Pumpkin Activities

Here is one of our pumpkins

In October, the children made observations about pumpkins using their senses. They predicted whether the small and big pumpkin would float or sink in water. They helped find a way to make our big pumpkin float.

Here are the children observations before carving two of our big pumpkins:

It's orange - Roberto
It has a stem - Rose
It smells like seeds - Eva
It feels cold - Braydon
It makes a thumping sound - Miss Natalie
It's the goo inside - Ayden
It has too much seeds in it and it makes it heavy - Nia
It smells like food - Cheyank
It's something like a circle or oval. (3D shape) A sphere - Peter
It's a fruit because it has seeds - Mme Maklin

What can we do with pumpkins (connections)?

We can cut it - Eva
We can cut it for Halloween - Elena
Make a pumpkin face - Isidore
Cut the gooey part into pumpkin pie - Clara
We can put it out for Halloween - Lola
Can paint it - Faith-Lynn
Eat pumpkin cookies - Jolian

Unfortunately when we came to carve our two big pumpkins, we noticed that they had started to rot. We asked the SK to make observations about our pumpkins. Here are their answers to some questions we asked:

Why do you think there are black spots inside the pumpkin?

Growing - Nia
Rotting - Roberto
Gone bad - Rose
Been out too long - Clara
They are old - Isidore
Dirty - Jane
Old, dirty - Faith -Lynn
Going bad - Kianna

What is inside the pumpkin?

Seeds- Roberto
Juice - Rachel and Roberto
Goo - Rachel and Roberto
Seeds, strings - Rose
Pumpkin and seeds - Clara
Seeds and water - Isidore
Dirty - Jane
Seeds - Kianna
Dirty water - Faith-Lynn

What does it smell like?

Oranges - Jolian
Bad - Nia and Roberto
Stinky - Nia
Pumpkin soup - Clara
Yuck - Isidore
Pumpkin pie - Jane
Pumpkin - Kianna
Seeds- Faith-Lynn

We got more pumpkins...

Before carving a new pumpkin, we asked the children to make a prediction of what they would find inside it.

Elena - Even goo inside that.
Rose - Strings
Elena - No, there won't be strings - goo and seeds.

After carving the new pumpkin, we asked the children to make observations using their senses.

Smell

Faith-Lynn- Smells like goo.
Elena - It smells bad.
Alex - It smells like cheese.
Amelia - It smells like seeds.
Rowyn - A pumpkin.
Malikye - It smells stinky.
Shaurya - I don't like the smell.
Cheyank - It smells like toast.
Peter - It smells yucky.
Roberto - This one smells better than the other one.
Ibrahim - It smells orange.
Christian - It smells yucky.

Touch

Faith-Lynn - Gooey
Rose - Slippery
Elena - It doesn't feel soft.
Adrianna - Feels like soft.
Malikye - It feels soft.
Shaurya - It feels like a pumpkin.
Cheyank - It feels like India, because it's cut.
 Peter - It feels like goo.
Nia - It feels like a yucky smoothie that my mommy gives me.
Ibrahim - It feels orange.
Evelena - I don't eat like that. It feels like a sandwich.
Sabrina - (feels) dirty.

Sight

Daksha - I don't like that thing (pumpkin soup). It looks like pumpkin soup.
Peter - It looks like poo.
Christian - I see some goo.



We decided to test the floatability of two small pumpkins, one being bigger than the other one. We asked the children to look at one of the pumpkin and predict if it would sink or float in our bowl of water. Some children drew and wrote their prediction...

Est-ce que la petite citrouille va flotter ou couler?

Roberto predicted that the small pumpkin would float (flotter).

Est-ce que la grosse citrouille va flotter ou couler?

Faith-Lynn predicted that the big pumpkin would sink (couler).

... others answered a survey done by Nia and Jane.

After, putting the pumpkin in water, we discovered that the little pumpkin floated and big pumpkin sank. Roberto explained that the big one sank because it is "heavier" and the Clara said the small one was "lighter".  The next day, we extended this activity by asking the children "How can we get the big pumpkin to float?" Here are what they thought we could do:

Put the pumpkin on a boat. - Cheyank
Put the pumpkin in bigger water. - Nia
Build a boat out of plastic (change to pencils after). - Peter
Cut it to make it lighter. - Jolian
Cut in little pieces to make it smaller. - Ayden
You have to cut it to make it float. - Eva
Make something like a boat. - Rose
Cut it up. - Jane
Cut it up small. - Lola
Build a boat. - Rachel
Cut it up. - Kianna
Make a big boat out of sails. - Ibrahim

Peter made a boat using pencils.

Lola, Rose, Clara and Rachel made a boat using plastic containers,

Both boats sank with the pumpkin on top.  Nia added extra water in the bowl and put the pumpkin in it. The pumpkin floated. Nia explained why the pumpkin floats when with extra water. "If you put more water, the water will be heavier than the pumpkin. The pumpkin will be lighter then the water because the pumpkin is lighter, the pumpkin will float."

We wanted to see if the pumpkin would float on Peter's boat and Rose, Lola, Rachel and Clara's boat, with the addition of the extra water in the bowl. Both boats sank with the pumpkin. Peter explained why it sank a second time: "The pumpkin makes the boat heavier than the water".

Several students thought cutting the pumpkin into small pieces would make it float. Ayden is explained that by cutting the pumpkin it makes it lighter.

On Friday before Halloween, we had a discussion on "How we can be safe on Halloween".
Here is a list of the safety rules the children and us developed together:

- Do not run across the street. Walk one side of the street then the other.
- Go with your Mom or Dad. Only go with another adult, brother or sister if your have permission from your parents.
- Ask to cross the street.
- Listen to your parents.
- Look both ways before crossing the street.
- Bring a flashlight.
- Wear reflective materials so cars can see you.
- Ask Mom and Dad to check your candies before eating them.

Yaki

On Thursday June 11th, the kindergarten children participated in a sing along with Yaki. Colin, Ava, Brandon, Jane, Noah and Clara even got to perform in a duo with Yaki (performances are in the ePortfolios).

Here are the children favourite songs:

Juliet: The Ketchup song. I like lasagna and rice with my ketchup.

Roberto: The Ketchup song. I don`t like ketchup but I will say it because it is funny. I like ketchup on my French fries.I enjoyed the Dinosaur song too.

Giuliana: I enjoyed the Ketchup song.

Ava: My favourite was Banana Feet.

Folu: When my friends got to play the guitar.

Preston: The song My Big Banana Feet.

Mahmoud: Shake it off.

Ayvah: The Big Banana Feet.

Ivy: My favourite song was The Big Banana Feet.

Luke: Ms. Natalie puts ketchup on her burger and Luke puts ketchup on his burger too.

Colin: When he was playing the song YMCA.

Jolian: The Ketchup song. I like ketchup with my sandwich.

Kaitlyn: The Ketchup song. I like hot dogs, hamburgers and fries with my ketchup.

Nahisha: The Ketchup song. I like hamburgers, fries and hot dogs with my ketchup.

Krishna: The Ketchup. I like chocolate with ketchup.

Noah: My Big Banana Feet song.

Clara: When he sang My Big Banana Feet.

Isidore: The Ketchup song. Ketchup with yogurt.

Jane: The Ketchup song. I like hot dogs and burgers with my ketchup.

Rose: The Ketchup song. I like it on my hot dogs.

Brandon: The Ketchup song. I like ketchup with Gummy Bears.

Antonio: The Ketchup song. I like french fries with my ketchup.

Alessio: The Ketchup song. I like to dip it with my french friends.

Faith-Lynn: The Wheels on the Bus.

Jolian: The Dinosaur song.

Zoo Crew

On Thursday June 4th, the children learned about small animals presented by Zoo Crew.

Here is what they learned, as said by the children:

Isidore: Bunny.  He was fuzzy.

Ivy: Rabbit. The fur is soft.

Antonio: Chinchilla. The fur was funny.

Preston: The hedgehog eats bugs. It has spikes to protect itself.

Jane: The bunny was cute and soft and he could jump.

Ayvah: Chinchilla. I saw one on Dora and Diego before. The sugar glider glides from tree to tree.

Nahisha: Rabbit. It lives underground.

Alessio: I liked the lizard because it was soft when I pet it.

Kaitlyn: The bunny had black eyes and all the rest was white and a little bit of black on its back.

Juliet: I learned that the bunny has really big eyes.

Steven: The hedgehog is spiky. It looks like a porcupine. It rolls like a ball when it is scared from the other animals.

Savera: Leopard gecko. If you touch the tail it will fall off (when a predator tries to eat him, it drops its tail to create a diversion).

Rose: Bunny. It hops.

Folu: It is bumpy a little bit on its skin. The water and food in its tail is for after winter.

Clara:Leopard gecko: It is a little ticklish. It has water and food in its tail.

Fouad: Rabbit. It felt soft.

Anthony: Rats. They are babies and their long tail from flipping everybody.

Noah: Bunny. It lives in a hole (den)

Giuliana: Leopard Gecko can last for 25 years.

Ava: The leopard gecko tickles. The porcupine tickles even if it has spikes. The sugar glider had extra skin to glide to tree to tree. The baby rats can get really curious. The bunny did not shed his winter fur yet.

Faith-Lynn: Hedgehog has spikes on its back. If someone gets hurt then spikes will work.

Roberto: The bunny was soft. It was very furry and very warm when I touched it. Its eyes are very big.

Brandon: Chinchilla, It has lots of fur. Rats have long tails and they are white. They have 4 feet.

Luke: Sugar glider. Soft fur, big eyes.

Jolian: Rabbit. Lives in the ground.

Zumba

Last week, the children had the opportunity to participate in two Zumba dance classes. You can see a glimpse of your child in action by viewing the video that is in your child`s ePortfolio.

Jack About The Beanstalk

On May 12, the children watched  the play "Jack About the Beanstalk". Here is are retells of the real original story and of the play as said by Ava.

 

 

Jack and his mother were very poor. Jack had to go to the market to sell the cow.

Ava: He met a man. He had a  (horse) cow and the guy had beans. They swapped.

Giuliana: He planted magic beans.

Kaitlyn: Jack climbs up the beanstalk and sees the giant. He was in the sky and he had a picnic.

Akki: Jack stole the golden hen.

Ava:  The play happens 20 years later. Jack had a son, Jack Junior, and he thought that he could get anything he wanted. Then, the Mom said "You should write a letter to the giant to say I am returning the hen it is never too late to right a wrong."  The giant did not want to take back the hen because he had a new job, cutting down trees. Then they told their son Jack Junior "you my son have to return the golden hen." "Why me, why me!" said Jack Junior. "You do not always get your own way." said the mom. "What?" said Jack Junior. "Where are you?" said the mom. "Over here!" said Jack Junior. "Oh there you are!" said the mom. "We need you to return the golden hen." said dad. "Why me, why me?" said Jack Junior. "Because he won`t take it from me." said the dad. "You know Jack Junior you don't always get your own way." said the dad. ''Okay fine!'' said Jack Junior. ''I'll return the golden hen." said Jack Junior. "It's never too late to right a wrong." said Jack Junior. So Jack Junior said ''Student Beanstalk with your pleasure may I climb you." The Student Beanstark said "Yes you may climb me."Okay" said Jack Junior. So Jack Junior climbed up the beanstalk. "Fet tunm oh" said the giant. ''Who are you?'' said the giant. "Well, I am Jack Junior'' said Jack Junior. " I am here to return the golden hen." said Jack Junior. "I don't need a golden hen to lay dumb golden eggs." said the giant. Jack Junior said "It would be nice to have friends." "Ok, that would be nice." said the giant. "Now, who will be my friend?" said the giant. Jack Junior said "Well me and the golden hen." "So lets be friends right now" said the giant." Okay!" said Jack Junior. "But first with the hen" said Jack Junior. "Bye" said the giant and the hen. So Jack Junior began climbing down the Student Beanstalk. Jack Junior said "I am home" "Good job" said the dad and mom. "Did he take the golden hen?" asked the father. "Yes, he took the golden hen" said Jack Junior. "You were right being good and friendly is kind."  "And then the whole family" said the book reader (narrator) "It is never too late to right a wrong" the END.

Bug Inquiry

On Monday we had the visit from a centipede. It crawled into our class, so we had it stay with us for the morning.

Some of the children used a magnifying glass to observe the centipede.  Here are some things they wanted to learn about it.

Mme Maklin: Is it an insect?

Colin: No because it has too many legs. An insect has 6 legs.

Evallie, Antonio, Akki: How big/ long can it get?

A centipede can measure between a few millimeters to 30 centimeters.

Juliet, Kaitlyn: How many legs can it have?

It can have between 20 to 300 legs; one pair (2 legs) per body segment.

Nahisha, Fouad: Why is it so fast?

Giuliana: Because it has lots of legs moving at the same time.

Kaitlyn: Does it have eyes?

A centipede has compound eyes. Some species do not have eyes.

Steven: Is a cheetah slower?

Ava: No, because it has 4 legs it is the fastest animal.

Giuliana:  It can run 100 km/hr.

Ayvah: Does it bite?

It bites its preys to paralyze them with venom.

Faith-Lynn: Why does it have a light coloured tummy?

Centipedes are a combination shades of brown and red.

Jane: Do they climb?

Jane: Yes

When we released our centipede, it climbed onto the wall of the port-a-pack and disappeared through a crack.










Folu: What does it eat?

What centipedes eat is not well known. Laboratory feeding trials support soft-bodied such as earth worms. They have been observed eating reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, bats and birds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centipede

Savera: Will it have babies? Where will the babies sleep?

The female centipede lays between 10 to 50 eggs. She puts her eggs in a hole, she fills the hole with soil and leaves them.

Preston: What is its habitat?

It lives in the soil and leaf litter (dead plant material).

Mme Maklin: How far can it travel in 30 seconds?

We went outside to release our centipede and measured the distance it would travel in 30 seconds using 100 cm rulers. Our centipede travelled 140 cm however, it stopped when it reached a shadow. We tried to catch it to try again, but it climbed onto the wall of the port-a-pack and disappeared through a crack.

Scientists in School

On Friday, the children participated in the "Backyard Bugs" workshop offered by Scientists in School.  Here are the children explaining what they have learned about bugs.

What is that insect called?

Luke: A dragonfly

What did you learn about this insect?

Preston:  The body parts of an insect: head, thorax, abdomen, six legs, wings, antennas, compound eyes, mouth parts. (You can ask your child to sing a song about the body parts of an insect to the tune "Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes".)

What did you learn with Scientist Sonia (Mrs. Gaulton)?

Ava: The life cycle of the butterfly.

Antonio: The egg, the caterpillar, the cocoon (pupa), the butterfly.

Giuliana: When a butterfly comes out it's a chrysalis.

Miss. Natalie: A moth comes out of a cocoon but a butterfly comes out of a chrysalis.

Brandon, what are you doing in this picture?

Brandon: The life cycle of the ladybug.

What did you learn with Scientist Olivia (Mrs. Natoli)?

Noah: We took play dough balls and added sticks, eyes and wings.

What insect did you make?

Noah: a dragonfly.

Colin: we looked through microscopes to see the different body parts from pictures of insects.

Rose: The bee is drinking nectar.

Mme Maklin:  I learned that bees have sticky legs so when they drink nectar the pollen (yellow part of the flower) sticks to its legs. The bees then carry the pollen to other flowers allowing the pollination of flowers.

What did you learn with Scientist Greg (Mr. Sweet)?

Kaitlyn: We looked at insects to see if they had more or less than 6 legs. If they had more or less they were not an insect.

Faith-Lynn: I had to colour the paper and colour the spy glass. I needed to stamp the paper.

What did you learn with Scientist Petra (Scientists in School presenter)?

Giuliana: We pretended to be a praying mantis eating insects.

Is the praying mantis a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore?

Giuliana: A carnivore

Jane: We had to put the sponge into the water and on the cookie.

What insect were you pretending to be?

Ava: A house fly. A house fly spits on the food and slurps it up through their straw.

Roberto: We pretended to be mosquitoes drinking blood.

Mme Maklin: Mosquitoes need the protein that is in human blood.

Juliet: We were pretending to be butterflies.

Mrs. Cole:  Butterflies have a proboscis (coiled straw).

Ivy: We were drinking nectar.

What did you learn with Mrs. Cole and Mme Maklin?

Clara: We camouflaged insects.