Lookin' Sharp in the Wild West

Day 3 in the Wild West! 

We started our day by welcoming all of our cowboys and cowgirls by first playing in our cowboy camp center, and then greeting our friends at the welcome circle. We sang our good morning song, class theme song, song of the week "The Cowboy Dance," and did our "Wild West Exercises." 

Miss Hayley instructing the Frogs to "Stand Tall like a Cactus" for our Wild West exercises!

Mrs. Holly joined us for our welcome circle so we could find out the results of our science experiment from yesterday. Each Frog had the opportunity to remove their egg from the solution to determine which made the eggshells dissolve. As a class, we determined that vinegar is what makes eggshells dissolve! We each got a turn touching an egg with no eggshell. It was very squishy!

Miss Holly showing the Frogs how the eggshell has dissolved after sitting in vinegar. 

Miss Hayley started our language circle by introducing a new vocabulary word: Saguaro (sa-wahr-o). She explained that this is a type of cactus that grows in deserts in the West. After we all practiced saying our word of the day, Miss Hayley started reading the book, Cactus Charlie. This book is about a cactus who feels all alone in the desert. He sets off on an adventure to find a friend. Along the way, Charlie meets several desert animals who were scared of his spikes. Right when Charlie is feeling discouraged, he meets an unlikely friend, a porcupine! This book teaches us that although we may be different, we can always find someone to be a friend. 

Miss Hayley reading the book, Cactus Charlie, as the Frogs sit and listen!

After literacy circle was finished, it was time for our written language activity. As a class, we filled in our group story chart. We answered questions about the title, author, illustrator, characters, and "problem" in the book.

Our completed group story chart!

After we finished our whole group story chart, the Frogs went to the table to fill out their own. The Frogs are doing so well during writing! 

Sparrow hard at work filling in his own story chart!

After the story charts were all filled out, it was time for bathroom and snack. During snack, the Frogs took turns asking each friend what they brought for snack, and some of their favorite restaurants. The Frogs love finding out more about their friends each day!  After snack, the Frogs lined up and hopped their way to the playground. We love to sing a  different song each day on our walk outside. On the playground, some of our class favorites are playing in the car, sliding down the slides, and climbing on the various structures. 

Dylan and Grayson inspecting the bark on the tree. 

Austin, Sparrow, William, and Caleb playing on the truck. 

Chander, Garrison, and Aarav planting a "rooftop garden". 

Next on our daily agenda is art. Today for art, the Frogs made their very own cactus with their hands. (We got a little messy!) Each child put their hand in green paint, then placed it on our paper. After washing hands, we added details to our cactus with our fingers, q-tips, and toothpicks. To top it off, we had to add sand to our paper to make it look like the Wild West!

Some of the Frogs finished products!

After art, it was time for science. Before asking our scientific question, Miss Hayley discussed with the Frogs what a healthy cactus looks like. The Frogs came up with the answers that it grows straight up, is green, has spikes, and is big! Miss Hayley told the Frogs that this information would come in handy later!

What the Frogs decided were qualities of a healthy cactus. 

 To continue along with our theme of the day, our question was, "Where will a cactus grow best?" Miss Hayley provided three buckets with three choices of climates to choose from: Ocean, Desert, and Arctic. Before forming a hypothesis, each Frog had the chance to feel each of the climates. The Frogs each made their predictions, and then had the opportunity to place a cactus in the habitat they thought it would grow best in. 

Garrison, Olivia, Nikhil, Austin, and Grayson feeling the different climates before placing their cactus in.  

The Frogs predictions on where a cactus will grow best. 

We will leave each cactus in its climate over night, and tomorrow morning during welcome circle the Frogs will compare their cactus to Miss Hayley's. After comparing, as a group we will decide where a cactus will grow best. Stay tuned!

Left to right: Desert climate, Ocean climate, and Arctic climate with the Frogs' pieces of cactus. 

After science, it was time for centers. This week, the Frogs have really enjoyed playing in the Cowboy Camp. In our cowboy camp, the Frogs have learned what a cowboy wears, how to build a campfire, and even how to play horseshoes!

Nikhil, Aarav, and Sparrow playing with "fire" in the Cowboy Camp!

After centers were finished, it was already time for lunch! The Frogs love the chance to sit and relax, while talking to their friends. After lunch, it was time for closing circle and music. We reviewed our new vocabulary word of the day, sang our goodbye song, as well as sang some other silly songs that the class loves! 

The class singing "Tootie Ta" before it is time to go home!

We cannot wait to see all of our buckaroos tomorrow in our matching blue shirts for our last day exploring the Wild West!