantrell's Class kiddo. And I also hope you continue to follow this amazing journey!

Mrs. Cantrell

Fiddle vs Violin

Did you know that a fiddle and a violin are the same instrument? Honestly, I didn't!  But that was just one of the learning moments I had when Ms Anne came to our class last week.  In our classroom, Mrs. Englebrecht has been reading Little House in the Big Woods (by Laura Ingles Wilder)  and we have been using that book to learn more about our world.  They have discussed bears, rag dolls, weather in Wisconsin, and soooo much more.   I'll save THAT for another post real soon.

But a few weeks ago they read in the book that Pa was playing his fiddle for the girls and Ma.  The class realized that we had several students in our room that were unfamiliar with what a fiddle was.   It just so happens that Ms Englebrecht's daughter plays the fiddle!  *You just might see her working at Silver Dollar City sometimes too, I hear! *   So Ms Anne graciously came to our classroom to show us what a fiddle was and how it was different from a violin.  

Do you know what makes those two instruments different?  NOTHING!!  There is just fiddle music and violin music...so if you're playing violin music (think Mozart) then it's a violin...if you're playing the fiddle (think of bluegrass music) then it's a fiddle!  Amazing, isn't it?!

The class really loved hearing her play, show the instruments and stopping to visualize themselves sitting in the cabin listening to Pa play fiddle music.

Here we have our eyes closed, visualizing what it might have been like

I do believe, though, that their FAVORITE part was getting to dance, just like we envisioned the girls doing while Pa played.

Be sure to ask your kiddo about this great guest speaker we had and see if they remember their favorite parts!

Constructing Ideas

Have your children been mentioning the construction flags we've been noticing?  How about the tripods?  Well let me fill you in on what's going on in our classroom.

Last week, on our way in from recess we saw these flags.

Which lead to an investigation about what they might be used for.  We've decided that they are for construction and telling the workers where "stuff" is under the ground. Some of us are pretty certain they are building a roller coaster or train track...I'm not so sure, haha.

We also noticed tripods and construction men using them.  We took a short "field trip" to the playground on Wednesday to ask the experts what exactly they were doing.   This is what we learned.

We are continuing our investigations and observations about things happening around us.  Please continue to ask your child what new things are going on as well!

Mrs. Cantrell's Class