,What a joyful end to our year of Junior Kindergarten. The weather was amazing, and the new location, Emily Murphy Park, accommodated all our needs!! We played at the playground, and in the morning, the Edmonton Police stopped by for a visit. At the shelter we sang, ate, shared the speech (posted below), and cracked open our pinata. Thanks for being part of our JK family, you'll live on in our hearts!!
We are almost ready for our yearend Pinyata Party! Our tee-shirts are tie dyed, our songs rehearsed, and our pinyatas almost complete. See you at the park this Thursday during class time.
A butterfly update: This past week five of our eight butterflies have come out of their chrysalis. On Thursday afternoon the children took them outside. The butterflies enjoyed looking at the blue sky, but were not ready to fly away. "Maybe another time!"
On Friday afternoon, Ann unzipped the butterfly home and left it outside for 30 minutes. Two butterflies were ready for their adventure: It was time for them to meet their mates and make more baby butterflies! The life cycle just keeps going - eggs, caterpillars, chrysalis, butterflies. We learned all about bugs at the John Janzen Nature Centre!
First, we searched for and studied the different kinds of bugs that live in the natural spaces behind the centre. We found: larvea, worms, ants, beetles, mosquitoes, and flies. Second,we learned the parts of a bug, dressed up our queen bee, and met a creature that eats bugs. In the morning we had a visit with a salamander and in the afternoon a Garder snake. The children asked insightful questions that helped all of us appreciate the characteristics and habits of the creatures. For example, when a child asked if the snake laid eggs, we found out that Guarder snakes lay eggs inside their bodies and give birth to live snakes because mom snakes cannot afford the time it takes to keep eggs warm in our northern climate: Fascinating!! Third, we enjoyed snack! Lastly, we viewed a honey bee hive and played in the gym. We had an excellent adventure and wish to thank all our volunteers for making the outing very engaging for the children. A big thank you for sharing this amazing resource with the afternooon class. We had a demonstration of how to screw together parts to make a vehicle. We started with the base (chassis) and added four wheels. Then the top was chosen along with the selected features (bucket, spinner, arm etc.) What a fantastic opportunity!
It was a beautiful morning to share favorite stories. How lucky we are to have preservice teachers visit our class to read stories to the children!
The afternoon class enjoyed being scientists! They giggled excitedly as they added vinegar to baking soda to create volcanoes. After they created slime:WOW!!! Thank you to our talented parent for inspiring all the children to wonder and explore science!
Hats off to Frieda for making our music program so rich with experiences! A big thank you to all the visitors who have come in to share their musical expertise!!
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