For social studies we have been exploring similarities and differences among people.  We have focused particularly on children, with emphasis placed on similarities among children all over the world.  We began by reading the book One World, One Day by Barbara Kenley, which takes readers through a day on Earth, moving from place to place as time passes.  While the children in these books can have vastly different lives depending on what part of the world they live in (zip lining across a river to get to school!) the focus on simple routines that are common to most people (waking up, eating breakfast, going to school, playing) makes it easy to see commonalities and make connections to our own lives.  After reading this book, children worked in pairs looking at a variety of books that depict the daily lives of children around the world.   They  were given sticky notes to mark pages that they could connect to in some way.  Many of these connections are quite simple, but help reveal how much we have in common with people all over the world, despite our differences.

Last week we read the book To Be A Kid, by Maya Aimara and John D. Ivanko (with a forward by Marin and Chris Kratt, familiar names to many in the class!)  This book carries the message that children all over the world have much in common, with the repeating phrase "To be a kid means..."  No matter where they live  most children spend time with families and friends, go to school, play, and dream.  We followed the book with a project illustrating our own "To be a kid" page.

A couple of weeks ago we began a new Project Lead the Way science unit focused on forces and motion called "Pushes and Pulls."  In this unit, we are exploring and identifying different pushes and pulls as well as the effect of different strengths and different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of objects.  We began the unit by looking for examples of pushes and pulls during recess one day.  This was when we had plenty of snow, so sleds were the most obvious example, but once we started looking we noticed pushes and pulls everywhere: pulling on boots and snow pants to go outside, pushing the door open, pushing and pulling pencils to write, pushing trucks on the playground, pushing and pulling to pump on swings, and on and on.

The last two Wednesdays, children have had an opportunity to experiment with pushes and pulls in  different stations, exploring the effect of characteristics such as weight, size, shape, and surface texture on the amount of force needed to move an object or influence its movement.  These stations have been lots of fun and have led to some great questions and insights about motion.  I saw some particularly innovative ways of getting objects to change direction while in motion. 

During math we have been exploring the concepts of greater than, less than, and equal.  We have rolled two dice and used the symbols <, >, and = to compare the two numbers.  During calendar we are collecting different colored cubes each day and creating a graph.  Once the new cubes are added to the graph we have been practicing making statements about the graph, comparing the number of each color.  Another way we  have explored magnitude is by comparing the lengths of different objects and noticing which is longer, through both direct comparison, and by measuring the objects with cubes and comparing the results.  For some reason children always enjoy using the symbols to compare numbers.

A couple of months ago one of the large trees on the edge of the playground came down in a wind storm.  While it is sad to lose a beautiful tree, it has become a favorite spot for kids to go during recess.  Play under and on the fallen tree is highly supervised, which provides a great opportunity for close observations.  It is fascinating to watch children navigating the tree and consider all of the skills that are tapped into as they enjoy this natural climbing structure.  It takes great concentration and cooperation to climb about on the trunk with a group of children.  There is also a good deal of problem solving and perseverance.  Some children are quite adept at maneuvering up and around, while for others it takes a bit more courage and calculated risk taking.  All the while imaginations are fully engaged as the tree morphs from horse to ship to cloud leopard home, sometimes all three at once.  It has been much enjoyed!

In anticipation of Friday's full moon, on Wednesday we read the book "Owl Moon", by Jane Yolen and created our own owl art.  Unfortunately Friday's weather does not look great for going owling, but perhaps there will be a good evening later in the winter!