Our Own Pumpkin Jack

After doing our pumpkin study over the past couple of weeks and reading some great books about pumpkins, first-graders came up with a great idea!  They decided they wanted to conduct their own science experiment like they saw in some of the books.  Their question was "What happens to a pumpkin if you leave it outside all year?"  So, we put our carved pumpkin out back behind our classroom, where we can keep a close eye on it.  We plan to watch what happens to the pumpkin over the course of the year.  We have already noticed some cool changes! 

Spooky Geometric Bats

First graders used some geometric shapes today to create flying bats!  Spooky fun!

Pumpkin Farms and Pumpkin Fun!

We finished up our 2-week study of pumpkin farms this week.  We did some fun activities with our class pumpkin including counting its ribs, predicting and then counting its seeds, noticing the pulp and the flesh, determining if it would float or sink, and measuring its height with cubes. 

A focus of our farm unit is the "Buy Produce, Sell" cycle which we discussed in relation to a pumpkin farm.  We came up with many products that a pumpkin farmer could make with their pumpkins to sell (in addition to their pumpkins)  - one of which was pumpkin pie, which we decided to make (in a crockpot!) as a fun way to celebrate our learning - and maybe to try something new for some of us!  It was a hit!! 

THIS MANY SEEDS!!!!

Growth Mindset - The Power of "Yet"

In first grade, we have been learning a lot about having a growth mindset as opposed to having a fixed mindset.  A growth mindset allows us to realize that it's okay if we can't do something yet, or haven't learned something yet, because with perseverance and hard work and belief in ourselves we will eventually be able to do that thing or accomplish that goal.  We have learned that an important piece to this is changing how we talk to ourselves!  Instead of telling ourselves that we can't do something, we can say "I can't do that YET!"  Changing our words can change our mindset!

Pattern Block Shapes

We dove right into our geometry unit this week by doing lots of work with pattern blocks.  First graders did some "Pattern Block Fill-Ins" as well as played a game called "Fill the Hexagon". They are learning how different shapes fit together and make new shapes.