Apples and more!

September is one of my favorite months for classroom activities. In September, we always do activities relating to apples and of course, we always cook something! 

This year was no different!

In September, we learned about the inside and outside of apples. We painted with apples. We learned about what an apple tree looks like through the seasons. Then, we ended the month with making blender applesauce with Mrs. Keck's class. It was a great time for the students to spend some time with their friend who are no longer in our class. The students did amazingly well, sitting patiently, for over an hour as each student was able to participate in parts of the applesauce recipe.

Our Apple Paintings

Peeling Apples with the Apple Peeler/Corer 

Enjoying some apple peel!

Using the PowerLink and switch to blend up the applesauce

Using TouchChat app to help 'read' the recipe and answer questions about the recipe

A busy end to September.....

And what??? It is almost the end of October!!

We have been very busy in Room 220!! To conclude September, we learned a little bit about Johnny Appleseed, discussed apples, and made applesauce with the help of Ms. Morris. This time of year is always my favorite because there are so many fun activities to do and the students are so motivated and engaged during the cooking activities. Ms. Morris and I have been doing this unit together for over 10 years and each year we are amazed at the students and how much they enjoying participating in the recipe process....and of course, enjoying the yummy treat at the end.

Here are a couple pictures from our applesauce afternoon! I will be printing and send additional ones home with the students soon.

Z wearing his Johnny Appleseed hat.

D showing H the picture of honey.

D helping peel the apples.

M running the blender with the switch.

October brought us into the Global Read Aloud author study of Eric Carle. We started with the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar where we focused on the vocabulary: caterpillar, butterfly, apple, pear, plums, strawberries. The students enjoyed participating in various sequencing activities and using the 'talker' to help tell the story. All the students agreed that they liked this book.

Here are a couple pictures of our creations relating to The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

matching the fruit to days of the week

our own very hungry caterpillars

string fruit beads

helping our friends string fruit beads

The next week, we read the book Have You Seen My Cat? It was a great story for predictive text and we were able to learn about different types of cats, but the excitement for this book wasn't there as with other books. The did many group readings of the story using a variety of AAC devices. The best part of the week was when the students created their cat masks. Although the loved the masks, it was almost unanimous that the students DID NOT like the book.

Here are a couple of our favorite 'cats'!

Keep a look out this weekend for another update! We have some exciting new to share!!

~Melanie