For the last couple of months we have been exploring similarities and differences among people around the world, focusing particularly on children. We have read several books about children that reinforce the same theme: while we are all unique, in many ways, no matter where we live we have much in common. Some of the books we read were One World, One Day, by Barbara Kenley, This is How We Do It: One Day in the lives of Seven Kids from around the World, by Matt Lamothe, and Wake Up World! A Day in the Life of Children Around the World, by Beatrice Hollyler.  All of these books follow several children from morning through evening as they go through a day, describing simple routines that are common to many, such as eating breakfast, going to school, playing with friends, and getting ready for bed. While these children have noticeably different lives depending on what part of the world they live in, emphasis is placed on their commonalities. As we looked at each of these books we noted things we had in common with these children from all over the world.

Last week we continued this discussion reading the book To Be a Kid, by Maya Ajmara and John D. Ivanko. With the repeating phrase "To be a kid means..." this book carries a similar message that children all over the world have much in common. We followed this book by creating our own illustrations of what being a kid means to each of us.

For the month of April our calendar markers focused on measurable attributes including length, weight, volume, and temperature, along with various tools that might be used for measuring each of these. During Number Corner we practiced identifying attributes that could be measured for specific objects. For example we might measure the length and weight of a marker, but probably not the temperature. We also spent time comparing objects, deciding which was longer, colder, heavier etc. Students particularly enjoyed using pan balances this week to compare the weights of various objects. Perhaps you can tell by expressions that in some cases the results were surprising!

 During the month of March our science focus has been on weather. We have talked about different components of weather including clouds, wind, temperature, and precipitation. We have also talked about seasonal shifts in weather, especially changes we expect to see with the transition from winter to spring.  During Number Corner we learned about the old saying "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." We talked about characteristics that we might see with a lion or lamb day  and we have kept a graph of lion and lamb days for the month, along with weather journals. Kindergarteners are quite hearty, so it doesn't take much for them to decide it's a lamb day!

While weather is always a central part of ECO, for the past few weeks we have focused on the seasonal change and the warming trend we expect to see. Several weeks ago when there was still snow, children were challenged to stop the melt. We made giant snowballs and used a variety of materials to try to protect them from the heat of the sun. While some of the snowballs lasted longer than others, the very mild temperatures and direct sunlight proved to be too much and they were all completely gone within two days. 

This week, we learned about wood frogs and a trick they have for surviving in winter. They have special chemicals that act like antifreeze. When cold weather comes, they bury themselves in the mud and become frozen for the winter, thawing out in spring when the earth warms up. We played a tag game in which children were ribbiting frogs and the tagger was the cold winter and we heard a funny frog story. For our exploration time children were each given an ice cube frog to build a winter home for. We will check on these next week to see if it has been warm enough for frogs to thaw!  

On Monday morning, three children came in reporting that they had lost a tooth over the weekend. This led to lots of discussion about missing teeth and wiggly teeth.  While there's wide variation in how many teeth children have lost, it seems to be an exciting topic for everyone and I anticipate many more missing teeth in the coming months!