Skype Session with Ohio K-kids

We had our first Skype session with the two kindergarten classes in Ohio.  This was a "meet and greet" day.  We had Elliot, a STEM coordinator, here with us.  He works with both groups.  Their big "Project-based Learning" project deals with weather.  They were asking us about our weather and we will meet again later to compare our weather. 

My students do bird projects and we told them a bit about birds in our area.  They told us that they have deer come to their bird feeders right outside of the school window!  We thought that was cool!  It was interesting talking to them, but we really had to try hard to take turns and be patient while Skype-ing.  They had 50 students compared to our eight, so there was a huge difference!  We could see them on the computer monitor. 

 

 

Turkey Cookbook

Each year I have my students tell me how "they think" the Thanksgiving turkey should be prepared and what "they think" they will eat at that meal.  You may want to have a taste-tester before you serve up these recipes! 

http://www.armour.k12.sd.us/Announcements/Kindergarten%20Turkey%20Cookbook%202013.pdf

Bird Videos

Here are some links to some bird videos that the students have watched and enjoyed.  This first one has a song midway through it that they love to dance to.  It might even get you going!  Enjoy!

The Big Day - 264 species seen in one day!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBl0zFdRPW8&list=UU5Lz88Rt3GT75YT2ORAmaMQ

How Nature Works: Barrier Island Foraging Strategies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56eU3KLIKZo&list=UU5Lz88Rt3GT75YT2ORAmaMQ

Yellow-billed Loon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyRTu-VJM1Q&list=UU5Lz88Rt3GT75YT2ORAmaMQ

Black-necked Stilts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSBABb3-dQI&list=UU5Lz88Rt3GT75YT2ORAmaMQ

Have you heard these loons?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS0s2T2s6-s&feature=c4-overview&list=UU5Lz88Rt3GT75YT2ORAmaMQ

The Real Angry Birds - Sharp-tailed Grouse {The boys love this one!}
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHudSNAtR2Q&list=UU5Lz88Rt3GT75YT2ORAmaMQ

Veteran's Day Art

We love America!
Thank you for you service Veterans!

Life Birds

The last few days we have been seeing quite a few birds just north of the school near the creek.  Yesterday we stood in the snow and watched many Dark-eyed Juncos, American Robins and European Starlings.  The Dark-eyed Juncos were life birds for some students.  That means it is the first time they have seen it in their life.  They were pretty happy!  Also some children in our class and older students have reported hearing and seeing the Sandhill Cranes flying over town. 

Today we had quite a treat when we saw Northern Cardinals in that same area.  I saw two males and two females.  It was difficult for the children to see them as they were flitting about in the trees, but it was good practice for them to follow the chipping sound that the cardinals made and try to locate them.  It takes practice.  I will add some photos of mine that I've taken at other times, but not at that moment.

Little Birdies

These little birders have found out about the cute, stuffed birds that are sold at our local seed store.  The bird even plays the real bird song when squeezed.  They love these birds! I've never seen anything quite like it.  I guess that is seven dollars worth of happiness!

The Kindergarten Birders

Leaf Sorting

One of our standards in Science is to sort leaves by shape and color.  This kind of sorting also happens to be a Math standard as well, so we went out on a cold, windy day to gather leaves.  Then we came back and sorted.  They seemed to enjoy it!  It is always good to get kids outdoors to see, hear and feel nature.