Kindergarten Grant

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING 

AT ITS BEST!!!!!

The KINDERGARTNERS are writing a grant!!!!!!!!

We have 4 classes (3 kindergarten and 1 transitional kindergarten classrooms) that will be involved in the entire process of our grant.

We will be blogging our entire journey of this amazing process.

So keep coming back for updates!!!!!!

We realized our kindergarten playground needed a major overhaul when a group of students were creating a giant bird nest out of wood chips during recess. The kids spent an entire week building, constructing and having conversations about this bird nest.
"It needs to be big because an eagle is big." --Makena
"We need to add other things like yarn because I have seen that in a bird nest."--Hunter
"What if a bird lays eggs in it?" --Hayden

After watching these students converse and discover completely on their own, we thought of a GREAT PBL unit to incorporate into our kindergarten classrooms:

HOW DO WE CREATE AN

 OUTDOOR CLASSROOM?

Our goal: to write a grant to various places and create an outdoor classroom for our students.

Step 1: Have a conversation with the kinders about the indoor classroom and what we would need to create an outdoor class. We will RESEARCH outdoor spaces, playgrounds and classrooms.

Step 2: Brainstorm ideas (observe the outdoor area; draw and write ideas and come back and share as  a class). Each classroom has it's own theme: Rangers, Safari Guides, Cowpokes, Explorers.

Step 3: What is an architect? A person who designs and creates buildings and spaces.
Measure the playground/outdoor space using various object. How much space do we have? What can and cannot fit?

Step 4: Allow the students to become architects and draw up a blueprint of ideas.

Step 5: Present the ideas

Step 6: Collaboration: Combine ideas and work in teams to create a large model (we will do this in various ways: PIXIE projects, drawings, paintings)

Step 7: Present the models (vote on ideas)



Step 8: Fundraiser: We had an "Apple Stand" during recess and after school and sold a cup of sugar-free apple juice for 25 cents. We raised over $120.00!!!

First we spent 2 days making posters.

Students were in charge of creating the posters.

Next, we had an Apple Stand Fundraiser for 3 days.

We plan to invite MISSION FEDERAL CREDIT UNION to come in and talk about $ and savings. This is a great way to involve the COMMUNITY.

Step 8: Present our grant to The SANTEE FOUNDATION and LOWES.

On October 22, the kinders presented the grant to the

Santee School District Foundation.

Look at how adorable they are!