First Grade Thinks Plants ROCK!

What does first grade want to share about the garden?

How has the garden changed from winter to spring? How does it look?

"When it's winter, some flowers die. They didn't have a lot of water, and it was very cold"

"There are earthworms in the garden now!"

"The garden looks healthy! The soil looks damp."

"The flowers and leaves are getting bigger and everything is starting to grow"

"The garden has been weeded."

"It is ready to start planting."

How do you think we are going to plant?

"We need to give the plants soil and water."

"We will have to make sure the garden has the right temperature to grow."

"We have to make sure it has sun."

"We need some seeds to put in the soil."

"We need to work together."

"We need to water the plants."

"Plants need air."

What Other Things Besides Seeds Do We Need?

We need shovels and our hands.

We need to take care of the garden.

We need plant food.

We need seeds.

We need craft sticks to label the plants.

What do you think about growing a garden from Kitchen Scraps?

"I thought of composting"

"We could use the seeds inside the fruits and vegetables."

"We could try to grow things from the scraps we would normally throw away at home"



Tune in next time to see what happens...

The Weather Outside is Delightful!

This quarter the second grade students have been learning about different types of weather and tools used to measure them with. The students have been analyzing, observing, and testing different aspects of weather and weather tools firsthand. The students observed wind patterns and made observations using bubbles, anemometers and kites. The students also analyzed different types of clouds and how that could help them predict the weather.

Bluebirds have arrived!

We discovered our first bluebird nest on March 1st! We are fairly certain this nest does indeed belong to a bluebird, since it is relatively neat, and made out of all pine straw. We can't quite tell if it is complete yet or not, as it looks a little thin. We'll keep checking daily for progress, and hopefully we'll find eggs soon! We also have another bluebird house that shows signs that a nest is being started! Check back soon for more updates on our bluebird adventures! 

Third Grade Learns Cardinal Directions and Writing Cinquain

This month, we learned about Cardinal directions. We discussed how to find directions based on the location of the sun and the time of day. Student's discussed why its important that we use directions in order to find places and locations. 

 Student's also used the nature around them for inspiration in order to complete a cinquain poem. No better inspiration than a nice sunny day!

Preparing for More Bluebirds at KES!

In anticipation of Spring, 4th graders are preparing for the arrival of more bluebirds! We have cleaned out all of our bluebird houses so that they are ready for new nests. Students were concerned to find that many of the houses have been stuffed full of rocks and twigs, likely by people. This would obviously be harmful to our future bluebird eggs, and we are working on a plan to educate our school community on how to respect the animals that share our environment with us. We will begin researching how to help protect bluebirds. We are looking forward to their arrival!

Third grade outdoor learning update!

What better place to get inspiration for descriptive writing than our own backyard!

This fall in First Grade, we have made many observations about what is changing outside. We also did a fun experiment with pine cones! Here's what the First Graders have to say about Outdoor Learning for October and November!

First the leaves on one tree fell. Then the leaves on another tree fell.

Today, I noticed the pine cones were hanging down lower on the trees outside.

When we did the experiment with STEM, I remember we had to get 2 pine cones and we put water in a cup. We put one pine cone in the cup of water.

I liked the part that we did with pine cones. We started to go outside and we got all of the pine cones. We put them in the water to let the spikes close. The spikes opened when the pine cone dried.

We put pine cones in water and it took the spikes off.

The pine cones turned little in the water.

The sides of the pine cones went down.

The pine cones grow on the trees outside.

I noticed a lot of times when we went outside it was cold.

When we had the pine cone experiment we found pine cones near the sidewalks.

We compared the dry and wet pine cones by drawing a picture of them on paper.

When we were doing the pine cone experiment, I noticed that they were on the pine straw.

When we were finding the pine cones, some were on the trees and some had fallen down.

There were so many pine cones outside.

When we put the pine cones in the water, the spikes closed. I think when we dumped out the water, the spikes opened back up.

When we put the pine cones in the water they got darker.

We had to find the biggest pine cone we could find.

The pine cones did not close immediately, but over time they slowly closed. The don't want to get soaking wet in the inside. If they get soaking wet, they may not produce more seeds.

When the pine cones closed they got more prickly.

We have to put on our jackets because it is so cold outside.

I noticed a lot of pine cones that fell.

In the winter, in this month, it's been raining a lot. It's rained 3 times in a row already!

There is pine straw, small pine cones, and big pine cones outside.

The grass was wet, and it didn't dry quickly because it was rainy and. There is more shade on the playground and it is cold, because it's almost winter.

I noticed that a lot of leaves fell, because fall is here.