Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Ladybug, Ladybug
We recently had a few visitors in our classroom...
About 350 ladybugs!
We learned about these beneficial insects as part of our living things unit. We know that:
- Ladybugs are living things.
- Ladybugs have parts that help them live and grow.
- Ladybugs have a predictable life style.
- Ladybugs have basic needs (food, water) and depend on the earth for them.
- Ladybugs are beneficial insects--they help plants by eating harmful insects (aphids).
Like all insects, they have 3 body parts (head, thorax and abdomen) and 6 legs. They use their antennae to feel and smell. They have two sets of wings--hard outer wings that protect their transparent flying wings. Look!
Here's our giant ladybug. Can you see the transparent flying wings?
We made our own ladybugs. They have 6 legs, 2 antennae and 2 sets of wings!
Ladybugs have a predictable lifecycle. First, the adult female ladybugs lays her eggs.
A ladybug larva hatches out of an egg, hungry and looking for aphids to eat. It eats and grows and eats and grows. When it gets too big, its skin splits. This happens several times.
When the larva is big enough, it sheds its skin one last time, revealing a pupa. Inside the pupa, the larva is changing into an adult ladybug.
After a few days, an adult ladybug emerges. It is pale and its wings are wet and soft. It doesn't have any spots!
Eventually, the ladybug's wings harden, and it gets its spots. Now, the life cycle can begin all over again!
We used colored beads to make ladybug life cycle bracelets. Have your child use the bracelet to tell you all about the ladybug life cycle.
We know that ladybugs eat aphids. Lots of aphids! An adult ladybug can eat 40-60 aphids a day!
Our ladybugs were very lucky! Our PEWE teacher, Ms. Spitzer, has an aphid problem in her garden, so she brought us milkweed with lots of aphids! We got to see ladybugs eating their tasty snack up close! We wrote about our observations in our science notebooks.
Eventually, we took our ladybugs outside and let them go, so they could fly away home. 
Maybe if you see a ladybug in your garden, it came from our classroom!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Farm is Back On...
The field trip to Crowe's Nest Farm has been rescheduled for Wednesday, May 20th.
Busses will leave at 9:30 am. I am starting over with chaperones...if you would like to attend, please e-mail me ASAP! Thanks!
Busses will leave at 9:30 am. I am starting over with chaperones...if you would like to attend, please e-mail me ASAP! Thanks!
Fractions
We have started learning about fractions in math.
Students will recognize that there are quantities less than a whole. They will share a whole by separating it into two equal parts. They will explain why a given part is one-half of the whole. Students will display math concepts using concrete models in problem solving situations connected to everyday experiences.
Here is what kindergarten students are required to know (taken from the TEKS):
Students will recognize that there are quantities less than a whole. They will share a whole by separating it into two equal parts. They will explain why a given part is one-half of the whole. Students will display math concepts using concrete models in problem solving situations connected to everyday experiences.
1. What is equal sharing?
2. How can you tell that the parts are equal?
3. How can you separate a whole into two equal parts?
4. Why is each part a half?
2. How can you tell that the parts are equal?
3. How can you separate a whole into two equal parts?
4. Why is each part a half?
We're taking it a bit further. I'll be introducing quarters as well as halves, and the mathematical symbols for each. We will also learn how to divide groups into equal shares, for example: How can 4 friends share 8 cookies?
The Plants Keep Growing....
and growing and growing!
We've had fun watching them. Now that we've learned about the plant life cycle, we're moving on to insect life cycles...starting with ladybugs. Check back soon for more details!
We've had fun watching them. Now that we've learned about the plant life cycle, we're moving on to insect life cycles...starting with ladybugs. Check back soon for more details!
We Love Lilly!
And Julius and Chrysanthemum and Chester and Wilson and Wemberly and Owen...
We have been reading all the "Mouse" books by Kevin Henkes. These books are great examples of how we can add details to our writing. They are also great examples of problems and solutions. If you get a chance, check some out from the library. The kids love the characters. If you want to work on comprehension skills:
- Compare/Contrast 2 or more characters from the books.
- Compare the plots from 2 or more books.
- Have your child relate one of the books to his/her own life... "Has that ever happened to you?"
- Ask your child if he/she would have handled the problem the same way.
For more information on Kevin henkes and his books, visit his website (there are no "games," but lots of fun printable activities!)-
Writers...Hard at Work
We have been very busy writing, and we have all of the basics down. We are writing high frequency words correctly, have excellent phonectic, or "kindergarten" spelling, are starting to use our knowledge of word families to transistion to conventional, or "grown-up" spelling, and are beginning to use capital letters and punctuation correctly.
Now we need to take it a step further. We are beginning to learn new ways to organize our writing and ways to make our writing more descriptive. So next week, we are going to write about our favorite toys. Please have your child bring in one toy that they love. Please make it small enough to fit in their backpack, and do not send anything electronic or expensive--like Nintendos or PlayStations...We will bring the toys home after a few days. Thanks!
Look at how they concentrate when they write...so cute!
Now we need to take it a step further. We are beginning to learn new ways to organize our writing and ways to make our writing more descriptive. So next week, we are going to write about our favorite toys. Please have your child bring in one toy that they love. Please make it small enough to fit in their backpack, and do not send anything electronic or expensive--like Nintendos or PlayStations...We will bring the toys home after a few days. Thanks!
Look at how they concentrate when they write...so cute!
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