Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Tuesday October 28 - Many Pictures!

This morning started with "spooky literacy" activities with amazing fourth grade helpers!


Halloween ABC order with helper Katie!

Monster munching nouns with helper Sami!
Thanks Jen!

Spooky Synonyms with helper Grace!

Spider verbs and adjectives with helper Della!

The day continued with sorting M&M's into sets and organizing the data we found...



 Finally, we encountered witch warts, monster scabs, pumpkin teeth and ghost poop that needed sorting, counting and organizing...






I wish you all a wonderful long weekend together.  Enjoy the time.  Congratulations to Brooke for already raising $100 for UNICEF!

Monday, October 27, 2014

Monday October 27

This is an interestingly short week!  Today we learned about the work of UNICEF.  Your child is bringing home a collection box, which is completely optional.  We watched some age appropriate video about what like is like in developing countries when a child is an orphan, lacks clean water to drink, or faces famine. 

Later, we used the data collected by counting some candy to create bar graphs and line plot graphs.

We also created an Ant Anatomy flip book and talked some more about the interesting and unique parts of an ant body.

Here are a few pictures of our candy graphing...see you tomorrow!



Friday, October 24, 2014

Friday October 24

Hi Everyone!
Today we measured the span of an army ant colony looking for food - 14 meters across.
That is a very wide span - it is longer than all of the children in our classroom standing shoulder to shoulder.
We also researched the function of the different parts of ant anatomy.  The students read about the subject in teams, create a mini-report together, the present the report.  The mini-report contributes to the class information poster about the subject.  Here are some pictures of the process:






We also learned an ant joke!
The birthday celebration was fun - July, August, September, and October birthday's were celebrated.
Have a wonderful weekend!  See you for a short week on Monday!

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Wednesday October 22

Today we continued our ant study by researching the types of ants: male, queen, and worker ants.  We read books and reported out what jobs each kind of ant did for the ant colony.  Here are some pictures of our research time:





We had a pretty wet day and were stuck inside all day - even so, the kids did a nice job of completing work and remembering their manners.  Thank you for all of the reinforcement you do at home for using our best manners at school.
See you tomorrow (I hope the rain lets up!)

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Tuesday October 21

Today we spent time reading and writing independent literacy jobs.  We also took some time to measure items around the classroom using centimeter rulers.  We also answered the question:  which is shorter: 6 centimeters or 3 inches?
Later in the afternoon we discovered more information about ant colonies, including a short video of scientists excavating a huge anthill.  Then we put together a flip book about how an ant colony begins.  Here's a hint:  it's all about the queen!

Rain is predicted off and on over the next 3 days...please send your child to school with a raincoat because we go outside for lunch recess unless it is a virtual monsoon!  :)  Be ready!

See you tomorrow everyone!

Friday, October 17, 2014

Friday October 17

This week we began our science unit about ANTS!!!  Today we researched information about anthills, the created a poster with the information.  Then we labeled an anthill with the important chambers.  Oh yeah, we also unveiled the ANT FARM!!!
Here are some pictures of our ant study from today:








Here are some ideas from the students about their week:
"I liked quiet reading because I like all of the books." Ayana
"I like the anthill!!" Jackson, Sydney, and many more.
"I like helping Mrs. Robb with jobs around the classroom." Mia
"This week we had the last Special Person." Owen
"Learning about ants is cool." Thomas & Kaden
"Late opening is nice because I went out to breakfast with my family." Audrey
"I like library time." Brooke
"Math is fun" Cash
"Getting new folders for science was nice." Finn
"Literacy centers are great because there are so many things to do." Calvin

Have a wonderful weekend...see you Monday!


Thursday, October 16, 2014

Thursday October 16

Hi everyone!

We have spent the past 30 days learning more about each other (and about writing) as we heard stories from a Special Person each day.  It has been wonderful getting to know everybody and you have all been to some wonderful places!

Now we will be launching into a new unit where we study ant!  Where do ants live?  What do they do?  What do they look like?  Why do we need ants?  These are just a few of the questions we will investigate during the next 6 weeks!  If any of you  are ant experts or know an ant expert, we would love to have a class visitor!

Homework and library books due tomorrow!  See you then!

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Tuesday October 14

Today our final Special person was Louie and he told us a story about visiting Wings and Waves for his brother's birthday and rode the wave pool!  That sounds amazing!

We are working on completing some math assessments to help inform our discussion at conferences.  We also continue to work on literacy projects at our own rate and level.

Today your child will bring home their special person books today! They seemed pretty excited about taking them home...here are a few pictures of them enjoying their books (pictures taken by Mia - thanks for helping!)






Remember, two hour late opening tomorrow!  See you at 10:45!

Monday, October 13, 2014

Monday October 13

Hi everyone!  I hope you enjoyed your glorious three day weekend...I've heard some fun travel stories today!

The Special Person today was Henry and he told a great story about ski lessons on the mountain.  This was the first snow/ski story we heard - thanks Henry!

Homework and Duniway directories went home today.

During our Monday art time, Shaun (Calvin's dad) led the class during a lesson of shading and 3-D pumpkin drawing.  The art turned out beautiful and we really appreciate how well you taught our lesson!  Thanks!  Here are a few pictures...have a great day!




Thursday, October 9, 2014

Thursday, October 9

Today Owen was our Special Person and he told a great story about a vacation in Hawaii where he saw a sea turtle in the ocean!  Wow...what a great vacation!

Today we completed some measuring with yards, finished our literacy jobs, wrote special person stories, and engaged in independent reading.  

Enjoy the beautiful weather and three day weekend! 

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Wednesday October 8

Yesterday, our Special Person was Brooke and she told us a great story about a visit to a water park.  Today, Zach was our Special Person and he told us a story about a wonderful birthday party. Thank you both for the wonderful stories.

We are continuing to work on line plot graphs during math and individualized reading instruction with independent work. 

Homework and book orders are due tomorrow!  See you then.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Monday October 6

Today Sammy was our Special Person and he told us a great story about when his family visited LEGO Land.  Sounds like it was a splashy good time!

Today we created owl art, make a line plot graph, and learned a new story and poem.  Please ask your child to tell you about the story they heard today.

Homework and October book order went home today - both are due on Thursday! 

See you tomorrow!

Friday, October 3, 2014

Friday October 3

The Special Person Today was Jenner!  He told us about visiting Great Wolf Lodge and using the huge yellow water slide!  Fun!

More measuring today with our inchworm rulers.  Enjoy the pictures and have a nice sunny weekend!





Thursday, October 2, 2014

Thursday October 2

Today Cash was our Special Person and he told us about going on a water slide that was enclosed and completely dark except for crystal lights!

Today we also continued measuring.  We made our own "inchworm" rulers and used them to compare lengths using the words longer, shorter, and equal.  Take a look at a few pictures below!

Tomorrow, please bring library books and homework!  Thanks!