Thursday January 29

For the past 4 weeks we have been exploring different kinds of foods and how scientists group those foods according to how they are similar in origin or nutrients.  The students have been researching, drawing, writing, and talking about the different kinds of foods and how they are sorted.  We created posters together to show our learning.

First, we shared a book about a certain kind of food or grouping of food.  Then we researched the group of food (such as fruit) individually or in pairs, drawing and writing the ideas we found which we wanted to share with others.  We shared those in small groups, then in the larger group.  Our written and drawn ideas became part of a poster, and we developed one BIG idea to write on the poster.  Here are some pictures of our work:

We will continue our nutritionist study on Monday!  Have a happy three day weekend!

Wednesday January 28

Today we continued researching food and read more about the vegetable group.  We created a poster about what we learned through research/reading.  We also looked at a list of vegetables to see which ones we had eaten, and which were new to us.  The class nutritionists have decided that eating vegetables every day is important to having a healthy body.

Finally, we joined with Teacher Julie's class to watch salsa being made!  We saw many delicious and healthy vegetables mixed together to create the chunky salsa - then we were able to sample the dish with yummy corn chips.  Finn said, "I've never really liked tomatoes, but I tried the salsa, and it was really good."  Jackson also tried the salsa, and enjoyed this new food! 

See you tomorrow!

Tuesday January 27th Applesauce Day! Many pictures

Today we continued talking about nutrition and moved on to the fruit group.  We learned that vitamins in fruits like vitamin C help keep our teeth healthy and fight germs.  Just like with the grain group and protein group, Mrs. Robb created an edible example for the class!  The morning was spent preparing apples to be made into applesauce.  Students helped slice and peel apples.  Cinnamon and sugar were added to the apples, with just a bit of lemon juice, before being cooked in the crock pot for 4 hours during the afternoon.  The room was filled with the smell of apples and cinnamon for the rest of the day while the students waited patiently to eat their homemade apple sauce.  When the timer went off the students could not wait to eat.  Finally after music each student got their cup of applesauce to enjoy! 

fresh cut apples ready to cook

halfway there

During math the timer went off, as you can imagine there was quite a bit of excitement in the air!

finished product

Thursday January 22

Today we discovered more about the meat and bean and nut food group.  We discovered that these food are full of protein, which helps develop muscles and bones.  We also tried a food from the protein group - we made our own peanut butter!  Here are some pictures!
The kids declared the peanut butter "amazing" and "the best we have ever tasted"!  You might be asked to make at home! 

Tuesday January 20

Today we spent time learning more ideas about Dr. Martin Luther King and his life. Here are some ideas from the students today:

"I enjoyed learning more about Dr. Martin Luther King today." Everett
"Everett helped me figure out how to find the edges on the geoblocks during math today." Jackson
"I appreciate how Calvin and ZyZy helped each other today." Mrs. Robb
"Brooke offered to play with me at recess when I was lonely." Ayana
"I was excited to finish my writing assessment today - I wrote 20 sentences!" Finn
"I liked starting my writing about Franz Bakery because I enjoyed the trip and wanted to write about it."  Owen
"Watching all of the videos about Dr. Martin Luther King gave me more ideas." Bernadette

See you tomorrow!

Friday January 16

Hi everyone!

Today we were busy once again using reading, writing and math to help us learn more about the world.  We wrote about our experiences during the field trip yesterday.  It is amazing how different the perspectives of 29 children can be from a shared experience.  We also began some math assessments in preparation for report cards grading.  We talked about how a test is just a way to show the teacher how much we have learned.  We really enjoyed a read-aloud about a cat in France lead by one of our amazing educational support staff, Laura. 

The sun was out and it has been a beautiful day.  Enjoy the three days with your family!  See you on Monday!

Thursday January 15

Today was all about the Franz Bakery!  We ate yummy bread and saw a bun highway.  We could not take pictures on the factory floor, but here are a few from the day.  Thank you to all of the amazing volunteers who drove us to the factory - I hope you enjoyed the bread!