Antarctica!

We have been exploring a penguin's environment, and learning all about their habitat. This past week, we explored a penguin's home--icy water, by building our own! Each Stanford Tree created their own penguin, and played like penguins do.

We explored the penguin's favorite place to be--icy water, by freezing water to make ice bergs. The Stanford Trees acted out hiding from leopard seals up on the ice berg, sliding on their bellies, and diving deep into the ocean to catch fish and krill. It was a blast playing like penguins do!

Doin' the Ornithologist Bugaloo!

We have been spending the last two weeks transforming into Ornithologists as we study perhaps the funniest, most interesting bird of all--the PENGUIN! We have been partaking in...

Observation Charts

Narrative Input with the beautiful story A Mother's Journey

Collecting Facts on our Penguin Book Matrix

(The stories we have been reading are on the left, with the categories of the facts we have been collecting above.)

We have been reading so many stories, learning so many facts, and are realizing that the more we learn, the more we wonder!

First grades are wondering...

"Why are ice bergs so thick?"

"How do penguins climb up ice bergs?"

"Why is there sand in Antarctica?"

"Why is the water so cold in the Southern part of the globe?"

We have been keeping track of all our new knowledge in our very own Penguin Journals.

C-O-O-P-E-R-A-T-I-O-N in Action!

We have been learning all about cooperation -- working together to get the job done, and having fun doing it! It has been such a blast seeing our super stars explore math tools, learn math games, start workshop, and discuss complex ideas in partners and teams while showing cooperation. I love it!

Welcome to 2011-2012!!!!

It is my pleasure and honor to welcome you to the 2011-2012 school year! I am so excited for what we have in store this year! The Stanford Trees are already off to a great start, and I have loved every moment I've had with them so far!

Here's a sneak-peak of the classroom before the students arrived:

We have already kicked off our Penguin Unit! Thanks so much to those of you who sent back your Home-School Communication form about Penguins! It was so fun learning about your knowledge of penguins, and how much you have to share with your kiddos!

Make sure to ask your student what new facts they are learning about penguins. We are working hard to collect facts each day in our explorations.

Here's a photo from one of our favorite activities with penguins this week, a penguin/human compare/contrast pictorial:

I can't wait to post more photos of our superstars working so hard as scientists, readers, writers and thinkers!