The Crayon classroom participated in Election Day activities on November 8th. First, we read a book on the SMART Board about election day and how people vote. Then, the teachers gave the students a choice: What special activity should we do at the end of the day? Jack-o-lantern faces game Wheels on the Bus song Gingerbread Man game Each Crayon student and teacher got to cast his or her vote. Next, the votes were put in our ballot box. Then, everyone received an "I VOTED" sticker. At the end of the day, the votes were counted and the winner was revealed. The jack-o-lantern game won! Everyone had a chance to build a jack-o-lantern face on the SMART Board. Friday, October 21st was Grandparents Day at Gillen Brewer. Each Crayon student had someone special visit our classroom. We started out by reading our "Grandparents Day" book with our guests, which outlined all of the activities that were going to happen. Then, the Crayon students helped their teachers share a book we made together called, "How to Make Applesauce." Next, it was finally time to try the applesauce the Crayon students worked so hard to make. After the snack, the Crayons and their grandparents worked together to decorate pumpkins using stickers, velcro, and felt. Finally, the Crayons sang the "Pumpkin, Pumpkin" song as they revealed a jack-o-lantern face to all of our guests. Earlier this month, The Crayons visited Dr. Davies' Farm and Apple Orchard. We went on a hay ride, picked apples, climbed trees, picked a class pumpkin, and had a picnic on the grass. Then, we spent the rest of the month exploring the apples and pumpkin at school. Back at school, our science teacher Braque cut the pumpkin open so we could explore the insides. It was gooey and had a lot of pumpkin seeds! We also took turns giving the pumpkin different jack-o-lantern faces. Students shared their faces with the class while singing: Pumpkin, pumpkin Round and fat Turn him into a jack-o-lantern Just like that! The Crayons used the apples to make apple sauce. First, a teacher had to peel the apples. Next, students helped cut the apples into tiny pieces. We put the apples in a great big pot. We added cups of water and 4 spoons of cinnamon. Then, we had to leave it in the pot. After it cooled, we mashed the apples! The Crayons noticed that the class pumpkin began to look moldy and mushy. We read about the life cycle of a pumpkin and learned that our pumpkin was rotten! This year, Gillen Brewer's school theme is "Things that Float." Before we were able to choose an appropriate name for our class, we had to discover what it means to float and sink. Our science teacher, Braque, helped guide the process as we explored various items in water. Next, we began to test our understanding by making predictions. After investigating an item, we made a guess: will it float to the top of the water? or sink to the bottom? We checked our answer by testing it out and dunking it in a tub of water! Once we discovered which items around our classroom were able to float, it was time to make a decision. Each student cast their vote for an object that floated in water. Though the vote was not unanimous, our class was able to come together to be flexible and problem-solve to settle on a class name. Finally, we used crayons on our favorite coloring sheets to celebrate the final decision. |