Seabury School challenges gifted children in a community that cherishes each individual and fosters a love of learning, discovery and creativity.




Thursday, October 24, 2013

Pumpkin Math!

How many different ways can you measure a pumpkin?  Circumference? Height? Weight? Last week the Bumblebees were doing just that.  Using their own pumpkin and manipulatives, they got to know their pumpkin really well.  Later, we were invited to the Navigator and Explorer classrooms to make estimations about the number of seeds in each pumpkin.  The students had to clean it out, sort and determine a strategy for counting all the seeds.  In the end, the Bumblebees wrote their work out in their sketch journals. It was a great opportunity for these kiddos to work with cross-grade peers and use problem solving skills.






Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Food Bank Deposit

Last Wednesday, the Bumblebees helped me load up 400 pounds of food collected during our food drive and we delivered it to the Edgewood Food Bank. Besides walking into the giant freezer, the kids were surprised to hear that the food at the food bank is given out for free.  We unloaded the car, weighed our total and even helped put the food on the shelves. It was great for them to see how they can make a positive impact to the community.
We practiced skip counting and tally marks by grouping food items by 5's.

Weighing the food


Monday, October 14, 2013

Pumpkin Patch!

What a beautiful day to enjoy nature during Fall!  We ventured to Spooner Farms where we learned about pumpkins, tested their buoyancy, navigated through a rope maze, and found the perfect pumpkin to take home.  Tomorrow the Bumblebees will explore everything they can about their pumpkin while using math and science skills.  In addition, we have an huge sunflower to examine with magnifying glasses and microscopes. We were already using our sketchbooks as we made new discoveries with each pulled seed. 

This week, we will also be going to the food bank to deliver our school donations.  The bumblebees have been collecting, sorting and graphing what has been brought in. 






Wednesday, October 9, 2013

A Busy Start to October

We have been traveling all through the town learning about our community and the people who help us.  We went to the Hylebos Wetlands Park and took a hike through the forest to observe this unique habitat to birds, tadpoles, and even coyotes (no worries, none were spotted on the journey!!).  Last week we went to the firehouse and climbed all over the fire truck.  Yesterday, we ventured to Seattle to see Pippi Longstocking.  The Bumblebees loved it!

Back in the classroom, we are applying our math skills to keep track of our food drive donations.  The Bumblebees have sorted, counted and tallied mark each food item to date.  They get so excited walking around the school collecting donations. In addition, we are also exploring place value, understanding the value of each number in our base 10 system.

There has been a new addition in our classroom this week.  The Bumblebees have been so interested in having a post office so we built one!  Costumes included.  I hope to take this group to the Post Office this week, as well as having them help transport our donations to the Edgewood Food Bank to be weighed and shelved.  More info as I finalize dates and times for these events.