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!