Fall Math

Thank goodness for a windy, rainy weekend!   With so many avid leaf collectors at TBS, colorful leaves were getting scarce.  In the Etzim class we are collecting, pressing and laminating our ever-growing collection.  We use our leaves for sorting by color, shape, and size.  The next step?  Classifying and learning to identify trees.  We hold trees near and dear in our classroom.  If you spend a little time in the Etzim classroom you are sure to hear someone say  "Etzim means trees!"

 

 

Where There's Smoke...

Jillian has been our Number One Leaf Collector this week   She is now joined daily by others seeking beautiful leaves.   Yesterday Jillian was using the magnifying glass to get a closer look at the leaves.  We sat down for an outside picnic for snack, placing the magnifying glass in a bin near the leaves.  Apparently, the sun was shining just right through the glass while we were eating, because suddenly we saw smoke!  This was a fascinating accidental experiment for our Etzim children (and yes, the teachers.)  We explored the power of the sun rays through the glass with a number of different items.  We can now report with confidence that we can ignite a dried leaf and a dandelion. 

Using our Five Senses like Scientists

In Kindergarten Enrichment, we have been thinking about what a scientist does. We have been learning that scientists use their five senses to observe the world around them. We read the story, My Five Senses, by Aliki and discovered that we each have five senses! We use our eyes to see, our nose to smell, tongues to taste, ears to listen, and our hands to feel.







This week we explored how we use our sense of hearing. We played a game where we guessed what was inside the plastic egg by listening. First, we looked a 6 plastic bags that were filled with different objects: beans, acorns, sprinkles, beads, pennies, and cotton. Each egg was filled with one of these materials.

We shook and listened to each egg. We then recorded our guesses. After we drew or wrote our guesses down we opened and revealed what was inside each egg.

You might want to practice using your sense of hearing at home with your child by sitting outside in nature very quietly and listening for sounds. See if you can hear a bird, a cricket, or the wind blowing the leaves on the trees!

Mystery Smell

We have been continuing our exploration of the senses in the Etzim classroom this week, focusing on our sense of smell. We played "Mystery Smell" where we tried to guess the scents of lemon, lime, coffee, cinnamon, and baby powder, amongst other smells. We charted which smells we enjoyed and which we didn't. Mia's favorite smell? "Mommy!" Aww.

Scientists play the Mystery Fruit Game

Ellen came to visit today and taught us a game.  Ellen began the Mystery Fruit Game by showing us a paper bag.  Then she told us a few things about what was inside: "It is a fruit.  It grows on a tree."  The kids didn't have any guesses yet.  Then she shared: "It is orange, it's round like a ball and it's juicy."  The guess came: "An Orange!!!!"  Ellen taught us how scientists learn about a new food: touch it, smell it, lick it, and eat it if you'd like.  The kids were brave about trying the fruit she shared with us: a Cara Cara orange, a pear,  a red pear, a lime, and lastly - a tomato!  You can see on the kids' faces what they thought of the sour flavor of the lime!

Watch It Grow

The Etzim class continued their exploration of seeds and plants today, a theme we find ourselves continually revisiting with never ending interest. Today we experimented with hydrating soil pellets, which felt like a magic trick! We then planted the seeds we had chosen (marigolds and zinnias) and watched a time lapsed video of a bean "seed to plant" which also was pretty magical. We love watching seeds sprout and will be waiting to see if our plants grow as quickly as we predicted!