October Reading Patch

Much like our September Reading Tree, our October Reading Patch was filled with numerous book titles by the end of the month. Students were encouraged to read ten books. Each pumpkin in our patch represents one book read by a student. 

 With all of the hard work they put in, I couldn't deny the students' request to take silly pictures. What a wonderful group of kids!

Sharing some carbon dioxide!

Our current science unit covers various life cycles. We planted lima beans after observing them over a period of three days in a damp environment. Some of the students' beans sprouted! Without any encouragement from me, the kids grabbed their plants and have been reading to them. Not only are the students reading aloud, which allows for self correction, fluency and self-awareness; but they are also excited about reading! I've started to see some of their competitive nature come out in the last few days as the bean plants are sprouting and growing. Beans are growing, and the kids are reading!

Our Trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

On Friday morning, we loaded up the buses and headed to Matthys Farms' Pumpkin Patch. The day was filled with hayrides, a corn maze, a petting zoo and a pumpkin-sized bundle of fun. 

It was a wonderful trip and got us very excited for Pumpkin Day!

 Upon arriving at the Pumpkin Patch, we gathered in the greenhouse to eat lunch on haystacks. After we finished our lunches, we loaded up the tractors for a hayride out to the corn maze.

Once off the hayride, we wondered through the corn maze. It was quite a maze. We ran around in circles for a while before finding out way out.

 Finally, we found the pumpkin patch. Here we were allowed to pick out our OWN pumpkins! There were so many to choose from. 

With our pumpkins in hand, we loaded up the tractors and headed back to the farm. We ended the day with a visit to the petting zoo, and, once back at school, we watched a video about the life cycle of a pumpkin.