Cicadas! Cicadas! Cicadas!
This week we have had some very exciting encounters with these cool bugs! On Monday, the redline discovered a cicada shell clinging to a branch up in a tree. Everyone took turns “climbing” the tree and hanging from the branch with Ms Jolees to get a closer look. “Be careful, the cicada is working hard to hold on tight,” she said, “Can you hold on tight too?” Geneva carried the branch inside to show the rest of her friends. Everyone crowded around the table to observe the shell and a “no longer living” cicada from our bug collection.
On Tuesday, we began our gardening thread to learn where food comes from. As our busy tows worked hard to plant some seeds, we discovered a live cicada living in a pot. Our twos watched as the cicada took off and flew away. The amazing moment happened in a matter of seconds and no photos were captured of their excited and shocked expressions. On Wednesday, Geneva found our cicada friend in the mulch on the playground. The friends gathered around talking to their cicada and observing his colors and different body parts. 
Later that day, we began a living bug sculpture. With lots of collaboration we stuffed a sock with soil, discussed what body parts we would need to add to our bug, and covered our bug with soaked chia seeds. Later next week we will continue to make and add body parts to our bug.
In the Garden
This week we also began exploring a gardening thread. We want to introduce the idea of where our food comes from. We began by painting pots and selecting seeds to grow in each pot. The children were excited to look through the seed packets and select which plant they wished to grow.
Our friends have been waiting with excitement for their seeds to sprout. They check them each time the pass by on their way to the playground. “Bye bye plant.” they say as the race outside. They have been taking good care of them by watering them with buckets they fill from the hose.
What’s Cooking?
We began talking about beans and lentils. Pouring and mixing the dried lentils in the sensory bin has been a new favorite activity.
On friday, we opened up a fresh bag of lentils and brought in herbs, garlic, and onions to cook in a large crockpot. Our students smelled mixed and poured the ingredients into the pot. Everyone enjoyed learning how to switch the pot on and off and checking to see how their lentils were cooking.
Classroom Community News:
A big thank you to our classroom community! You do so much to make this classroom a success and bring so many fun experiences for the kids to enjoy. In September we are so happy to celebrate Savannah, Alexander, and Austin’s Birthday! Their families have invited everyone in the classroom so if your invitation went missing, a very happy little one carried it with them and treasured the cute “Dori and Nemo” picture. Here is a copy for your own reference.
It will be held at Corley Commons- 206 Hibernia Ave. in Decatur from 10:00am until noon on September 18th.
In October we are planning a weekend trip to a local pumpkin patch with further information soon to follow.
A big thank you to Mr. Alex Arnett (Maizy’s Dad) for the awesome box your sent our class. The room is filled with so much laugher when boxes are brought into the room.
Our Threads we are continuing to follow are Bugs, Gardening, Cooking, and Music.
Next week we are introducing potatoes! We will need to borrow some potato mashers for our next cooking project (Mashed Potatoes!)
We would love to have you share ideas with our students on these threads. If you have a book at home related to their work on these threads, please come in and read to us.
If you have old cookware, empty bottles, jar caps, recycled containers that make cool sounds, instruments at home or a secret instrumental talent you can share please let us know.
If your child has a favorite CD or a song they love that we can look up on youtube, please let us know.
We are also collecting potty training books from our local library. If you have a potty training book you can share to help our younger twos understand the potty a little better please let us know-or even better, come in and read it to our class!
Thanks again for everything!
Your twos teachers.