A Visit to the Lepeska Dairy Farm

This week we learned about farms! The kids had fun learning facts about their favorite farm animals! Did you know that some paint brushes are made with pig hair or that they roll in the mud to stay cool? Or some sheep can have 2, 4 or even 6 horns?

We wrapped up the week with a visit to the Lepeska Dairy Farm. When we arrived, we were greeted by my dad (Jim), brother (Ryan), sister (Erika), niece (Cadence), nephew (Zach) and even my cousin (Ann) from London! (She is the film director’s mom, if any of you were following the movie.  The kids loved hearing her accent and she had a wonderful time seeing 60 kindergarteners on a farm!)

First we split into two groups. Mrs. Mayne’s and Ms. Fenstermann’s group went to see the cows and calves first. Mrs. Otte’s and our class went with Ryan to learn about what the cows eat and the tractors and machinery.

We saw all the different things that Ryan mixes into a cows food- the hay, vitamins, minerals, corn, cotton seed, etc. We also got to see how much a cow eats in a day! Whoa! 

Then we saw some machinery. We saw the big mixer that mixes all the feed together, the manure tank that sucks up the manure out of the pit and sprays in on the field, a skid steer and a corn chopper. 

We also got to see a silage bag, a HUGE white bag that holds all the silage the cows will eat for a year.

When we switched and went with Erika, we saw the cows being milked by the robots! If you would like to see a video on what it looks like, you can visit this site (Robotic Milkers). (You can begin watching at 1:20 and stop at around 4:18.)

Then Erika showed us a pill that they give cows if they get sick. She called it a “yogurt pill,” and it was huge! Next we got to see the calves and saw what they eat and drink. The kids thought the calves were 4 or 5 years old and they were only a day or two. They were shocked that they were that big and could already walk! 

Sunny, the farm dog, escaped from the office during this time and she was so excited to see all the kids! Some of the kids said that she was their favorite part of the whole trip! We also got to see the silos and calf huts.

Here we are dressed like farmers.

If you returned your Book-it calendars for the month of October, your child will receive a pizza coupon. Watch for it to be taped to your child’s folder this week.

Ubaldo and Drake celebrated their birthdays this week!

Next week we will be learning about The Little Red Hen!

Scarecrow Day!

This week we learned about pumpkins, harvest and scarecrows! We did some more investigating with our pumpkins! We talked about what was alike and what was different about them. They both were the same color, both were smooth, and both felt like the same weight. Both were round, but one was a little more “ovally”. We counted the lines and found out that one had 21 lines and the other had 22. (We had heard that the number of seeds had to do with the number of lines.)

Next we cut open the pumpkins and took out the guts and seeds. After they were finally cleaned out, we counted the seeds while putting them in 10 groups. We found out that the pumpkin with 21 lines had 445 seeds, and the one with 22 lines had 358 seeds… I guess our two pumpkins didn’t prove our theory… maybe we can test it again next year!

Friday was scarecrow day! I was so glad to see so many scarecrows!

First the kids enjoyed the skit “The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything” performed by the teachers. Then we made our Harvest Mix by adding all of our secret ingredients to one big tub. Then we split it among the classes and have been eating it the last few days.

Math Centers

1. Dominoes- We played the real domino game- connecting the dominos next to another domino with the same number.
   
   
   
2. Domino Math- We counted the number of dots on each domino and added them together using a number sentence. (1+3=4)
3. 
   Fill the Cup- Each student takes turns rolling the dice and then put that number of cubes in their cup. The first to fill their cup wins.

4.  Counting to 100 by 10s- First the kids traced the numbers, cut them out and then glued them in the right order.

                                     

5. High/ Low Card Game- The kids LOVE playing this, so I have been keeping this as a center.

Ubaldo and Kimberly can tie their shoes! YAY!

At the beginning of the week we did some guided reading groups at the back table (I would take a group of kids similar levels and read the same book with them.) After they were finished, I had them each choose a student to read their book to. They were so proud!

Don't forget about conferences! I am very excited to talk to each one of you about your child! I have such a great group of kids this year and can't wait to tell you about all the positive things I have been seeing!

Remember to send back you Book-It! Calendar for the Month of October. I will be sending home your Pizza Hut coupon for a free personal pizza soon! (As soon as I can get a few minutes to do it!) Remember to keep reading for November!

Mom's to Lunch- Mams are invited to come to lunch the week of November 17-21. Of course you can come anytime, but this week is our special Mom's week. If you are not able to come this week, you can come anytime that works for you!

I’m sure the kids told you why I was gone on Monday. My Grandma went into the hospital last Sunday with pneumonia and passed away on Friday. It has been a really tough 2 weeks for me! (Actually school year since I have lost both grandmas in the last two months…) She was 94 and has had a great life. She was always traveling and doing things she enjoyed- she even went to Australia when she was in her 80s!

We are learning about farms this week and will be going to the Lepeska Dairy Farm on Friday! We will also be dressing like farmers!