This week, we had the special opportunity to participate in a bird- watching program at Remick Farm! The class loved returning to the farm with a new focus this time. We visited three different bird habitats on the farm, learning that some birds like to live in the woodland, some like to live near the pond, and some like to live near the cows! We also learned why the male birds are often brighter (to attract a mama bird) and why the females are often more camouflaged (to avoid predators and protect her babies). We also learned how to use our senses of sight and hearing when looking for birds, and how to properly use binoculars. The class loved noticing all kinds of birds around the farm and taking the opportunity to pay closer attention to what the birds were doing (hunting, building nests, feeding babies etc.).
Back at school, we studied backyard bird books and bird flashcards, and took time to really observe and notice what made each bird unique. Many students took their time drawing a bird of their choice, and adding it to our growing wall display of backyard birds. We were so excited to find a very special birds' nest this week, sitting on a rung of a ladder behind the library! It was up too high for the children to see, so Ms. Annacarin reached high and took a short video to show the children what was inside the nest. The bright blue eggs showed us that this was a robin's nest, and shortly after we saw mama robin coming to sit on her eggs!
In the classroom, we talked about the various materials that birds use to build their nests (mud, sticks, grass, soft feathers and fur, etc. and experimented with building our own nests out of playdough, straw, yarn, and various bits and bobs. Some children completed their nests by making little blue eggs that resembled the robin's eggs we found!
Other highlights of this week included:
* working on a directed drawing of a birdhouse as Ms. Annacarin walked the class through each step and shape involved in a birdhouse drawing
* practicing identifying birds by their appearance and song, and learning a new song to help us practice the names of the birds we learned about
* Listening and practicing our phonemic awareness through games like "I'm thinking of a bird that starts with the 'ch' sound"... or practicing our letter- sound associations by prompting "I'm thinking of a bird that starts with B"
* exploring a new game called "Orchard" in which we needed to collect all of the fruits from the trees before the raven got them. This was a lovely way to practice our math and counting through a wonderful collaborative game. It was a major hit with our class!
* At library story time this week, we read some wonderful stories about frogs and were introduced to the life cycle of frogs! We are going to be investigating life cycles a bit more at school next week, and even observing a very special metamorphosis take place in our own classroom. We can't wait to begin this exciting project next week! :)
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!
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