The Whales are Scientists, Authors, Artists, and Engineers!

Wow! The Whales have been doing some incredibly hard work this week. This week started with the Whales going on their first field study in the Piazza. They talked about how to use materials like a scientist, and the responsibility that researching has. The Whales noticed that some sunflowers growing in our Piazza have grown to adult plants, but some are still adolescent plants and have not fully bloomed yet. The Whales are still watching to see if the remaining buds will open to show the sunflowers pedals and florets.

On Tuesday, the Whales had their first authors share out. After some hard working on illustrations, the Whales went around in a circle as they each got to share with the group what their story is about. It is such a delight to see the Whales celebrating each others creativity and triumphs. Each Whale had a huge smile on their face as the other Whales gave them a Whale round of applause for their hard work. During this time, the authors got to practice using a strong voice to convey their stories to a larger group. The Whales are truly stretching themselves!

The Whales began their art study on Vincent Van Gogh. The Whales read a book about how Vincent Van Gogh was treated poorly because he was different. The Whales thought Van Gogh’s art work was beautiful. One student said, “If we had a $100 we could buy Vincents painting”. The Whales began their own paintings and interpretations on Vincents sunflower paintings. Check out the pictures below to see the amazing sunflowers our Whales are creating.

On Friday, the Whales started their day with an engineering morning. Some Whales created spectacular structures with Lincoln logs, while others worked on creating long domino runs. This group of Whales actively try to include others and they know that by working as a team they can create bigger and stronger structures. The Whales ended their Friday with sharing. The Whales got to practice using a strong voice to share their important picture, book, stuffy, etc. Whales are so excited to have sharing again next week.