Pumpkin Investigation

Wow what great work we have been doing around PUMPKINS.

We started our new unit with a neat new wonder basket.  Our conversations started around what the basket was an apple or a pumpkin.  We have seemed to have settled on an apple.  The basket sits in the middle of the carpet and we make predictions on what might be inside.  We had lots of great guesses from candy to a new toys to a plant. 

Inside we found some fall gourds.  We had lots of conversation around what is a gourd and made observations.  The bumpy ones became the favourite.

After we were done looking at the gourds I brought out a pumpkin with the vine still attached this part was amazing.  Everyone started into a great conversation on what the vine was and why it was attached to the pumpkin.  Everyone was very eager to tell me and the class how a pumpkin grows and what it needs.  The idea around needing good soil, water and light was emphasized by all.  I was amazed how much they knew. 

After careful observations and reading of a few non fiction stories we were able to share our understanding in words and illustrations.  I feel very confident that everyone in the class has a concrete understanding of a pumpkins life cycle.

These pictures demonstrate the concrete understanding the students had from seeing the life cycle develop.  They independently could tell me the seed was planted in the ground and water and sun was needed to make the seed grow into a plant. Then the plant gets bigger and grew into a flower.  After the flower dies a baby pumpkin is there until the pumpkin grows bigger.

Once the concept of growth was understood we knew that we could grow a new pumpkin from the old pumpkin.  We cut the pumpkin open and these were some of the students comments:

 Its like a web inside. -AP

The seeds grew because they were stuck inside. -AK

It is a fruit. -KD

The seeds are stuck in the pumpkin. -DM

Looks like a spider celebration.-AH

Some pumpkins grow on the farm and some animals eat them.-KH

It is gooey.-JB

What is the bottom brown part?-KD

We had a great discussion about this and where the pumpkin grew from the flower,  We tried filling the pumpkin with soil to see if the pumpkin would grow inside.  Unfortunately our pumpkin rotted and we made the decision as a group we should throw it out so no one would get sick.  Overall a great study on pumpkins and we have moved onto our new Inquiry BATS!

Fall is here!

We have been investigating fall in our class.  What makes fall happen and what is fall?  We learned that the other name for fall is Autumn.  We are so lucky to live by an outdoor playground with lots of trees and other forest type shrubs.  It was our first adventure out to the park and we had so much fun.  It was too bad we had to head in early before our play was over.  I promised we would go back soon.

We did about a couple days later.  I let them just "play"  The play was so fun to observe.  I had everyone just self exploring in the beginning.  They were all doing their own thing.  Girls were trying to do flips on the bars.  Each time they went around it reminded me of my own childhood and being at school.  I was amazed how flexible some of them are.  I showed a few boys how to balance on a beam and it was amazing to watch them try to keep there balance.  A few started counting and it became a contest.  Soon the rest of the boys started a game of Captain America and Pirates.  Next thing I knew all the boys were having so much fun.  Even the quiet ones who don't usually talk a lot in class where in full conversation and completely engaged.

The girls found an old stump that was covered in moss.  If first was a girls fort but then soon became a stage where they each put on a show for each other.  Then the play changed to a game of Mr. Wolf where the wolf was on the stump.  Then some girls who were suppose to be the wolf ended up playing in an old evergreen with great swinging branched.  Soon all the girls where swinging in the tree.  All the while the boys were engaged with their own play.

Signs of fall as seen by the class they told me what to take picture of.

 This was the first tree we saw and they immediately thought it was a sign of fall.  Afterwards someone said there isn't many leaves falling yet.

They loved that they could still see the fog across the field.

Everyone was so excited when they saw this tree.  Look at the colours.

 Fallen leaves.

 I wonder what is in the tree

 Look what we found!!!!

Kelli