First Stop: The Sun!

Our space curriculum has really been taking off this week!!! After reading a story about traveling into space, a handful of students expressed interest in making a space mobile. Since the rest of the class roared in agreement, that's exactly what we've started to do. Because the Sun is the center of our solar system, that's what the class has set out to make first. But, before they did, they took time to observe details about the Sun through photographs, and also learned about solar flares, sun spots and how our Sun formed in the first place. They also learned how the Earth spins around the Sun. Savannah explained to her friends that, when it is bright outside, the Earth is facing towards the Sun while the other side of Earth faces away in darkness. All of the kids have expressed a tremendous interest in the planetary system and have been asking loads of questions, leaving me with lots of research to do at home.

Greta: "Why is the sun so bright?"
Eva Y.: "How does the Earth move?"
Dylan: "Why does it take one day for the Earth to spin once?"

The more we have been talking about the Sun and space, the more the children's ideas have started to flow. They started filling our classroom with stars and space dust. They want to add asteroids, rockets, astronauts and moons, ultimately converting our classroom into outer space. Next week, we'll talk about planet Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun.

On a fairly regular basis, the class has enjoyed setting up the classroom with rows of chairs, finding a partner to walk down the aisle with, getting married and ending the ceremony with food and a dance party. They spared no detail, including top hats, veils, fancy attire, paper roses, and they even decorated the block area with tassels. They all have really had fun attending and dressing up for the occasion as it has happened several times in the last few weeks.

The kids have been working hard on making cards for those who have been hurt in Haiti. Once they learned that there was a need for help, they recognized that they can spread peace and offer support through something as simple as a card.

As we have entered the second half of the year, the kids have started to write in their journals every day. They have continued to work very thoughtfully and diligently in their entries, and they all take a lot of pride in whatever they express. This week, I asked Tyler to share his journal entry on Friday with his friends. The children are now sharing only things they work very hard on in school, rather than items they bring in from home. This has shown to be much more meaningful to them, and their friends also participate by asking interesting and thoughtful questions in response. Tyler explained to his friends the following:

"I drew the Sun. I drew the fire that shoots out."

Eva Y. asked How he drew the Sun

"I used yellow and orange to draw circles and made triangles to make the fire shooting off."

You may have noticed that our bookshelves are bare... again! We have had a lot of ripped pages in our books. The kids needed a reminder about how it is important to take care of our books along with everything else in our classroom. They helped to collect our books and return them to the library. They remembered from earlier in the year that they can make their own books in order to demonstrate how to take good care of them. Once they have shown this, they can begin to choose books from our library and bring them back to our classroom again.

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. We will be celebrating in school with some special treats the children will make, and of course with Valentine's day cards and show box bail boxes. Please be sure to send in a show box with your child's name on it by Monday, February 8th. I will keep you updated with any other details.

I hope you all had a great weekend! See you during the week.

Amanda