Expect theUnexpected

Monday in the STEAM lab we located our city on Google Earth. 

Here's the State Capitol.

Google Earth even showed us pictures of Mike the Tiger.

Here's the Old State Capitol where we went on our field trip.

We're using technology to learn about maps.

This is where we had our picnic.

This is what Tiger Stadium looks like from the air.

 Our week ended with a surprise visit from Ariel and Prince Eric.  They'll be performing in the PBS production of The Little Mermaid. We can't wait to see them on the stage!

Early Childhood is a busy, active, and often noisy place where you can expect the unexpected. We began our week with a follow-up to our study of Louisiana. In the STEAM lab, the students used Google Earth on iPads to zoom in on our location. They got a satellite view of the earth, then came in for a landing in Baton Rouge. Google Earth showed photos of familiar places: the Old and New State Capitols, Tiger Stadium, even our school!
We moved on to our new theme: dinosaurs. This week we've been thinking, reading, learning, and writing about dinosaurs. By the end of the day on Friday, the students began designing their own dinosaurs. What would it look like? What would it eat? What is its habitat?
In the middle of all the chaos, as students were drawing, writing, trying to spell and make sentences...Arial and Prince Eric appeared to invite the kids to the PBS play next week.
There's always so much going on.  The writing lesson was a bit more chaotic than I had planned,and I wondered if the students actually learned anything.
So I like to ask the class at the end of the day, "What did you learn today?"
As usual they surprised me with their answers. One learned how to look at the calendar and figure out the day of the week. I was pleasantly surprised to see that someone remembered what we did first thing in the morning.
"I learned to sing praise songs," another said. (Another pleasant reminder that the students are learning from our Bible lessons.)
"I learned to count on to add." (Yes! That was the learning intention in math.)
"I learned to spell 'mine.' "
 "Mine" was a word the child used in her writing activity. What a relief to know that the writing lesson was valuable despite the noise and craziness.
As always, kindergarten is full of surprises.