Meet Peanut

I may have a bit of a problem.  I love animals and I can't say no to the idea of having more animals in our classroom to care for.  We brought Steve, our stickbug, into the classroom and shortly after that I received a call from someone offering us a turtle!  Now, how do you say no to that?

Peanut has lived with Mrs. J, who substitutes at another school in our district, for 30 years.  She bought Peanut as a baby and was ready to see her go to a new home for inquiring minds to enjoy observing!

The first day that peanut joined us, we spent some time touching her and feeling her shell.  After that, we washed our hands very well and agreed to let Peanut have her space and just look without touching.

The kids love to sit by Peanut and watch her move around.  She's much more active than I expected a turtle to be.

Her favorite spot is her water basin.  She loves to sit in the water and watch the kids or dunk her head under water for a little bath.

I was surprised to find out that a big Rubbermaid container was the ideal habitat for Box Turtles.  We have some coconut shavings at the bottom, a basin for water, and two different lights to keep her warm.

So far, her favorite food has been rolly-polly bugs.  She likes to trample all over her fruits and veggies.  

We love having Peanut in the classroom and look forward to continuing our inquiry of turtles and their needs!

Happy learning! 

The Firefighters Come To Visit

Things have been a bit busy in kindergarten.  With conferences and Halloween, blogging has been a bit slow.  I'm back at it now, and we have some fun things to share!

The firefighters came for a visit in late October and what a gift that was to a group of kindergartners!  They started by coming to the classroom to read a story and talk with the kids.

They talked about the importance of smoke detectors and that when you change your clocks, you should change your batteries. (Hint: it's time to change them.)

They asked the kids how to call for help and they all knew to call 911, but when they were asked what to do if their parents' phone was locked and they needed to call 911 some didn't know.  They showed the kids the emergency button on the bottom of the lock screen and told the kids that if they push that button, they would be able to dial 911.

Then, another firefighter came to the room to show the kids that even in uniform firefighters shouldn't be scary.  It's just a regular guy under all of those clothes.  He put on the uniform, one piece at a time.

The kids were able to see that there is nothing to be afraid of if there is a firefighter trying to help them in an emergency.

At the end, he let the kids touch the uniform, mask, helmet, and just spend time getting comfortable with the whole ensemble.

After our indoor presentation, we went outside to learn about the tools in the fire truck.

It was an awesome presentation and I feel so lucky to have the firefighters come every year.  We always learn so much!

Ok, friends, now go change those smoke detector batteries.