Our Dinosaur Inquiry - Part 1

Another scientific inquiry has sparked in the kindergarten room. DINOSAURS!!!  After learning what a scientist does when we studied colour, we easily transitioned into being Paleontologists.  We were very excited to start making discoveries using all all the different tools that a paleontologist might use.  We looked for bones, dug them up, brushed them off and then tried to figure out what kind of dinosaur they might belong to.

We explored another dig site using our imaginations and problem solving skills. A 5x5 grid was made on the floor with tape.  A black plastic bucket was placed upside down in each square.  We imagined that the buckets were big hills. Each student had to choose two coordinates and then go "dig" in the correct square. We discovered, bones, rocks, leaves and sometime and empty square.

After digging up all those bones, we couldn't wait to discover more about each dinosaur.

Our dinosaur research started with Tyrannosaurus Rex.  We learned that T-Rex had up to 60 long sharp teeth.  One friend shared that a T-Rex tooth is as big as a banana!  We wanted to know what 60 T-Rex teeth would look like.  As a group, we counted the teeth out in groups of 5. (We practised making tally marks with the teeth.) 

         

The next dinosaur we studied was Parasaurolophus. The first thing we noticed was the big crest on the top of his head.  Palaeontologists have suggested that the crest may have been used to make a loud sound like a horn.  We thought this was pretty cool and wondered if we could make sounds like a Parasaurolophus.  We used three different lengths of tubes and attached a paper cone shape to the end.  Then the fun and the hooting began!!

One of the most talked about and recognized dinosaur in our class is the long neck.  We discovered that there are many different kinds of long necks or sauropods. All sauropods have the same body shape, long tail, long neck and 4 sturdy legs in common.   We were challenged to work together and try to build a long neck to help create a dinosaur sculpture in our classroom.  

We were given wooden stir sticks, pipe cleaners, straws, corrugated cardboard, poster paper construction paper, tape and big pieces of vinyl to create with.  We got right to work and tried very hard to make sure everyone's ideas were being heard. 

"We need to make the neck bones first."

"It needs to be longer so the long neck can get the leaves from the top of the tree."

"We are taping on skin (cellophane) over the bones."

"We need to make a strong base so it can stand up."

"More tape!"

"Should we cut the bone off? " "No, we need to get another piece of paper."

The Morning Class

              

  

              

               

The Afternoon Class

A great start to building our VERY big dinosaur sculpture!

Egg Shakers in Music

We are very lucky to have Miss Versteeg as our music teacher.  She is always coming up with creative ways for us to have fun in the music room.  She has been teaching us to listen carefully and to distinguish between different sounds.

To practise our music listening skills,  we each got to make an egg shaker. Miss Versteeg put out six different materials to fill our eggs with.  After we had filled our egg and decorated them with stickers, we began to listen carefully to the sound that each shaker made. We noticed, that each of these materials sound different, and if you listen closely, you can tell what is inside each one.

  

                         

Board Games and a Sticker Story

We know, that one of the best ways for us to learn is through play.  We also know that our families are our first and most important teachers! With this in mind, we had a family board game day.  A few parents came to kindergarten and taught us how to play some great board games.

Here we are playing a life size version of BUMP!! - We had to roll two dice, add the dots together and then go stand on the number rolled.  If the other team rolled the same number, you get BUMPED off your square.

A fun day in Kindergarten wouldn't be complete without a snack!  We used licorice to make numbers and then counted out the correct number of marshmallows.

Here we are playing some great board games in the afternoon.



Another great game of Kindergarten Math Bump!!





This week we created a story picture using different stickers and stamps.  Our job was to carefully select stickers and stamps that when put together would make an interesting story.  We hope you enjoy or pictures and stories!!

The Morning Class

                         

The Afternoon Class

                         

A Leprechaun Came To Kindergarten...

You will never believe what happened in Kindergarten today?  A Leprechaun came to our classroom, made a big mess, left us some notes and lots of shamrocks.  He even left us a trail to find his treasure!!! What a crazy day!

Here is what the morning kinders had to say:

"There was a big mess in kindergarten because of the Leprechaun." - Graham
"We found 5 hats." - Dominic
"They are very tricky." - Marcus
"We found treasure - gold chocolate coins and skittles." - Jordyn
"I found small footprints outside." - Drake
"They are trouble!"  - Logann
"They left clues." - Zhane
"We found 75 shamrocks" - Lizzie
"We wore green today.  9 kids and 2 teachers." -Sydney
"I found the candy.  It was upstair in our room." - Lily
"The traps were empty." - Daman
"We found 2 notes from the Leprechaun.  They said try again next year to catch me."  - Akshat.

Here is what the afternoon kinders had to say:

"We hunted for Leprechauns." - Arabella
"The Leprechaun came and made a big mess." - Alisa
"The Leprechaun made a mess and we had to clean up his mess." - Jaxon
"Five Leprechauns came and we found their five hats." - Jessie
"We found 80 shamrocks and we counted them by 10s." - Joshua
"We found discovery jobs on the ground and under the table." - Matthew
"We went on hunt to find shamrocks." - Logan
"We found treats." - Alexis
"I went up the stairs to find a pot of gold." - Morgan




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We Are Scientists!!

The learning that took place this week was truly magical! We made countless discoveries and it all started with a book...and the three primary colours.


To set the stage, we read the book Meet Einstein by Mariela Kleiner. We looked closely at the pictures to help us figure out what a scientist does and what tools a scientist might use.  We learned that scientists observe, investigate, ask questions, take notes and make discoveries.  

    

With this in mind, we put on our lab coats and goggles and began to explore the different stations in our new "Kindergarten Science Laboratory."

Touring the "Kindergarten Science Laboratory"

After completing the tour, the scientists began to investigate and make discoveries.

After making all of our discoveries, we wondered what we should do with all this new information?  What would a scientist do? We went back to book Meet Einstein to try to figure out what our next step should be.  We noticed that Einstein wrote down and recorded what he learned.  Since we are becoming such great writers, we thought we could share our discoveries by writing our own science book.

Writing the introduction of our Science Book.

If you are curious about what we discovered, please come to our Celebration of Learning on Thursday March 17.  Our book will be ready to read and the scientists will show you how they made their discoveries. 

I would like to thank Mrs. Sagert for being such a fantastic co-scientist and for helping create an environment of wonder and curiosity in our afternoon kindergarten room. 

Another great big THANK YOU goes to Ms. O, Mrs. P,  Mr. V.  and Mrs. Cullen.  Without your very helpful hands, we would not have been able to make such incredible discoveries. 

Playing with Mondrian Art

After being introduced to Piet Mondrian's artwork, we were challenged to create our own kindergarten inspired versions. 

First, we looked closely at the different elements in these paintings. We learned that Piet Mondrian used the Primary Colours for his colour palette. (Red, Blue and Yellow)  We also noticed that his work is made up of lines, squares and rectangles.

Keeping these things in mind, we started to play with different objects and materials found in the kindergarten room.

We played with glass beads, blocks, lego, sticks, dominoes, rocks, paper, unifix cubes, paint and coloured cellophane to help us make our own Mondrian inspired piece of transient art. 

Once we were happy with our creation, we took a picture to document our learning and then we cleaned up the pieces.