Living and Non-living Things

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Our new theme is getting interesting. We started talking about living things yesterday. Be clearly remembered what the question of the day was. She shared, “Are you alive?”.  Today’s discussion was built on this question as we looked closer into what it means to be considered “alive”. We learned two big words today --- living things and non-living things. These words made an impression on us as we exchanged ideas and compared what we learned about each of these categories.

 CIRCLE TIME

Vieda asked if we have seen real worms, and if we thought we could bring worms to Flowers. Au asked, “Can we build it a house?” as it seemed like it would need a house to survive. Ty proudly announced, “I can bring one from TCC”. E also said that worms live in the dirt, which could help us when we build a house for it. Then Vieda mentioned that if someone brings real worms, she could bring gummy worms.

            Au: Oh, you cannot touch the real ones because you are scared!

            E: Gummy worms are not scary because they look like gummy bears.

How much different could gummy worms be from real worms?! Let’s talk more about what makes one a living thing or a non-living thing!

Question: If you’re alive, what can you do?

Mi: Sometimes it can move.

Co: We can breathe.

Be: We can ride bicycle.

Th: When you talk that means you’re alive.

T: Mosquito bite you.

Au: Like you’re having fun when you’re having fun when your heart is spinning.

Ri: You can eat.

Re: You can eat and talk and run.

Ei: When you’re alive, it means you have a life!

Co: By my house, we have a store and it’s called LIFE!

Mi When you are alive, you can grow.

 Amazing ideas! Based on our friends’ ideas, we thought the following questions can help us to determine if one is a living or a non-living thing:

·         Does it move by itself?

·         Does it breathe?

·         Does it eat?

·         Does it grow?

Then, we took out a pig and school bus toys and tried asking the above questions.

Question: Is a pig a living thing or a non-living thing?

            Gr: My mom and daddy said a pig doesn’t grow. (It’s a not a living thing.)

            E: It’s not a living thing because they have little legs.

            T: Pig does not grow because it’s not a seed.

            R: Nose of pig is for breathing.

            Re: Pig’s nose is to pick up apples.

            B: It’s for eating!
           Ta: (Pig is) tabemono (food).

            Hi: They (pigs) died so we can eat them.

            Co: One time I went to a farm, and I got food for them. They have a bowl for the food. They eat it from the nose.

            T: The mouth is for they can eat. The nose is for smelling.

            Ty: Pig will die, and someone will eat it.

At first, we thought that pigs do not grow. Then we remember that we call a baby pig, a piglet! When a piglet grows, we call them a pig which means pigs grow! Pigs eat, move on their own, and grow. So, pigs are living things!

Question: Is school bus a living or a non-living thing?

            Mi: That’s a school bus!

            Rei: One time, I see bus, but I didn’t get on.

            Vieda: Does a school bus breathe?

            Be: Some buses have a hole in the back area, and it comes out.

We laughed when we realized that although a bus moves, it’s the driver who makes the bus move. It does not breathe and of course, it doesn’t grow either! So, a bus is a non-living thing!

How about you and me, are we living or non-living things?

            Co: We can breathe.

            Mi: We can eat.

            Hi: We can sleep.

            R: We can walk to home.

            E: We can everything!
           Ke: We can go home!

So, you and I are living things! How about the plants? Are they also living things? Most of us said no, so we decided to move on to the question of the day (Can plants grow?)

            R and Ty said that plants do not grow. Ty said that “plants do not grow because they are plants”. On the other hand, Mi said that plants can grow. She said, “When somebody puts the seeds in the ground, it grows. Hi added, “plants grow and then we can eat them!”.

            We were not quite sure if plants are living or non-living things. Vieda brought a vegetable today and we can see its roots, seeds, and stems. Ta and Hi looked at it and said, “That’s actually toumyou!”. Yes, that’s right! We put them in a clear container with water. We would like to see if it will grow and to check that, we will measure its length by measuring it with cube blocks. We will find out soon if they grow or not!

 MORNING ACTIVITIES

We are very excited to make our first display in Flowers. Every year, we make a few displays for our class that we hang in the room for the whole year. Each display talks about special events and crafts that we have for that time. Guess what the theme is for this first display?  Sports Day with our families! We taped our family photos in the middle of the circle and then decorated them with art collage materials. Please don’t forget to check the photos! Yi and R enjoyed doing their canvas painting so much that Ty came and asked if he could also them (as his birthday is this month!).  For free play, we enjoyed dressing up and playing house and family using blocks and food toys. Before park time, we got excited when we learned that Maryna was coming to our dance class! We had so much fun dancing to the different songs😊

We hope your Tuesday was as terrific as ours! See you all tomorrow! Please remember to wear your Ohana T-shirt tomorrow!

 Love,

Flowers