What a wonderful year we had in Junior Kindergarten! Please enjoy a few of our greatest moments in pictures. Have a superb summer!
xo Mrs. Carson

Flower Project Learning

Hello! If you haven't been able to follow the blog through our Flower Project, here are some of the pictures you missed.  It sure has been a wonderful growing experience.  Take a look at the slideshow to the right.  You can click on it to make the pictures larger. Have a great day!

Flower Power Field Trip!

Our exciting Flower Project has run its course.  Beginning with what the children already knew about flowers to studying seeds, how they open and sprout into seedlings, grow into flowers and flowering plants, bloom and die.  We even collected new seeds from withering plants and grew them again! Our technology expert, Anna Baralt, gave us a different perspective as well when she helped us to simulate the lifecycle of a seed with an online application.  A walk to the Lower Division gardens stimulated interest in learning about the smells and beautiful colors of flowers.  We called in a local florist friend, Mrs. Diane Cherry from Hayes Florist. The children continue to enjoy the flower shop they designed and set up in our classroom to represent what they learned through dramatic play.  The children next wanted to study the parts of a flower and some even made models using clay, beads and chenille stems.  All throughout the project the children had access to our Early Childhood garden and were able to get up close and personal, daily, with the flowers.  They were also quite busy watching the bees that became regular visitors to the garden.  Interests were flared and questions were asked about what exactly those busy bees were doing. We turned to books, websites, videos and more for information.  However, the most amazing experiences came from simply stopping to watch and draw pictures as the bees collected nectar from the flowers in our garden and at the same time their sticky little legs were grabbing up pollen to create more flowers. A visit from one of our Shorecrest eighth graders, Sam Angelides, who is also a beekeeper proved to be an awesome enrichment to our study of bees.   This project has taken quite a few fun turns and the children have shown interest from the very start. Our final turn was right into the Botanical Gardens of Largo, where we met Ms. Cat, a master gardener.  She shared all sorts of new information about herbs, flowering fruit plants and flowers, and also reinforced lessons we had already investigated.  Visiting and learning with Ms. Cat was a wonderful culmination of the project from beginning to end. Take a look!

Thanks, Ms. Cat!!!

A celebration of knowledge!

The children would like to "wow" you with the knowledge they have gained from this project on flowers.  We will have an open house celebration as a culminating event to our project.  Please stay tuned for more information about the date and time.

What's to come.....

*Field trip to Spa Beach: Wednesday May 15 (We would like as many parents to join us as can! We will enjoy, investigate and picnic at the beach)

*End of year party: Wednesday May 29

*final day of school: Friday May 31

Celebrating The Arts!

Celebrating the arts through song!

The children looked very colorful Friday in their schoolmade shirts!  Each shirt, like each child, is unique. Some of the children chose to fling paint in Jackson Pollock style, to create just the right look.  Others chose to use droppers full of paint to create a look more Monet style.  Still others chose to do both!  The results were creative masterpieces and looked very spiffy on stage and throughout the day!

So many wonderful artists from around the area joined us throughout the week to entertain, teach, and inspire our children.  Take a look!

We started with a visit last week in the library from Dr. Stone.  She was our Mystery Reader, sharing a couple of favorite books chosen by her favorite reader at home.    Thanks for visiting Dr. Stone!  

The Noise Makers!

Noise Makers is a school of ROCK for kids.  Children and people who are young at heart who enjoy listening to and making music can go to Noise Makers in Pinellas County for fulfilling their "rock star" dreams! Lessons, camps, etc. are offered on all sorts of instruments and musical activities.  They shared some of their talents with us on two different occasions last week and the children jammed right along with them! So much fun! Thanks Noise Makers!

Drummer!

Nothing spells FUN like beating on a drum! The children had such a fabulous time tapping, storytelling, banging, dancing and practicing rhythm along with Steve, the drum guy!  He was amazing.  Take a look!

The Painted Pearl

Talk about recycling at it's best!  These artists taught the children how to use plastic grocery bags as "modeling clay" or "paper mache" to create awesome works of art!  Just add a little masking tape, work it into shape, and a masterpiece is made! The children had so much fun creating, and will add paint to complete their work on Tuesday.  A giant THANK YOU goes out to the masterful artists Gray Wise and Michael Ruffner from The Painted Pearl, Original Art and Collectibles.

Original art from the artist!

We LOVE celebrating the arts!

Flower Project

Our flower project continues! The children were visited by Shorecrest's very own Sam Angelides, an eighth grader from the middle division who happens to also be a beekeeper.  They were so excited and inspired by Sam that they immediately went to work with drawings and other creative representations of what they saw and learned.  Some children even created beekeeper suits and helmets from paper and other materials.  

Stay tuned for more Flower Project fun!

Have a great week!
Mrs. Carson

Fun to come in Junior Kindergarten:

*Trashless Lunch: TUESDAY April 23......this is in honor of Earth Day. Please pack your child a trashless lunch in reusable containers, etc.

*Field trip to Botanical Gardens.....Thursday April 25.  Please pack your child a sack lunch for a Botanical Gardens picnic. If you haven't already joined us for a field trip and would like to go, I can take two volunteers. First come, first serve. :) Please contact me ASAP.

Flower Empowerment!

Heartfelt Thanks!

Mrs. Cummings and I were truly touched by the beautiful flowers and sentiments from the children last week on Teacher Appreciation Day.  WE LOVE BEING THEIR TEACHERS!!! Special thanks go out to Liz Conti for her work with the children to make our day so happy. The storyboards were amazing! Thanks also go out to Stacey Stone and Adriana Williams for helping Liz with the class at lunchtime so Mrs. Cummings and I could have lunch together and with our fellow teachers. It was a wonderful day!!!

Flower Project Fun!

Phase 2: Field Experiences and Expert Visits

                  Our Very Own Flower Shop...Inspired by Diane Cherry of Hayes Florist, Pinellas Park.

Diane Cherry, owner of Hayes Florist in Pinellas Park, graced us with a visit last week to talk to the children about flowers! She was amazing! The children were so excited to ask her questions about growing, buying, arranging and delivering beautiful flowers to people all around the area.  They learned about how to cut and keep flowers fresh and lovely for arrangements to make people happy, how different colors and types are sent for different occasions, how flowers with scent are added for special arrangements, and so much more!   The children were able to pass around certain blooms from a giant bucket full of flowers the florist brought to share. They touched them, smelled them and learned their names.  Ms. Diane had a flower for each child to take home as well.  As for the rest of the blooms in the bucket....well, the children knew just what they wanted to do with them! 

Can we make a flower shop?

They all wanted to add them to their JK Flower Shop!  The group worked hard, assigning individual and team jobs for building the shop.  Some made signs, some gathered unique containers to arrange the flowers in, others drew pictures of flowers and brought in books about flowers  so customers could look up the ones they wanted.  One child said, "We need a cash register" and she began making a book detailing the prices of each flower.  There was a big discussion between several of the children as they debated over what the prices should be.  
It was a group effort and the children happily worked together to make the flower shop come to life.  They did an amazing job!  
"Now, all we need is a van to deliver the flowers", A Sunny Sea Friend suggested. "We can paint a big box with flowers all over it and add some wheels!"
Another added, "We could put chairs together in rows to hold the flowers in the van".
There is lots of cooperative learning going on in our classroom!
The "van" is next on the agenda! Anyone have a big box? :)

The individual class projects are keeping us busy and engaged, but that's not our only learning fun.  The Junior Kindergarten class, as a group, have been exploring insects as well.  Last week, the children learned about ants and bees.  Ask them about the exciting activities they engaged in to enhance their learning.  This week they will jump into the world of crickets.

An "ant walk" outside to observe ants in their natural environment, learning about ants online and with interactive programs, as well as painting anthills on the table and creating tunnels and rooms using their fingers, were just a few of the ways the children investigated those amazing insects.
The children were all a buzz about creating bees with a head, thorax and abdomen, six legs, two antennae and wings using play dough and other materials. They also used yarn soaked in a flour and water mixture to wrap a balloon to look like a hive.  They observed the bees in our garden and recorded data for their science journals through pictures and dictation (or their own writing) and investigated the "waggle dance" on youtube.  Ask them about it! :)

Celebrate The Arts!

This week in Junior Kindergarten and around the campus is Celebrate The Arts!  The talented people who plan this celebration have many wonderful things in store for the children.  On Monday they will see and hear the upper division performers from The Music Man, sing a few songs from the upcoming show.  A rock band will perform for them later that day.  On Tuesday there will be a drummer.  Don't forget that the children will have special pieces of art featured in the windows on our JK porches and they will perform for you at 11am on the LD quad on Friday, after a morning full of fun and exciting artistic activities. Hopefully, you can stay for the picnic lunch afterward and enjoy the art around the school.  

Have a great week!

Fun In Learning!

Here's some of what we've been up to in Junior Kindergarten...


 Balancing, climbing, crawling, jumping and riding!

Junior Kindergarten
Fun Friday 3/29/13

Obstacle Course!!!!!

       Mythological Zoo!

Students from the middle division were studying mythological creatures.  They put together an amazing "mythological zoo" in our library and invited us to visit.  The older children were wonderful tour guides to our Junior Kindergarteners!  The JK students were excited and engaged as they heard stories and looked at paper mache reproductions of ancient mythological creatures created by their older friends.

Mythological Zookeepers! Great storytellers as well!





Flower Project!  We took a walk to the LD flower garden to sniff out the facts.  Statements and Questions:  "I love to smell roses.  I wonder if all flowers smell so good?" (Chloe)
"Do all flowers have a smell?" (Braden)

 Everyone had a different experience in the LD garden.  They all took time to smell the roses....and the tulips, lilies, carnations, etc. They drew pictures and filled out a graph they created.  The graph was broken into 3 sections: flowers that smell good, flowers that smell bad and flowers that don't have any smell at all.  The children's opinions about how the different flowers smell were varied.  However, they did discover that not all flowers have a smell.  They all agreed that there are many that don't smell like anything at all.  Once we were back in the classroom, the children had to decide how they wanted to display the information they gathered.  Come in anytime to take a look at our "story boards".  Until then, enjoy these photos.

              Stopping to smell the flowers!

       Lower Division Garden 

As we continue our Flower Project, the children will have the experience of visits from members of the Hayes Florist team, a butterfly gardener, a flower arranger, and (hopefully) a beekeeper.  Our class will take a field trip to Botanical Gardens later this month to tour along with a master gardener, as well. If you or anyone you know is interested in sharing their knowledge of flowers, gardening, bees and their effects on flowers, etc. please do not hesitate to give me a call.

                      Seeds and Parts of the Flower

 Last week the children were discovering that seeds are sometimes found in unexpected places. While tending the ECC garden, the children noticed that the once bright purple Morning Glory flowers growing along the trellis are now brown and dried out but something on the inside of the flower was interesting. There were little round seedpods that each held several roundish black seeds.

Would these grow new Morning Glory flowers? The children planted them to find out. This discovery spurred them to find whether other flowers had seeds in pods like the Morning Glories, and if so, would they be small and round and black too? They discovered that the flowers in our garden all have their own kinds of seeds and that they all look quite different. Some of the students chose to grow the seeds on wet paper towels on trays so they could see how each different seed sprouts. Others were so interested in where they found the seeds that they decided to research the other parts of the flower and create models to show their flower power knowledge. Choosing to use the iPads to identify and document some of the unknown flower varieties growing in our garden was the option for still another child.

 

 

This week, the children will visit Mrs. Baralt in the computer lab to research the effects bees have on flowers.  They were so excited to watch the many bees buzzing around the flowers in our garden outside the JK classrooms.  The bees especially loved the sweetness of the blooms growing on their brocoli plants that had lost their brocoli by now but gained pretty yellow flowers. The children were able to see firsthand how bees stop for the nectar in a flower, pick up some pollen with their fluffy bodies and buzz it on over to the next awaiting flower.  

Stay tuned!

RELAY FOR LIFE

It was a week of purple shirts and high hopes! The children were allowed to wear purple last week in honor of our Relay For Life, a fight for the cure of Cancer.  We talked about what Cancer is and what the word "cure" means.  The Sunny Sea Friends were involved all week with creating paper links that were then joined to the links of the other students around campus as a sign that we can all come together to combat this horrible disease.  The chain was displayed at the Relay For Life on Friday, wrapping it's way around the track.  The children kicked off the Relay with a lap around the track holding the hand of a Senior class buddy.  The entire student body came together to remember, honor and walk for those who have fought Cancer.

It was a great ending to a happy week! Here is what's to come:

ECC Almost Sleepover  - Friday, April 12

The Almost Sleepover was a sign-up event  ($50) offered during the Gala, and there are still some spots left! 

Between 6:00-9:00 PM, the lucky children whose parents purchase this treat for them, will enjoy play, pizza, a movie and more, all while wearing their pajamas! Contact Mrs. McIvor for space availability and full information.

Celebrate the Arts at Shorecrest

On April 19, the Early Childhood and Lower Division students will have a full morning of celebrating the visual and performing arts. It will begin for the children with interactive sessions with visiting artists, and will continue for them and you with a musical program and exhibition of the children's art at 11:00 AM followed by a picnic. 

Parents should bring lunch and picnic blankets for themselves or their family. Children's lunches are available from Sage but must be preordered, even for children on the yearly lunch plan. Be sure to return the order form you received last week. 

Field trip: Botanical Gardens

On April 25, our Junior Kindergarten class will take an exciting trip to Botanical Gardens!  A master gardener will be our guide.  The children will have the opportunity to explore, investigate and enjoy the gardens, ask questions and even have a picnic lunch.  Further details to come!

Have a great week! 
Mrs. Carson