Dissecting Flowers and the Lamb Lady

We've had a very busy week! On Wednesday, the half day, we spent some time dissecting flowers. In small groups student were given a flower, a work mat and a magnifying glass. I asked them to dissect their flower and find the following parts: pistil, stamen, petals, and stem. Each type of flower had distinctly different pistils and stamen so after they were dissected, each group had the chance to wander from group to group and observe each others work. It was pretty interesting. The next day they completed a flower diagram with each of the observed parts. Earlier in our plant unit we took apart a Fava bean that had been soaking in water. There was a small embryo (the future root/plant) already growing inside the Fava bean. They learned about the seed coat, the embryo and the cotyledon. We're also growing some classroom plants from seeds we planted just a few weeks ago. Plants are so much fun for first graders to learn about! Check out the pictures from the flower dissection.



In addition, we continue to practice for the play and learn about farm animals. Friday was the day the "Lamb Lady" visited! (Also known as Ms. Knox, a reading specialist here). It was very exciting because when we were at Shelburne Farms, the lambs were not our focus and we didn't have the opportunity to spend much time with them. There was much excitement about her arrival! We felt it best to meet the lambs on the tennis court in case they decided first graders were too much and tried to make a run for it! They were very sweet and seemed to like first graders after all! Each child had the opportunity to feed a lamb a bottle and most of them gave it a try. The lambs are just getting used to being on a lead and every child who grabbed the rope felt great success until the lamb decided to go its own way! It was hard to tell who was walking whom! Ms. Knox also brought a spinning wheel and a big bag of wool. Each child was able to take a fistful of wool home! A very exciting day!

Chicks Visit

Last week Ivy asked if she could bring her chicks to school on her share day...how could I say no to that? So on Tuesday, Ivy's chicks made a visit! Her mom came with three new chicks and one older chick. We made a welcoming circle on the rug so the chicks could visit with each of us. They made the rounds and many children tried to pick them up. The chicks are pretty spry and definitely made it known when they wanted to be put down! They were fluffy and cute and almost everyone wanted to bring chicks home that day! A very special thank you to Ivy and her mom for sharing their chicks with us!