Community Helpers

It's been another busy week in K3! The weather is getting nicer and the kids are really enjoying our outdoor learning time. Please make sure you send them with the appropriate clothing for the weather each day!
Our big excitement for the week was a visit today from Firefighter Mike. He came and told us all about his job - what it's like to be a firefighter, stories from calls he's been on, showed us all of his equipment and taught us some important fire safety tips like Stop! Drop! and Roll! and having an exit strategy and meeting spot if your house ever catches on fire. The students were very excited and had lots of questions!
As you can see, we've had a number of visitors over the past few weeks and we're hoping to have a few more - in particular, a doctor, a vet, a chef, a construction worker, a paramedic - if you or anyone you know is one of these and would be interested in coming to talk to us about your job and how you help our community we'd love to have you! Just drop us a note, email, or call and we can arrange the time that works best :)

Friends of the Earth!

We have had a very exciting week in Room K3!
It started off with an exploration of plants and what they need to survive. To help us learn about this, we did an experiment with celery to see how important water is for plants. Here's a look:

We had lots of fun activities like making pattern bracelets, creating green houses, sorting coins and practicing our writing. Here's a look:

On Wednesday, we had a fun visit from Officer Hanna who taught us all about staying safe in our community. She taught us a great poem about crossing the street:

Look all ways

Before you cross the street

Use your eyes and ears

Before you move your feet!

Today learned lots from Scientist Susan! She taught us all about being a friend of the earth and how to take better care of our planet, We learned about recycling, conserving water, reducing garbage, caring for nature, and how worms help our soil. We also had some great parent volunteers to help us! :)

Here are some follow-up activities to do with your child at home:

                      Young Friends of the Earth

                           Family Fun

We Care for Nature

Today we planted sunflower seeds. What should we do next?

Sunflowers are good for our Earth!

·         In a biodegradable cup we planted 2 sunflower seeds

·         We used soil and fertile worm castings

·         Keep the soil moist but not too wet

·         Place in a very bright location

·         Seedlings should emerge in 7-14 days

·         As the plant gets bigger put it into a bigger pot of soil. You can leave it in the cup. 

·         Once spring arrives, transplant it outside in full sunlight.

·         Full grown sunflowers can grow up to 3.6 m in height.

·         www.sunflowerguide.com will give you more information.

Did you know?

·         A full grown sunflower head contains up to 1000-2000 seeds.

·         A nutritious food source for birds and humans

·         Leaves of the sunflower can be used to feed large animals like cattle

·         The sunflower oil is good for cooking.

·         The fibres of the stem can be used to make paper.

We Can Recycle

We can make less garbage if we use some items over again for something else.

Did you know?

• That pop bottles, water bottles, peanut butter jars, can be recycled into fibre for carpets, insulation for coats and sleeping bags, tote bags

Here’s another use for a pop bottle- Make your own mini greenhouse.

• Wash and dry a 2 litre pop bottle
• Have an adult cut the bottle in half using scissors or a utility knife
• Poke some holes in the bottom for drainage

Fill the bottom container with soil and plant your seeds. Water lightly.

Put the top half on fitting over the edge of the bottom half. Leave the cap on. Place in a sunny location and water sparingly. Have fun watching the roots beneath the soil as the plant grows above the soil.

“Ricky’s Song”

(Tune- “The More We Get Together”)

           Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,

Recycle, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

     It’s easy to do!

   ‘Cause your earth is my earth

And my earth is your earth!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

It’s easy to do!

Question-What can a worm do for you?                      

 Answer- Vermicomposting                                                      

Q. What is vermicomposting?                           

 A.   Red wiggler worms break down food scraps and turn them into nutrient rich compost.

Did you know? Worms

• Have no bones
• They have no eyes or ears
• They have 5 hearts
• They can eat ½ of their body weight each day
• They can live up to 10 years

Vermicomposting is an excellent solution for disposing of kitchen scraps instead of throwing them in the garbage. The bonus is you will have nutrient rich compost to fertilize your plants or garden.

How much water does your family use?

• For one week have your family keep a record of how much water you use.
• Create a chart from your results.
• Could your family be saving or conserving water?

Here are some guidelines:

• 1 bucket of water is                              approx. 3 gallons or 10 litres of water
• Taking a bath uses                                approx. 16 -26.5 gal. or 60-100 litres water
• Taking a shower uses                           approx. 4 gal. or 15 litres of water
• Washing dishes by hand uses             approx. 4 gal. or 15 litres of water
• A dishwasher uses                                  approx. 8 gal. or 30 litres of water
• A washing machine uses                       approx. 32 gal. or 120 litres of water

BOOKS to READ

Why Should I? Series- Why Should I Protect Nature? Why Should I Recycle? Why Should I Save Energy? Why Should I Save Water? - Jen Green –Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., Hauppauge, NY. 2005

The Family of Earth – Schim Schimmel- NorthWord Books for Young Readers, Minnetonka, Minnesota. 2001

Wiggling Worms at Work- Wendy Pfeffer, Scholastic Inc. New York, N.Y. 2004

Websites

www.carbondiet.ca – tips and resources on “going green”

Bienvenue le Printemps et Joyeuses Paques!

Although it's been short, this week has been filled with lots of fun and learning! After coming back from March Break, we welcomed Spring and have been learning about different things that happen during this season. We've been talking about Easter (Paques) and how things grow. One of the big excitements of the week is a plant beginning to grow in our snails' home!
We also had a fun visit from Librarian Kelly who works at the library at Eglinton Square. Hopefully everyone received the package from her! The children had a great time listening and interacting with her and she encourages (as do I) each one of them to go visit her :)
This week, the dramatic centre has become a doctor's office, the block centre has become a detective's office, the science centre has become a green house, and the math centre has become a bank! In math, we've been talking about Canadian coins and how much each one is worth - if you get a chance when you've got your coins out, ask them about it!
The children have been very excited about Easter! For all who celebrate it, Happy Easter and enjoy your long weekend! To celebrate as a class, we had some fun hunting eggs in our classroom this morning.
Another big area of discussion over the past couple of weeks is RESPECT. We have been learning about what it means (treating others how you would want to be treated) and how we should be showing it. Some of your children may have been talking about getting stars in the class - we have a chart in our room that tracks how often we are showing respect and it seems to be a great way for the students to remember :) They are also encouraged to catch their friends showing respect - for themselves, for their friends, for the classroom, and for the teachers. Please encourage this behaviour at home too!
Here's a look at some of the fun we've been having: