Down on the Farm

Today we started our new theme farm.  Many goods are produced on farms, so I changed our math and science center into a grocery story.  The children can go to the writing center and make a list of foods that they would like to purchase.  They can use a picture and word chart to help them spell the words.  They can then go to the grocery store and search the isles for what they need.  Then they can check out and take their purchases home.  Lastly, they can cook the food and use it to feed their families.

Our read aloud today was titled The Big Red Barn.  A few children knew this story, which was great because it is new to me.  This story by Margaret Wise Brown is about the cycle of the life on a farm.  At an independent center the children were given a barn.  Inside the barn they were asked to recall the characters in the story and draw them in the barn.                                                                   

We all know that cows live on farms and they produce milk, and that milk is used to make ice cream.  Today with Grandma Sue the children followed the steps in a recipe to make ice cream in a bag.  They were able to use scientific inquiry to observe how the liquids changed their form of matter into a solid.   Since each child visited two out of our four centers today, they may be our ice cream makers on Thursday.