Apple picking time!

One of the most delicious units in Kindergarten is our Harvest Unit. What a bounty we have in this country. A big part of what we learn during Harvest is all about apples. We had the opportunity to visit the local Apple Barn and try some delicious Jonigold apples there. We had a hay ride and got to learn about the life cycle of the apple tree and, as we left, the Apple Barn gave us a bag full of Gala apples.

The first thing we did with these apples was to look at the different colours. Not all apples are pure red, green or yellow. Gala apples are a good example of this.  

The Basket of Apples by Paul Cézanne

 

We looked at the varied colours and then we looked at the paintings of Paul Cézanne. This link will take you to the online story of Cézanne's apples that I read to my class. After looking at the painting by Cézanne, we made our own still life paintings.

Another great thing to do with apples is to make applesauce! Yummy yummy applesauce. The Gala apples that we used in our Cézanne activity are the ones we made into applesauce.

On applesauce making day my own 3 children (grades 3, 5 and 6) and I made up a little song on the way to school. I taught it to my class and they caught on right away!

Applesauce

Wash the apples, peel the apples

CUT THEM UP!

Dump the apples, stir the apples

SMASH THEM UP

Add a little sugar, cinnamon

Put them in your tummy

GREAT BIG GRIN!
Yummy yummy applesauce

Yummy applesauce

Yummy yummy applesauce

Happy happy applesauce!

Friendship Garden

The school year has begun. I have 18 wonderful students that have spent the last two weeks making new friends and getting to know each other. What a great bunch!

For the first unit of the year we have been learning about Friendship. Things that go along with this unit are:
* God made me special
* I can use good manners
* I can treat my friends how I want to be treated (Golden Rule)
* I can make a new friend
* I can be a good friend

One activity that I love during this unit is the Friendship Garden. I read the Winnie the Pooh story, "The Friendship Garden" to my class and then we made sunflowers out of torn paper. Every sunflower looks different, but they are all beautiful. This is just like the children in my class. No two children are alike, but they are all very special because they are exactly who God made them to be.

We also did a group puzzle activity. Every child got 3-4 pieces of a Winnie the Pooh floor puzzle and we took turns placing our pieces. The students had to wait their turn and also urge on the others to keep checking their pieces so the puzzle could progress. It was such a good feeling of accomplishment when the puzzle was complete and everyone knew that they had taken a part in the activity.