Animals in the Classroom (Primary1)

This morning students discovered that the crickets we keep as food for the fire-bellied toads are stinking up the classroom, so we decided to move them to the outdoor classroom (better known as “the white benches”).  Upon leaving the building at the end of the day, I discovered that we had an “outside” animal also interested in our captive crickets.  By the time I had put down the half-a-dozen things I was holding so I could take a picture, the lizard appeared to be more interested in me, but when I first busted him (her?) checking out the cricket situation, he’d been mesmerized.  Even still, I think the lizard’s basic quandary is evident from the picture I got.  I got a kick out of it, at any rate.

 

As you can imagine, there is quite a bit involved when it comes to keeping classroom pets.  Our classroom has managed to obtain living examples from each class of vertebrates, and so far we’ve even managed to maintain their status as living examples.  So, in our classroom, students can observe a reptile (Pricilla, the bearded dragon), two birds (Desi and Lucy, the zebra finches), a mammal (Sparkles, the grumpy hedgehog), two amphibians (the fire-bellied toads who have no names), and a collection of various fish, also without names.  To feed the toads, as mentioned, we also keep crickets.  And to feed the bearded dragon, we have super worms which are actually the larvae of some kind of beetle. 

The following items are on the menu in our classroom.  Can you guess who eats what (or whom)?

a.  cat food

b.  grits

c.  superworms

d.  crickets

e.  lettuce and other veggie leftovers

f.  fish food

g.  bird seed

ANSWERS:  a – hedgehog, b - crickets, c – bearded dragon, d – fire-bellied toads, e – super worms, f – fish, g – birds

And, of course, all living things need water and a reasonably clean place to live.  The work required is substantial and time-sensitive.  As teachers, we encourage the students to do as much of this maintenance as possible so that the animals’ presence in the classroom is not, well, for naught.

Elementary

Elementary students had great fun last Wednesday coming to school in jammies, eating pancakes and sausage for breakfast, and joining the Preschool for the mask parade and singing with Derrick.  They also enjoyed putting the birthday bags together for CCC.  Lots of thought went into which cake mix goes with what frosting, which goes with what party plates and candles, that match what pillowcase in which to assemble it all! Thank you to everyone who donated items for this project; students took 33 bags over to Clemson Community Care (CCC) on Thursday. 

Our next CCC project will be putting together casserole bags.  Students will collect and assemble the components and attach a recipe card. Please help out by adding canned tuna or chicken, cream of chicken or mushroom soup, canned milk, canned peas, or a 12 oz. bag of egg noodles to your grocery cart in the next weeks. 

The Juniors also enjoyed lessons on graphing.   We turned excitement that lingered from the Fall Festival and that mounted over Halloween festivities into collecting and graphing data, including which festival activities were most frequented by the group, and which items were most collected Halloween night.  Students have begun conducting their own surveys and graphing their data. 

All Elementary students are preparing for their second book share this Friday afternoon!  Dioramas of settings, acting out scenes, 1st chapters of sequels...we can't wait to see what's in store.

Peanuts - Marjory

Our presentations on the Rainforest went great! Each of the Peanuts did a fantastic job!

A topic of interest this week will be what is an election? What is voting? Why do we vote? The students will create a ballot, and cast votes for their favorite character (they will nominate their own characters). We will not get into politics, but will talk about the two parties; Democrats and Republicans. This will be very brief, fun and educational.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Pre-Primary - Trish and Sam

October was busy and fun! We enjoyed Halloween games and songs, making masks, and our parade on the playground with Derrick. Sam carved our pumpkin and put a candle inside.

We would like to welcome our newest student, Nora.

Peanuts - Marjory

Peanuts have been working hard on preparing for thier presentations. Parents, please have your Peanuts bring thier projects in Tuesday so they can practice. We are looking forward to our parents being here on Wednesday; please arrive at 1:00pm so we can start promptly. Also, Friday we are going to the Tri Arts Center to see "SkippyJon Jones". We will leave at 9:00am, and return at 11:00am.