For much of the month of September and the first couple of weeks of October, the King Kindergarteners were immersed in learning all about Apples!
We incorporated Apples throughout all of our curriculum areas: writing/drawing about apples, poems about apples, books about apples, apple math, a science experiment with apples, and we even had our first Engineering Design Challenge. This unit was full of meaningful, engaging, and fun learning for our Kindergarteners.
We incorporated Apples throughout all of our curriculum areas: writing/drawing about apples, poems about apples, books about apples, apple math, a science experiment with apples, and we even had our first Engineering Design Challenge. This unit was full of meaningful, engaging, and fun learning for our Kindergarteners.
The entire King Kindergarten got to go on a field trip to Honey Pot Orchards in Stowe. We had SO much fun!! We went on a wagon ride, picked apples, tried apples, saw some farm animals, and got to pick a pumpkin! It was such a fun day - not just for the children, but the teachers, too!
Our culminating activity for our Apple unit was to make homemade applesauce in the classroom! This is such an enriching activity because we get to practice a variety of skills. It was a big surprise for the children and they were SO excited when they found out what we were doing for the day. They walked into the classroom in the morning and saw my crockpot, cooking utensils, and our Making Applesauce chart. Immediately a buzz started around the room, "what is that?!" "what are we going to do?" "I think we're gonna make applesauce!"
We began the lesson by first making predictions about what we thought we would need to make the applesauce and how we would make it. We also had a brief mini lesson on different types of text. I brought in a cookbook and asked them if they knew what it was (they all did! YAY!). We discussed how chefs need to follow a recipe when they cook something. I told them that if we didn't follow the direction exactly, the apple sauce may not taste right. I told them we need to make sure that we read the ingredients and measure them carefully just like scientists have to do when they are doing a science experiment.
Once all the ingredients were in and everyone got a turn to stir and mix, we did an interactive writing activity. The children wrote the ingredients and sequence for our applesauce.
Then, they did a sequencing activity to become "experts" in making applesauce. Our hope was they could take the recipe home and try it with their grown-ups!
Finally, around 1:30pm, the applesauce was READY! The children were all so excited to try it. We dished a little out to everyone and I think it's safe to say that they LOVED IT!!
This apple unit is one of many that shows how we incorporate all curriculum areas and make learning engaging, meaningful, and fun for our students. Most children arrive to kindergarten filled with curiosity, wonder, and an enthusiasm to learn about themselves, others, and the world. My role and responsibility is to nourish this hunger for knowledge, and to motivate and challenge the students, as well as to protect and nurture them. I can't wait to see how much these students continue to grow and develop in this very important year!