The kidlets had a mission. They needed to find a stick. The only rule was that it could not have roots on it and still be in the ground. (I should have been a bit more specific: I should have said the kidlets needed to be taller than the stick!)
Sticks in hand, we looked at all their different sizes. We wondered who had the smallest sticks. Down they went on our small tarp.
The kidlets measured to see where their sticks should go in the stick triangle.
Everyone contributed a couple of sticks to to collection.
And then we went to play.
Until it was time to go inside and read
Huge thanks to Juliet Robertson for this idea; her blog I'm a Teacher Get Me OUTSIDE Here is a go to resource for fabulous outdoor activities.
The grass outside is green (and waterlogged), but that does not stop us from being snowman obsessed. One of our favourite books has been All You Need for a Snowman.
We are also learning about Mr Picasso portraits. Today the creative geniuses mad this Mr Picasso portrait at Picasso Head. They appreciate Mr Picasso's desire to break the painting rules!
In kindergarten, snowmen and Mr Picasso are natural partners.
We can make Mr Picasso snowmen!
We looked Mr Picasso's paintings of faces. The eyes are often different from each other. The nose is not in its usual place. The mouth can be on one side of the face, or on both. The ears are different from each other and not balanced on either side of the head. Mr Picasso liked to mix things up.
We also read that Mr Picasso used all sorts of bits and pieces of things to make his sculptures.
So, we can be like Mr Picasso and use all sorts of bits and pieces to make a snowman face.
First you have a snowball.
Add two eyes.
A nose.
A mouth.
Maybe some ears.
That's all you need for a snowman - Mr Picasso style.
This week we have gone black, white and waddling all over.
Black, white and waddling is a great opportunity to focus on non-fiction books. Penguins seem to attract engaging, well written, well illustrated books.
My favourite (making it a perfect choice for Perfect Picture Book Friday) black, white and waddling book is The Emperor's Egg.
written by: Martin Jenkins
illustrated by: Jane Chapman
published by: Candlewick Press (2002)
themes: non-fiction, Emperor penguins
fabulous for children 4-7
The book begins ....
Down at the very bottom of the world, there's a huge island that's almost completely covered in snow and ice. It;s called Antarctica, and it's the coldest, windiest place on earth. The weather's bad enough there in summer, but in winter it's really terrible. It's hard to imagine anything actually living there. But wait ... what's that shape over there? It can't be. YES! It's a PENGUIN.
That introduces us to the hero of the tale: the penguin papa.
The book description states: Can you imagine spending the winter outdoors in Antarctica without anything to eat? That's just what the male emperor penguin does. While his mate of off swimming and catching loads of fish, he stands around in the freezing cold with an egg on his feet for two whole months, keeping it warm and waiting for it to hatch. Welcome to the story of the world's most devoted dad.
I love this book because ....
• it shares a bunch of information about Emperor Penguins and their eggs
• this information is presented in a fun, conversational tone, making me root for the papa penguin, huddled with all the other papas, taking care of his egg
• I celebrated with the papa and the hungry chick when Mom came home - family reunion
• my students loved the editorial comments about Mom and Dad penguin regurgitating for their chick
• the illustrations are naturalistic, giving a good idea about the Antarctic landscape, but are still a whole lot warmer and friendlier than the penguin's environment
• it's a lot of fun to read aloud
• it made me and my students laugh
a few penguin resources
We checked out a few penguin cams. Sea World in San Diego has Emperor penguins in their penguin exhibit - it was our favourite.
We also became YouTube penguin clip junkies.
Birth and March of Emperor Penguins - 6 mins 20 secs
Baby Penguins First Steps - 2 mins
The egg on the top right is an Emperor penguin egg.
source: Seaworld clockwise from top centre: king, emperor, Magellanic, Adelie, and gentoo. King and emperor penguins incubate eggs on the tops of their feet. The elliptical shape fits snugly. If the egg happens to fall off, it will roll in a circle instead of a straight line away from the parent bird.
We made like penguins. The kids decided if they were mama or papa penguins and found a "mate". The mama laid an egg (a bean bag), and carefully passed it over to the papa to keep warm on his feet.
The mamas headed out to see for a long (2 month) lunch. The kids were quite worried about eating fish and krill. I assured them that they did not have to eat anything that they did not like - but I figured that they would like it. (It was fishie crackers and popcorn.)
The eggs started hatching. The papas had to take care of the chick and regurgitate to feed their baby. They had a bit too much fun regurgitating!
The mamas came home full and round with fish and krill. The papas turned over care of the chick to the mamas and headed out to sea.
Since my kidlets were so disgusted/enthralled with regurgitation (it has 5 syllables which make it a pretty cool word), I have to share this poem from Antarctic Antics with you.
Regurgitate
It's been one whole hour since I ate.
Why is my dinner always late.
While you and Mom procrastinate,
I might become a featherweight.
You know what I'd appreciate?
Cough it up Dad! Regurgitate!
Lastly, penguin books are so much more fun with penguin socks.
We have been revisiting Pete the Cat since we came back from Christmas break.
He has such a good attitude; the beginning of a new year seemed a good time to spend some time with Pete and his wise words.
Did he cry? Goodness no!
Stuff may come and stuff may go.
It's all good.
Pete had a wee bit of surgery, and got himself a brand new belly button. Thanks to Maureen at StrongStart for the belly button inspiration.
That sparked a renewed interest in our button basket.
I have been finding buttons everywhere. Used for just about everything.
button stew
cupcakes with button sprinkles
cream and buttons with your tea?
button money (in a wallet)
button money - legal tender in a hot chocolate cookie shop
buttons in a box
And to think that I put the buttons in the basket for counting and sorting!
Thanks Pete, you've inspired us to use our imagination muscle.
