Insects!

We went out on a bug hunt last week during the nice weather!
It was exciting turning over rocks and logs.
We found lots of insects and spiders hiding!
We recorded the different bugs we found!

Whoooaaa! Look at the large ant hill!! 

We had pond life in the classroom last week. Scoop up any pond water and it is FILLED with life! Here are two pond snails!
They were really neat to observe!

We even had two ladybugs visiting for awhile.

Our pond life.

A Wooly Worm was observed for a week, too.
It was released yesterday. 

Earth Day! Garbage Art!

Today we learned all about how to keep the Earth healthy!
 We made creative works of art using old milk caps!

Reduce, REUSE, and Recycle!

Happy Earth Day!

Life Cycle

Ahhhhhh!!!! Screams and squeals could probably be heard across the hall during our life cycle introduction lesson! I left a box covered up with a note that said, "New Classroom Friends" out during our morning routine. Everyone made guesses as to what might be in the box. The reveal came during our science lesson after snack. I revealed the name of the "friend" but nothing else.Then I had the students complete a KWL chart (what I know, what I want to know, what I learned) about a mealworm. No one knew what a mealworm was.

 

I then revealed to them what a mealworm looks like! Each student was given a mealworm to observe on his/her desk....begin the squeals and screams!!! Some mealworms were busier than others. I could tell some of the mealworms were beginning to enter the pupa stage (we will learn about the stages tomorrow).  The students seemed to enjoy exploring their new friend! After the observations, the students had to record on our chart what he/she thinks the mealworm will turn into; eleven guessed a moth and one guessed a butterfly. All were surprised to find out it's actually a BEETLE! It's going to be fun watching our mealworms metamorphosis! 

 
 
 
 

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs!

 
 
 

On Tuesday, the students and I had a fun time learning about eggs! We learned about what type of eggs different animals lay. We also talked about the size, shape and color of eggs! Did you know that the hummingbird eggs are smaller than a house key?
 
I even shared a nest my mom found abandoned with eggs left inside. Do you know what type of bird left this nest? Well, the first graders know! It's a robin's nest! Such pretty eggs!

As part of our egg fun, we also read the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. First we read the poem, then we went back and talked about rhyming words, and finally we made a Humpty egg and watched him fall off of his wall! We had to recite the poem a few times and knock our humpty down several times to get some good cracks! Poor Humpty Dumpty!

After Humpty Dumpty, we tested the strength of four eggs. We predicted how many books the eggs could hold before cracking and then tested our predictions. The eggs held 38 books!



Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together