Living & Non-Living

We are beginning our Needs of Plants and Animals Unit! This week we are focusing on what it means for something to be living. 

We brainstormed ideas about what makes something living. Then we thought about something we knew for sure was living, such as a dog, and crossed off ideas on our list that didn't fit with what we knew about dogs. We also did this for other things we knew for sure were living, including a plant! 

To reinforce what makes something living, we enjoyed a clip from our pal on Sesame Street:

Then we studied a few examples using our criteria for what makes something alive:

To conclude our week examining living and non-living, students tackled an an up-close, hands-on observation! Thrilled beyond measure, our scientists compared gummy worms and earthworms. We were able to see many examples that demonstrated that the earthworms are indeed living and gummy worms are non-living:

Now let's hunt for examples of living and non-living things with a photo hunt at home!

First, give your child a camera (your phone would be perfect!). Have him or her take some pictures of things that are living and non-living.

Then, to share your photo(s) and/or comment on our "wall":

(a) Double click on our Living and Non-Living wall below

(b) A box will appear. Type in a comment. Upload a picture. Ta da! 

(c) Marvel at our learning!

(or just email me your photos/captions and I'll make it happen)

Thank you for not mentioning names as well as any other identifying information. 

We will check this wall often next week to see the pictures that we all post!