Settled Vs. Nomadic

Throughout September and the beginning of October, our youngest students (kindergarten and 1^st grade) have been working on the concept of Settled vs. Nomadic. We began the topic with talking about all different kinds of homes. The students generated a list of characteristics and we began to classify the pictures. Students classified the homes in many categories; moving, not moving, windows, doors etc. Each student drew a picture of their home and something that was settled. We focused on the concept of staying put and moving, which led us to a game where students had to sit down when the teacher said settled and move around the rug when the teacher said nomadic. This began to give the students the overall picture of what it meant to be settled vs. a nomadic. 

Field Trip to see Hen, the Mummy!

The kindergarten, first, and second graders took a trip to Cazenovia Library to see Hen, the Mummy. Before we went, we read about mummies--how they are made and why. We also read the book I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert, by Eve Bunting, the "autobiography" of a mummy that provides the essence of life in Egypt during the time of the pharaohs. Several children had lots of information to add, and they all had lots of questions! We were all amazed when we got to see the mummy and other related artifacts. We also got to see x-rays and a CT scan that have been done of the mummy. Those have yielded lots of information that they didn't know in 1894 when the library first acquired the mummy--including that he was a 25 year old male, not a female!