Owl Pellets

Today the "kindergarten scientists" dissected owl pellets to find bones and teeth that were from the prey that an owl ate.  In this case the pellets were from a Short-eared Owl.  Each pellet is from one evening's meal and it holds the clues to what the owl ate.  The kids compared the bones and teeth to a bone chart to see what the prey was.  They were surprised by the orange, front teeth of some mice.  I was surprised at how much they loved this activity!  Some students were very ecstatic and asked many good questions.  The kindergartners also had the chance to use magnifying glasses and they loved that!  They did not want to throw the bones away, so I let them glue the bones and teeth to a piece of paper because they can't wait to show their family!

Owl Lesson

 I taught the owl unit during our story time.  I read all of these books to the kids.  I read our favorite one, "Owl Babies" several times.  After learning about the different owls we discuss and compare them to others.  Now we are learning about bats.  It has been interesting comparing owls {a bird} to bats {a mammal}.

Fall Leaf Science and Math

Today we went leaf hunting and gathered different sized and shaped leaves in paper sacks.  We tried to find the different colors of autumn in our neighborhood.  It was such a beautiful fall day!  When we returned the kindergartners sorted the leaves by color and then by shape.  It was a good review of sorting for math and of seasons for science.

Paper Plate Skeletons

This project is a bit of work for a kindergartner, but after this they never complain about cutting anything out.  We worked in smaller chunks, so that it wasn't too much to do in one day.  This is one of my favorite art projects of the year and they love it too!

Painting Gourds

The kindergartners really enjoyed painting gourds and listening to Halloween music!  A big thank you to Hoffmans and Messers for bringing us gourds to paint!

Halloween Art for October

The ghost are the child's footprint with white paint.  That
was quite a deal to paint all of those feet! 

Halloween Border

Fire Safety Presentation

October is traditionally fire safety month, so the Armour Fire Department is good about coming in to talk to the kids.  The teachers also teach fire safety to their class.  One thing they showed the kids is that a fireman looks very different in their gear and if they come to rescue a child, they shouldn't be scared.  Not all of the kindergartners are pictured because a few of them did not want to try on the gear.  Here are things that people need to know:

1. Check your smoke alarms to make sure they're working.
2. Be careful around: birthday candles, candles, campfires, fire places, the stove, etc.
3. If your clothes catch on fire -Stop, drop and roll.
4. If you leave a burning building - Get out and stay out.
5. In an emergency - call 911 and stay on the line until they tell you to hang up.
6. Kids should know two ways out of their bedroom and they should know where the family meeting place is.