It's National Writing Day time! The Lunchers used their experiences at Homestead Farm to create "Write Aloud" stories. Good writing is both caught and taught. By writing aloud as a group, the children helped each other sequence events, add details, and find "just-right" adjectives to describe their adventure. Teachers modeled the process and demonstrated how to edit the draft before "publishing" the story "book-style." The Lunchers have been discussing story structure --beginning, middle, and end--as they listen to books. They have also talked about how illustrators collaborate with authors to create a picture book by matching text and pictures.
The Lunchers each illustrated one page to complete the class book. Now they can't wait to bring home a copy to share with their families!
The Pumpkin Field
Montessori I Lunchers went on a field trip to Homestead Farm. We had to wait a while as our bus was late! It was a beautiful day and a long drive. Along the way we saw horses.
At the farm we were met by Gus who took us around to see the animals. We saw the alpaca. Then we saw the chickens. We held an egg in our hands! Next we saw pigs. They loved tomatoes that were thrown in. We enjoyed seeing them fight over them. Then we saw the cow and the goats on a ramp. It was fun to watch them, especially when they scratched themselves!
We then got onto a hay wagon pulled by a tractor. We sat on the second wagon. M II and M III were on the first wagon. It took us to the pumpkin field. We looked around and found the perfect pumpkin for us; some of us were disappointed as the pumpkins were not very big!
We got on the wagon to go back to the farmhouse. On the way we passed apple orchards with rows of Fuji apple trees. We also saw a maple tree with its leaves all orange. We ate snack on the way back to school. Then we sang songs. All in all it was a fun trip!
by Montessori I
The Pumpkin Patch
It was time to go to the pumpkin patch, but the yellow school bus was late! The Lunchers waited and waited. Finally it came so they were able to go to Homestead Farm to pick pumpkins.
When they arrived at the farm, they met Gus. He showed them an alpaca named Pacman and a goat named George. Next the Lunchers visited the hen house. They saw a rooster and lots of hens. Gus let them hold a chicken egg. At the pigpen, they saw four black and white pigs fighting about tomatoes. The biggest pig was grabbing all the tomatoes! Pigs don't share?!
Elmo, the calf, liked being petted. He had soft fur. Some goats climbed up a tall ramp. Goats are excellent climbers!
All the Lunchers climbed onto a hay wagon. The farmer drove his green tractor to the pumpkin patch where they found lots of pumpkins. It was hard to choose just one! The stems were prickly! They were glad to have bags to carry them home.
The farmers brought everyone back to the barns so they could get on the bus. They enjoyed a snack of pretzels and water on the way back to school. It was time for lunch when they got back. The Lunchers were so happy the bus DID come today!
by Montessori II
Our Homestead Farm Trip
On Tuesday morning we went to Homestead Farm. First we got on the bus and drove to the farm. Then we got off the bus and met a man named Gus. Gus was our farm guide. He showed us an alpaca and a goat. Their names were Pacman and George. We saw them eating and then they walked over to us so we could pet them.
After we met Pacman and George, we walked and saw chickens. A boy chicken is called a rooster and a girl chicken is called a hen. After we saw chickens, we saw pigs. The pigs were black. They were fighting over tomatoes. They all wanted to eat tomatoes and didn't want to share.
We also saw birds and a cow named Elmo. Some of us petted the cow and others went to see the goats. Some of the goats were laying down and some were walking up a ramp. The goats had horns and looked a little like sheep.
We walked over to the tractor and went for a hayride. The wagon had straw in it. The ride was slow and bumpy! We got off the hay wagon and searched for our perfect pumpkins. The pumpkins were orange, round, bumpy, big, heavy, and prickly.
After we got our pumpkins, we got back on the hay wagon and then walked to our school bus. We sat down and had a healthy and delicious snack. On the way back to school we sang songs. Our field trip to Homestead farm was awesome, fabulous, amazing, and fun!
by Montessori III
Happy Halloween!!
T
