Spring has begun!

From Spring

"Spring is biting plants and a carrot." ~ P.B

The children began their week using words and pictures to describe what spring was to them. The illustrations they made are priceless, if you have the chance please come see them on display in Room 5. Below is their explanation of what spring is.
Spring is...
When squirrels come out. ~D.L
Spring showers. ~J.B
Biting plants and a carrot. ~P.B
Leaves blooming. ~L.A
Vegetable garden. ~J.L
Roses growing. ~D.R
The wind. ~S.H
Rain. ~Q.G
New plants and trees. ~F.V
When flowers grow and roses grow. ~ A.A
Flowers growing. ~A.H
Flowers growing. ~L.M.W
When chickens and bunny rabbits hatch. ~M.F
I think roses growing in the spring. ~Ash

To begin our study of plants and insects I asked the children to share what they want to learn about.

From Spring

"Why do insects have 6 legs?" ~L.A

From Spring

"Why do some bugs bite?" ~J.L

From Spring

"Why does my tree in the spring have flowers and in the summer have leaves?" ~M.F

From Spring

"How Birds of Paradise look so good?" ~L.A

Here are some of the questions we will use to help guide our study of plants and insects!
Wonders about Insects:
A.H. I want to know about the biggest insect.
A.A. I want to learn how insects hide.
Ash. I want to learn about where Ladybugs live.
D.R. I wonder what the biggest bug is.
D.L. Can bugs swim?
F.V. How do plants grow?
J.B Where is the biggest bug?
J.L Why do some bugs bite?
L.M.W How do they fly?
L.A. Why do insects have 6 legs?
M.F. What is the biggest bug in the world?
Q.G. Why do flies lay eggs?
S.H. I want to know how insects are born.

Wonders about Plants:
A.H I want to learn about the Venus Fly Trap.
A.A I want to learn about cactus.
Ash. I want to learn about Venus Fly Traps and how they grow.
D.L. Can plants survive in water?
F.V. I want to learn about Tulips
J.L. How do (plants) help the Earth.
L.M.W. I want to know how seeds are made.
Luke: How do Birds of Paradise look so good?
M.F. Why does my tree in spring have flowers and in summer have leaves?
P.B. Why do plants die?
Q.G I want to know why cactus thorns are leaves.
S.H. I want to learn how plants grow.

Hand to Earth... Sand and Stone

From Great Artists

From Great Artists

Last week we survived the harsh weather conditions of La Jolla Shores for our field trip to the beach. Carrie, Amy, Anna, Claudia, Sondra, Vi and Anna were able to capture some amazing works of art as well as assist in keeping the children on task! Click on the album above to get a sneak peak of your children's work.

"I enjoy working in a quiet and subversive way." ~Andy Goldsworthy

From Great Artists

From Great Artists

From Great Artists

Our Great Artist study has begun! Throughout the past two weeks the children have begun exploring the artistic style of Andy Goldsworthy. The children have had multiple opportunities to work with sand, stone, clay, leaves, berries, pinecones, twigs, bark and more. When Andy Goldsworthy creates his art in nature, his intention is not to “make his mark” on the landscape, but rather to work with it and create a new perception and an every growing understanding of the land. The children have begun to embrace and understand his philosophy as well as build an awareness and appreciation for the environment around them.

From Read 2010

On Tuesday we took a break from our regular routine to enjoy some pancakes, get comfortable in our pajamas and snuggle up with our favorite books. The children took and active part in reading books and listening to stories for 2,010 seconds! It was truly spectacular to look around the campus and see everyone reading!

Help For Haiti

From Haiti Care Kits

As many of you were aware, on January 12, 2010 a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, devastating many of the homes, schools and orphanages in and surrounding the capital and largest city, Port-au-Prince. Our entire TCS community came together to collect soap, soap dishes, toothpaste, tooth brushes, band aids, wide-tooth combs, washcloths, hand towels, ziplock bags and shampoo. With the support of the children and their families we were able to assemble 238 Care Kits as well as share our message of hope through the news! Please enjoy the video below that was aired on NBC!

Science With Dr. Lou!

From Guest Scientist

From Guest Scientist

Last week we were joined by S.H’s grandmother “Dr. Lou” and his mother Charlotte for an amazing science experiment. The children made predictions and hypothesis about the buoyancy of various objects in corn syrup, oil, water and alcohol. Please enjoy the videos of the children making their predictions and conclusions of the buoyancy of a red chip in water.

Red Chip Predictions from Lisa J on Vimeo.

Red Chip results from Lisa J on Vimeo.

Cinderella Stories

From Singles

Our Cinderella Study was in full swing this week as we huddled indoors and tried to keep warm and dry. This week we read four more versions of Cinderella and began making lots and lots of text-to-text connections between all of the stories. On Friday we shared the pen to create a poster that helped us illustrate the similarities and differences between all of the stories.
In Math the children worked on solving a word problem involving Cinderella shopping for a pair of shoes. Please see the videos below to see how a few of the children approached this problem

LA Cinderella Math from Lisa J on Vimeo.

AH Cinderella Math from Lisa J on Vimeo.

DR Cinderella Math from Lisa J on Vimeo.

Fairy Tales and Cinderella

From Book Buddies

What a week it has been! Amidst assessments and our fairy tale study it is hard to know where all of the time has gone! This week the children continued their weekly routines of weekend report, handwriting, reading, math practice and writing in their journals. In word study, the children focused on the –an family. Their word study included reading three new –an books, “Flip and Write” as well as making their own –an books. The children were recently introduced to the ‘Magic 5 of Writing’. After completing a writing assignment the children need to check and make sure that they have used the following 5 things: 1. Each sentence begins with a capital letter. 2. Use punctuation 3. Use the word wall 4. Use spacing 5. Use lowercase letters.
Our fairy tale study began with a reading of Cinderella with our Book Buddies. During job time the children traced their buddies shoes of feet to make an outline of their “glass slipper” and measured their glass slippers using blocks, cubes, rulers and dominoes.
During Reader’s Workshop we read Cinderella Skeleton and created our own silly Cinderella stories. In one story Cinderella was an Alien who lost a heart when the clock struck midnight and danced with a monster at the ball and lived in outer space forever…