Cooking up the STEM in Kindergarten: Our daily cooking experiences in kindergarten are fostering a great deal of curiosity, questioning, and interest in experimentation. We have begun to explore the field of STEM research with our kitchen activities, learning about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. These subject areas have always been naturally integrated in our cooking studies, but now they are intentionally designed to be the force behind our work. Here is a snapshot of our wonderings over the last two weeks. Can you see how our explorations align with STEM?
Maple Cinnamon Applesauce study: Do smaller slices of apple cook faster than larger chunks? Are my chunks 1 inch long? How can I measure them? Does more liquid make the applesauce cook faster? What would happen if we cooked it on low overnight? How does mushing them with this tool (potato masher) help the apple chunks? What is the temperature difference between "low" and "high" on our crockpot? Would a larger crockpot help our applesauce cook faster? How does our applesauce compare/contrast with a recipe we made in the microwave? Why does the microwave cook so much faster?
Homemade Churned Butter (using my great great grandma's butter churn vs. baby food jars vs. our KitchenAid mixer): Which method is easiest and makes the best butter? How long will we need to churn vs. shake in the jars? How did people churn for THIS LONG every day??? How does it change from liquid cream to whipped cream to separated butter and buttermilk? What does shaking or mixing do to make the butter? What does a marble do to help make butter in the jar? Why does this butter separate from the buttermilk? What can we use this liquid for? Why does our butter look, taste, and feel different from store-bought butter? How is butter made and sold in stores? How does this old-fashioned butter churn work? Do these gears need to be fixed to churn better? How does this churn compare/contrast with our mixer? How long will the mixer need to take to make butter?
Cornbread vs. Buttermilk Cornbread: Which method is easiest and quickest? What ingredients are in the Jiffy box mix of cornbread? How is it all put together in the factory? How do the batters compare/contrast? Why is this batter with the buttermilk so much taller and thicker? How long will it take to cook both batters at the same time? How does the batter change from a liquid to a solid in the oven? Why is this batter still gooey after cooking the right amount of time?
These young children are incredibly curious and engaged in our daily cooking experiments. It is this curiosity that is beginning to guide us further into STEM topics of interest.
What's cooking in K? Authentic, student-centered, rigorous learning...made to order to suit everyone's taste buds and cooked to perfection!
Third graders are solving word problems through their Turkey Trot!
Comparing and contrasting shapes in Kindergarten is fun!
Now hiring a score board operator for girls basketball and bookkeeper for boys basketball. $25 per evening. Contact Frank Bartsch, AD at fbartsch@isd698.org if interested.
Thank you Floodwood for having the Senior High Band students play at the shopping night! The band is currently selling these beautiful poinsettias until November 28th. Delivery expected November 30th and they are $20 a piece.
Change of Date for Basketball Pictures: now set for December 17th (Elementary and High School)
High School students will be taking the STAR and/or FAST Math and Reading Assessments next week.
Offer Expires 12/20/18
Some of the high school students got to listen to a presentation from Northwoods Credit Union about the importance of saving. She also discussed the differences between savings and checking accounts. Thank you Meggan for coming in and sharing with us.
No School on Friday, November 16th! Enjoy the long weekend!
The 5th and 6th graders were able to ask Jeannine Kellogg, author of "The Tukor's Journey," questions about her book during the Book Fair! Thanks to Ms. Davidson for setting that up!
Blair, Hannah and Summer reading their essays on "Why I Honor the American Flag" on Veteran's Day.
Thank you VFW Ladies Auxiliary for the Teacher Tea before conferences this evening. It was the perfect start to sharing our evening with parents!
Digital Literacy students have created their own blogs! From hunting to Fortnite, from cooking to relationship advice...they are building community through social media 😊
Teacher Spotlight!
Student Spotlight!!
Come learn to make perfume using essential oils
This is a reminder that the Polar Den is closed today due to the Book Fair. Come check it out!
Rigorous, Hands-on, Authentic Learning in K: This week's "Fun Food Friday" cooking experience had kindergarten students applying what they've learned about comparing and contrasting!
We read two texts by Laura Numeroff (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Cat a Cupcake) and compared/contrasted key details and central themes of the stories, using a "double bubble" or Venn diagram to record our ideas.
We also compared/contrasted two "good fit" texts about food groups and created Venn diagrams with evidence collected from the texts. These instructional-level texts really prepared us for hands-on applications with two different recipes--one for pumpkin spice cookies and the other for pumpkin spice cupcakes.
We compared/contrasted required ingredients and tools, discussed predictions for similarities and differences between the two products, compared/contrasted the batters by using many of our senses, and analyzed the final products with a taste test during snack time. We had so many ideas that we ran out of space on our double bubbles!
Students were highly engaged throughout the day in these hands-on, minds-on activities and made deep connections to our academic work in numerous other authentic ways. For example, we compared/contrasted our physical appearances with friends (using concepts connected to measurement), noticed a Venn diagram in the 2nd grade classroom (which we HAD to go investigate!), and even compared and contrasted our pumpkin spice cookies with some surprise sugar cookies brought by a classmate! This added an entirely different level to the day's learning.
The magnitude of knowledge acquisition during this week's "Fun Food Friday" cannot be fully quantified. Without a doubt, students are well on their way to mastery of challenging concepts and are enthusiastic about future endeavors! That intrinsic motivation is like the frosting on our cupcakes...SO sweet!
Learning is infinitely more relevant and FUN when we connect it to our interests and prior experiences. Come join us and discover what authentic learning looks and tastes like!
CONGRATULATIONS to all those students who had 100% attendance for October! Way to set a goal and do all you can to meet it! Our students ROCK!!