(Above, we found only one ant. Somehow or other, it climbed on one of clipboards and made its way into our classroom. We returned it outside.)
The First Robin of Spring
This week, we went outside to notice signs of spring. We worked in pairs, one Kitah Gimmel child holding a clipboard and the other with a pencil. We had a Nature Walk scavenger hunt paper. Could we find dirt? a tree? a worm? a bird? a sprout? an ant?
We talked about a scavenger hunt in class, then we prepared to go outdoors. We were ready to search for the different items on our Nature Walk paper, and check the appropriate box on our paper.
The children were enthusiastic about checking off the various items on their list. Ari E said, "I found a worm!" It was dead, but we counted it anyway. Sam then noticed the ant, "I see an ant!" Noa then added, "The ant is eating the (dead) worm!" Nature at work.
(Above, our clipboards; outside with our buddies, checking off the items on our Nature Walk paper.)
The Morahs gave us some assistance if we needed it.
Sam called out, "I found a bird!" He was paired with Noa, so she checked it off. Ari E told her partner, Pearl, "There's a leaf." Pearl asked her, "Where's the leaf ? (the check-off box with the picture and word "leaf" on the paper,) Together, they figured out how to work on their check-off Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt paper.
What did I, as the Morah, like about this activity? This was our first time with an actual paper-and-pencil task. We prepared ahead of time, we knew what to do. We worked in pairs. There were enough materials for us to each have a clipboard, pencil and check-off list; but it was so much better working cooperatively. When one child noticed that his buddy had checked-off an item that they hadn't seen, it was time to problem-solve. Can we make a change? I offered an eraser, the children made the correction by themselves. A third child, in another pairing, offered her help as well. So impressive!
Later, we played Tic Tac Toe. Instead of X's and O's, we played leaves vs. mulch chips.
After some time outside with our Nature Walk check-off papers, we headed back inside for lunch. We were in for a surprise--Rabbi Robinson had come to visit. He likes to observe birds. He actually keeps a bird diary where he records every bird he's seen, the date and time he's seen the bird, and the place of the sighting.
The children told Rabbi Robinson the info that they knew about birds: they live in trees, they come out of eggs. Sam told us that they tweet. Ari E told us they need water. Rami and Hannah reminded us that they lay eggs. Shlomit agreed that birds lay eggs. Noa told us they fly and Leiba said they have wings.
Pearl spoke about chicks and Shaya told us birds have feathers. Ruthie told us that birds have two feet. She also told us that the bird's mouth is called a beak. Yoni said that he had seen a bluejay.
Rabbi Robinson shared some info with us at Closing Circle. He told us that mockingbirds can sing 200 different songs and that the brown thrasher, the official State of Georgia bird, has brown polka dots on its chest. Shaya remembered that the thrasher has dots when Rabbi Robinson brought up the subject again. Pearl thinks she has a stuffed animal that looks a lot like a brown thrasher. Rabbi Robinson also told us that cardinals are red, and they're easy to recognize. Robins, he told us, have a red front. Crows are all black. All birds have feathers and wings, but not all birds fly.
It was almost carpool time and we hadn't seen a bird. We looked for signs of bird life, but we didn't notice any nests. We did hear a lot of tweeting. Finally, we spotted a big red robin flying overhead. We can now go back to our clipboards and check off "bird" on our Nature Walk scavenger hunt paper.
Hooray! It's official--spring is here!
Morah Susan, Morah Yael and the nature-loving boys and girls from Kitah Gimmel
