Earth Day

During the week of Earth Day, pre-k saved single-use items and discarded packaging from snacks and lunches, most of which still had plenty of food inside. As the collection grew, we discussed what we saw in the tub. There were many applesauce pouches, string cheese wrappers, and assorted types of chips and cracker bags. I asked the children, what can we do to make a difference in the amount of waste we create? “We could eat an apple instead.” What a great solution and it’s so easy and fast to pack! As well as being easy to pack and with no packaging, it’s one of the healthiest things you can eat. I asked the children to list other foods free of packaging: apples, pears, oranges, bananas, strawberries (we decided strawberries can be sent in a reusable container) offered a good start.

Some surprising discoveries: as I sifted through the garbage with the children, I discovered that most of the packaged food packages were more than half full, especially applesauce packs and other assorted pouches, as well as snack crackers and Pirate Booty.  So, along with producing less garbage, we could save money on foods that are not really being eaten. If a child doesn’t eat a whole apple, the only waste is an apple which will decompose and remain a purposeful part of our Earth.

It can all feel overwhelming; however, do you know what is super cool?! Every child in our classroom shared what they are already doing to help the Earth. They listed or showed their reusable water bottles, reusable lunchboxes, reusable containers, reusable/biodegradable straws, reusable napkins, and took turns holding up foods, like oranges, to show that they understand how easy it really is.  

We are doing great! And we can do even better! Every day is Earth Day! 

STEAM Time

During STEAM time, children choose work freely from a variety of purposeful activities, as shown in the pictures below. 

"build something symmetrical"

"trace the sandpaper number 8; make the number 8 with a ribbon"

"build something long"

The Great Barrier Reef

Pre-k has been studying The Great Barrier Reef. Below are their final projects, which they presented to the class. 

 

Measuring Up!

In the pre-k room we practiced measuring area with different materials.

We explored length and width with different forms of measurement.

We explored how many tablespoons fit into a cup and how many teaspoons fit into a half cup.

 We most definitely had fun!

Pre-K Auction Project

Pre-K worked hard on their auction project! See it at our

“Here Comes the Sun” Annual Auction

Hosted by Halley Knigge & Ben Griffin

 Saturday, March 20, 2021

https://seabury.ejoinme.org/MyEvents/SeaburysAuction2021HereComestheSun

5th Grade teaching Pre-K

A significant sign of understanding a concept is being able to teach the concept, just as our 5th grade class was doing with our pre-k class, who were wildly intrigued!

The 5th grade children were asked to do a design thinking project called "Could You Live Underwater?" 

The students had to build a prototype of an airtight capsule that would allow them to live underwater. They focused on researching, designing and building prototypes and testing them in tubs of water to see if they were water-tight.  They described to the pre-k what they made and shared what worked and did not work. 

 

They did science experiments to understand the properties of water and spent a lot of time talking about what the challenges of living underwater would be and collaborating on ways to solve those problems and what that might look like.

Did it sink or float? What was it supposed to do? Was it watertight or did it leak? 5th graders shared beautifully with the pre-k kids what they would do differently next time and exhibited fantastic leadership skills. It's not always about being successful the first time; in fact, sometimes the greatest discoveries are made through mistakes. Keep asking questions! Keep observing what works and doesn't work and ask more questions!

Thank you 5th graders. That was awesome!