It's Not a Box... It's a Bus!

A few weeks ago we read the story Not a Box. We had just received some new reading materials and decided to ask the students what we could do with the boxes they came in. They decided we should make a school bus. And so it began... Our first inquiry project of the year...

Part 1- Learning About Buses
First we had to do research on buses.  We read non-fiction texts, watched video clips and even went inside a real bus.

The students drew pictures of 5 different types of buses (school bus, city bus, tour bus, double decker bus and water bus). They decided we should use our buses to make a model of a community.

Part 2- Creating the Community
We read books about street signs and took a few walks around the school building which is located in a neighborhood.  The students worked in teams to create a community scene for our buses to go in.

Part 3- Using the Boxes
Finally we circled back around to the start of the project... Using the boxes to make a school bus. The students painted the boxes this week and added the details.

 

 

Finding Out About Fall

For the past few weeks we have been discussing the season of fall. We made a list and drew pictures of things we see or do in fall. We have also been collecting leaves. Yesterday the students chose a leaf and observed closely using a magnifying glass. Then they drew a picture and wrote a sentence to incorporate our sight word for this week which was "see". Next week we will begin a mini investigation on pumpkins before we go to the pumpkin patch at the end of the month!

Being a Writer

Ms. West is a fabulous writing teacher! This is her subject area and she has been working hard to get the kids to add details to their pictures and encouraging them to write words they know and can sound out.  She has also been working with them on telling a story and sharing with their peers. Here are some pictures of Thursday's share time. This week the students wrote "stories" about what they like to do with their family.

 Writing is also incorporated throughout the day and our classroom decor. Almost everything on our walls is student created.  Here are a few examples of the student's work.
This is the beginning of our hallway display about buses. We have been studying buses for a few weeks and are now ready to share what we know with others.

 We have also been learning about fall. Here is our fall canvas.

 The students have been bringing in environmental print examples from labels and bags.

 These are the color collages we made a few weeks ago finally hanging on the wall. The kids refer to then when they want to know a color word.

 They have even created their own word wall!

It has been so wonderful to watch all the students become writers at varying levels.

Making Changes to Suit Our Needs

This week I moved some of our center areas and made some changes to the way our furniture is arranged. While Ms. West is teaching phonics I pull out about 13 students so I need a larger space to work with them. This caused for some rearranging!
Science Area- we now have two tables... We have also put in fall items and lots of books about leaves.

Math Area- we added another coffee table and changed out our materials.  The activities in this area are all number sense and everything we practiced in our centers a few weeks ago.

 Sensory Area- still in the same spot. We are trying to decide what to change the materials inside to...

 Play-Dough Area- we have transitioned to clay!

 Art Area- the easels were moved to the center of the room. The students are using the paint they made a few weeks ago. They are loving using our new brushes and big paper.

 Home Living Area- it is a little larger now and we have added small clipboards, chef's hats and babies!

 Loose Parts Area- this area used to be off to the side of the room... For some reason it didn't function well. Now it is in the middle of the room and the kids are using it more efficiently.

 Building Area- the students have expressed some interest in structures so they have really gotten into planning and building.

 Writing Area- we switched from two small tables to one larger table. We also added the chalk board because the students wanted to play "school" and practice their letters.

 Reading Area- still in the same spot but we have added our class book creations so that students have been excited to read them.

 Intervention Area- this us where one teacher does pull out while the other teacher works with the whole group.

Our new spaces seem to be working out quite nicely!