Kindergarten Korner : LOOKING CLOSELY AT OUR ENVIRONMENT

This is our Earth Journey . We hope that it will inspire your own Earth Journey.
We love to go on Nature walks. When we go out, we like to bring our bug catchers and sacks to collect pieces of Nature. We like to explore the GREAT OUTDOORS. We always remember to bring our camera and clipboards to capture our learning. We document our learning by drawing and writing about what we might find.

One day on our Nature walk, we saw lots of garbage on the ground. We wondered, “Why people would throw garbage on the ground?”

The more we walked, the more garbage we saw.

There were even GIAGANTIC piles of garbage because it was garbage day. What a mess!

“A couch is not garbage!”

So our Nature Exploration Walk turned into a Garbage Walk. We decided to make a check mark for every piece of garbage that we saw on the ground.

On our Nature walk we saw these containers by each house. We wondered what they were for.

EL: "This one is for compost.
B.D: “This blue one is like the recycle bucket in our classroom.” Our friends are so smart!

We came back to school and counted all of our garbage check marks that we made on our clipboards.

Then we decided to make a class chart so that we could add up everyone’s check marks.

E.L: “I think there could one million!”

E.C: "I hope not."

We counted them again just to make sure. We couldn’t believe how many check marks we recorded.

We counted 240 pieces of Garbage. That’s too much garbage.

* We wondered what we could do about this.

E.L: We can go on a garbage hunt and pick it all up. WE can make a thing that sucks it all up.

N.G: We can pick it up.

G.M: People put garbage on the floor.

E.L: Maybe it was 100 or 200 people who put it on the floor.

M.A: We can pick it up if we have something to put it in.

M.A: We need to clean up the world.

E.L: God will be super, super sad.

C.C: We put the garbage in the garbage can.

B.D: Bring your garbage home.

A.S: Tell people to not put it outside.

N.G: Use a container.

E.L: We can hold it so easier.

A.S: You put it in the sink to clean it.

E.L: Use it again.

M.A: A MILLION times.

Little people can solve all of the world’s problems, if we let them.

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT ALL

OF THIS GARBAGE?

Mrs. Johnston read us a book about composting. It was called compost stew. We wanted to try to make our own “Classroom Compost Stew.” This will help us have less garbage.

Team Wonder World is on the job!

We wanted to find out more about composting. So we went on the internet to some important research.

From our research, we found out that our composter needs to have things from four different groups. They are greens, browns, air and moisture. We worked in groups to write and draw about the different thing that belong in each of the four different groups. We presented our projects to the class.

Here is how we made our very own classroom composter.

1. Get A Compost Container

We decorated our container with pictures of

things that go in our composter.

What foods go in our compost?

2. Collect And Cut Up Food Scraps
Worms do not have teeth so we need to cut the food into small pieces. Food scraps are from the Green group.

3. Collect And Cut Up Sticks And Leaves
We collected leaves and sticks from our
Nature walk. The leaves are from the
brown group.

4. Stir Up The Food Scraps And Leaves
Mix the foods scraps and leaves together in one bucket.

5. Measure The Food and Leaf Scraps

Our research said that we need to have at least 1 pound of scraps for our composter. We used a scale to weigh the scraps. The red needle has to move past the number 1.

6. Cut Up Newspapers Into Strips.

We wonder why our compost needed newspapers.

Why Does Our Compost And Worms Need Paper?

B.D: Maybe they’re going to eat the paper and mix it up with the soil. Then put it to make more soil. Paper is also garbage.

A.V: Worms eat all the paper and soil. For it to be a bed.

S.A: It’s going to do something to eat.

A.G: The worms need to get energy so they can move fast.

C.C: The worms have to mix it in the bed.

E.C: For the worms to eat and for their bed when it’s Winter.

N.G: I think the worms are going to eat it for garbage.

A.S: Worms get strong when they eat garbage.

E.L: To get energy.

G.M: When they get hungry to more the get.

J.M: Because they like to sleep in it.

7. Add Sand And Soil And Mix It Up.

We wondered why our compost needed sand and soil.

Why Does Our Compost And Worms Need Sand?

K.P: When we put soil, they might get dried.

A.S: We don’t want them to die.

E.L: It’s special sand to keep them alive.

E.C: They can mix the paper and soil with sand to make more soil.

R.G: You put it. They will eat the white sand.

B.D: Maybe the sand is the food.

J.M: The thing is going to get water from the top.

A.V: To eat

8. Add Some Soil And Water. Mix It Up.

Composting is dirty work. That’s the way we like it. “It feels squishy between my fingers.”

Why Does Our Compost And Worms Need Soil?

G.M.: If they eat the soil and they get hungry.

K.P: When they eat it, garbage, they need more.

R.G: Because they can dig underground.

J.M: Because they do only dig. They find something then they are going to eat it.

E.L: When they worms eat it, it will turn into more soil. Then they can eat it and eat it.

E.C: So they can make more soil.

N.G: Maybe for its bed and they have to eat garbage.

C.S: Because they’re going to eat soil.

A.S: I think the worms are going to make it to food.

A.G: By mixing it.

6. Cut Up Newspapers Into Strips.

We wonder why our compost needed newspapers.

One day we received a package in the mail. We wondered what was inside. We tried to guess what it could be. Mrs. Johnston gave us a hint: We need it for our compost.

It was WONDERFUL, WIGGLY, WORMS!

We looked closely at our wiggly worm friends. We wondered if worms have a mouth. If they have a mouth, how can we tell what end it is? So we did some worm investigating to find out.

Here Are Our Worm Observations

A.S: You can tell which is size is his mouth, big size to eat.
E.C: I can tell the mouth, it's pointy.
C.C: I saw his mouth moving.
N.G: Maybe it has 2 fronts, 2 mouths?
S.A: It's going that way so his mouth is here.

Now We Are Ready To Let Our Worms Go Home

10. Add Wiggly Worms

Good morning wiggly worm friends! Welcome to your new “Forever Home.” We hope you are very, very hungry. Thank You for us helping recycle our garbage. “You are so kind.”

11. Taking Care Of Our Compost

Say Hello to our wiggly worm friends. Move the soil to one side. Add the food scraps to the bottom. Cover the soil and worms with the screen. Add some water to make it moist. Close the lid.

We were so excited when Mrs. Johnston wrote us a very special Compost Song. Now you can sing along with us!

COMPOST STEW

We like to compost. We like to compost.

Yes we do. Yes we do.

Stir it altogether. Stir it altogether.

Compost Stew, Compost Stew

Apples and bananas. Apples and bananas.

Carrots too. Carrots too.

Stir it altogether. Stir it altogether.

Compost Stew. Compost Stew.

Sand and soil. Sand and soil.

Paper too. Paper too.

Stir it altogether. Stir it altogether.

Compost Stew. Compost Stew.

Air and water. Air and water.

Wiggly worms too. Wiggly worms too.

Stir it altogether. Stir it altogether.

Compost Stew. Compost Stew.

Mrs. Johnston read us two books about worms. WOW! Worm friends eat our food scraps and make lots of tunnels. That’s hard work.

We wondered what our worm

Friends would do when they were in our composter. How can we see?

Here Are Our Ideas:

E.C: We can shrink to small size and go in the worm roads.

I.A: When the worm digs, they go to the sand.

E.L: I have a big garden and worms go underground, under the grass.

A.J: If the worm goes down the hole he gets food.

A.S: Maybe we can go but they go down fast. They hibernate if it is raining. Birds eat worms.

K.P: If we are tiny, the cars can go inside too.

S.A: The worms hide.

R.G: If the worm is outside the bird is going to eat it.

B.D: When the worm hibernates maybe he gets food.

E.C: The worms have double roads.

D.D: The worms go down to their house.

J.M: The worms go inside the dirt. It’s dark inside, a bit scary for them. But they stay together.

E.L: They like the dark. They can hide better.

One day on our Nature Walk, some friends turned over a rock and found some big, juicy worms.

As we were looking closely, some friends began to discuss why these worms were so big and the worms we put in our compost were so small. One friend said, “We should bring them back to the class so we can look at both worms side by side.” We all thought that this was a FABULOUS Idea!

Looking Closely At Our Worm Friends

We came inside our class and got right to work.

We wanted to look closely to see how these

worms were the same and how they were different. We looked, touched, smelled, listened and tasted our worms….NO WAY!

Mrs. Johnston said we could taste them if we

wanted to, but we all thought that would be “YUCKY!”
We learned a new way to compare 2 things.
It is called a Venn Diagram.

B.D: “It is like a picture with 2 circles.”

E.L: “The same things go in the middle part and

the different things go on the big parts.”

We documented our learning by writing our

ideas and drawing pictures.

Here Are Our Venn Diagrams

Everyone made it safely back to their own Habitat.

Thank You WORM FRIENDS, for letting us look closely at you. Next time, you can look closely at us!

Each day we collect any foods scraps from our snack and lunch. The weekly compost captains cut them up and place them in our composter. They stir everything up and add some water too.

When we check inside all of the food is gone! This is good because:

C.S: "The worms are recycling all of our garbage."

A.V: "We don't need it so we share it with our worm friends."

C.S: "Sharing is caring and caring is sharing."

E.L: Then they do their magic and make good soil for us to use."