Math
This week in math we reviewed quarters, learned a new version of the Macarena (“25, 50, 75, $1”) and did a lot of counting of mixed coins. These Betas are doing a fantastic job with this complicated task. We also held a couple of discussions about wants vs needs and saving vs spending.
ELA
In phonics this week, we continued our study of Bossy R, focusing on how it affects the vowel u! The spelling patterns we learned this week were: ur, ur_e, and ure. They all say /er/ but ure can also sometimes say /yer/, as in “cure” or “pure. “ Our sight words were: picture, land, and well.
Our new book clubs are tackling various challenges. Some are working to find their focus or answer comprehension questions completely and neatly, while others are being challenged to up their game by reading more difficult novels. Everyone is working hard to master new skills.
In Writing Workshop, we are in the beginning stages of writing a fictional story with minibeast characters! After reading and discussing a couple of books with bugs/insects as main characters, we created a list of possibilities for our own stories. We chose 2 critters and gave some thought to their traits, based on both physical characteristics and personality, and jotted down some ideas. We have also chosen possible settings for the story to take place in. Later in the week, after reading Two Bad Ants, we discussed the problems in the story and how the story resolved itself in the end. Then it was our turn to brainstorm problems and solutions for our own buggy tales.
Theme
On Monday we finally went bug hunting! Each Beta caught a specimen to bring back inside to study. The kids drew a detailed picture and wrote descriptive words about their Minibeasts. Then they teamed up with another Beta entomologist that found a different critter, and using a Venn diagram, compared and contrasted the two bugs!
Then we turned our attention to the tiny but mighty ant! 🐜Did you know there are over 12,000 ant species worldwide? Or that ants are the longest living insects? Some can live for 30 years! Or that the ant is one of the world’s strongest creatures in relation to its size? A single ant can carry 20 times its own bodyweight, and they’ll even work together to move bigger objects as a group! Or that ants are social insects that live in colonies?
We teamed up to create ant colonies, making sure to include all the important chambers. In an ant’s nest, there are various types of chambers, including a chamber for the queen ant, chambers for worker ants, chambers in which larvae are cared for, chambers for food storage, and others for wastes and other purposes. After the kids designed and labeled the chambers, the extra creativity came in- adding fun details to each chamber and then adding a watercolor wash over it.
On Thursday, we were lucky to be visited by Lyndon’s grandfather. Grandpa Collard served in the military as an entomologist! He brought in a *very* nice microscope for the kids to peruse, along with several specimens and a packet of information on all sorts of “bugs” for each Beta. We all learned so much! Many thanks to the Collard family for this awesome experience.
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