Taxonomy and the Fungi Kingdom- Part 2

Our unit on Fungi continued this week with Mushroom Slicing, a twist on a classic Montessori Practical Life exercise. The children enjoyed carefully cleaning and slicing fresh Button Mushroom caps.

Later, the children enjoyed a special treat of Spinach and Maitake Mushroom wontons prepared by my assistant, Katie. One boy reported that they "taste like chicken," an idiom I had not expected from a two year old. Without exception, every child took a second helping and begged for more.

Many of the children chose to use the independent work period to reinforce their learning about Fungi by re-reading the Fungi books in the reading corner and matching different types of Fungi with the 3 Part Cards.
Their interest in Fungi even spilled over to outside play time. One boy came running toward me yelling excitedly, "Fungi, teacher! There's Fungi!" I followed him to find lichens growing on some of the trees and rocks in the yard. How lucky!