Fiber Farms in Vermont

First Graders continue to learn all about farms in Vermont.  This week Miss Virginia taught us all about fiber farms.  Many people think of sheep and wool, but our learning didn't stop there.  We also learned about alpaca fibers.  Did you know alpaca wool is 2 times warmer and lighter than sheep wool?  It's also is a lot softer!  We also learned that rabbit hair can be used to create a soft warm yarn.  Each student got a hands on experience pulling and twisting a variety of the fibers.

Ghostly Reading

Boo! Don't be scared, our first graders are just getting in the Halloween spirt with a little ghostly reading.  Students are working on putting their finger under the word as they read it.  This helps learners to check the beginning and ending sound of a word!  Putting your finger under the text also improves accuracy and fluency.  This week we have been using witch fingers to help us practice this skill.  This creepy craziness was real scare! The best part is tomorrow, the fingers will go home with them so they can continue to use them at home!

Writing Celebration

Our first graders finished off our Small Moments unit yesterday by celebrating our writing with Kindergarten.  Our class walked down the hall to Mrs. Gilbar's room.  We read our books to our kindergarten friends. This was an amazing sharing opportunity for both the first graders and the kindergarteners, because they are just starting their Small Moments unit.  We hope we gave them lots of ideas for their books.  Thank you kindergarten friends for being such thoughtful listeners.

Pumpkin Pie

On Friday our first graders made pumpkin pie as part of our Farms Unit. Each student completed one job to help create our pie. We measured, poured and mixed! Then we poured the pie into the crock pot! Two hours later, we had pie! Many students loved the pie. The recipe is below if you'd like to try it at home!

Farms in the Classroom Grant in Action

Today was our first visit from Miss Virginia, our Dairy in the Classroom Educator.  In coordination with Farm to School and Play 60 healthy kids, RES first graders are getting an amazing opportunity.  Once a week for the next 5 weeks, Miss Virginia will visit our classroom to teach us things about local farms.  

Today students learned about dairy and goat farming.  We learned that Holstein cows make the most milk!  We also learned more about cows and other animals that are cud chewers!  Cows have for stomachs, they are ruminants!  So are lots of other animals like goats, deer and even giraffes!  Volunteers dressed up as a cow and a goat to help us learn more.

Then we used heavy cream to make our very own butter.  We tried cinnamon butter and plain butter.  Many students liked both flavors.  Next week we will be learning about fruit and vegetable farming!

Getting Ready to Publish

Our first graders are putting the finishing touches on our Small Moments stories.  Our writers have worked for the past 6 weeks on creating stories from our everyday lives.  Each student picked their favorite story to publish. We look forward to sharing these stories with the kindergarteners.  

Apples, Apples, Apples

First Graders are continuing to learn all about farms in Vermont.  This week we learned about apple farms.  Students learned how farmers care for their trees and harvest their fruit.  We also learned how and why farmers sell the fruit and apple products to earn money.  One product many farms sell is applesauce. Today our first graders had a chance to make our very own applesauce. Each student got the chance to core, peel, and chop their own apple. We put all the apples in the crock pot with a little maple syrup, apple juice and cinnamon.  Four hours later, we all enjoyed our applesauce. 

Milk and More

Our First Graders are learning all about farms in Vermont. This week we are learning all about dairy farms.  Learners worked as a group to create a picture map of the dairy cycle.  Then they made small versions of the cycle on their own.  Today we read a funny book about a city boy learning to get milk from a cow.  The children loved No Milk by Jennifer Ericsson.  Then we made cow puppets to complete the story.