Sweet memories!

Today was Awards Day and Memory Day!  The kids enjoyed going through their envelope with their pictures, awards, and other goodies from the year.  They also made a booklet filled with memories from the year.  Be sure and look through your child's journals with him or her to see how much she or he has progressed this year!  Here is a video we watched at the end of the day filled with memories from our year together!  We have enjoyed learning and growing with everyone in our class this year!

 http://youtu.be/dicsvwE43ZE


Tomorrow we will be sending home the summer review pack so make sure to check your child's backpack for it!

Oobleck

As part of our solids and liquids unit we made oobleck which has properties of both a liquid and a solid depending on how much pressure is applied. If you push on it quickly or try to form a ball it acts like a solid, but as soon as you stop pushing on it, it flows like a liquid. 

Here's the recipe to make oobleck at home. 

Ingredients. 

1 1/2 cups corn starch

1 cup water

Food coloring

Pour the corn starch into a large mixing bowl. Add in 3-4 drops of food coloring. Slowly add in the water, stirring as you go. Stop when the mixture is the consistency of honey. Let your child try to pick it up, stir it, and roll it in a ball. 

You can also look up videos of kids playing with oobleck to get even more ideas! Don't forget to read Dr. Seuss's Bartholomew and the Oobleck! 

Have fun!

Fun with fractions

We have been learning about fractions for the past 2 weeks. We discussed that fractions have to be equal parts. The kids got to decide how they would split a graham cracker so that it would be fair. We also did fraction activities with our names, ice cream scoops, and skittles. The students had a lot of fun and learned a lot about fractions. 

This summer, find opportunities to discuss fractions. You can easily do this with food. For example, split a cookie into 2 parts and have your child name each part as 1/2. Also, practice with thirds and fourths. You can practice parts of a set using your child's toys. Have them take out 4 Legos and ask them how many are red? Is it 1 out of 4? 2 out of 4? 

Music program

The students did a great job in the music program singing songs inspired by Shel Silverstein poems. Mr. Currie is so talented and the show was awesome! All the students that read poems or added props were great as well! It is always fun to see the kiddos on stage! We are so   proud of their amazing performance! 

Excited before show time!

Our poets 

Planting seeds

We planted our seeds today! The students had the chance to choose between pumpkin, kidney, pea, and sunflower seeds. Ask your child about the growth of his or her seed and look for it to come home in a week or two! 

Plants

This week we learned about the parts of a plant and the job of each part. We also reviewed what plants need to grow. Next week we will be planting some seeds and watching them grow! 

When you are outside with your child take time to point out the different parts of different plants and notice how they are similar and different. Also, when you are eating vegetables, see if your child knows whether it is the root, stem, or leaves of the plant. 

And a cute birthday picture! 

New playground!

Our students loved getting to try out the new playground today! One student even said "this is way more fun than I expected." 😃 Thank you for helping us purchase the playground through cookie dough sales, the fall frolic, and fundraising. Don't forget to purchase your garage sale spot for May 3rd! It's only $15 and you keep the money you make! 

Building our math skills

We've spent the last 2 weeks reviewing some addition and subtraction concepts and strategies. Our rock stars should be fluent with facts up to 10 by the end of the year. This is similar to sight words. They should be able to answer them within 3 seconds. If you don't already have a set of flash cards for home, please get a set for practice. There are many games you can play including high card, timed relays, fastest person to answer, and sum or difference memory match. Please let me know if you want any of these explained! 

Here are some pictures of our subtraction bowling and flower sums. 😊

Lorax Thursday

Today we read a lot of different Dr. Seuss books. We talked about the Lorax and ways to take care of the Earth. We also read Green Eggs and Ham and practiced rhyming words. Then we read Oh, The Places You'll Go and talked about what we would do when we grow up. Mrs. Meyers came and read Horton Hatches the Egg. This week has been lots of fun!

Wacky Wednesday!

Today was Wacky Wednesday! The kids came in to the classroom to find many wacky things going on including silly looking teachers, shoes everywhere, a tree in the sink, papers and books upside down, and a guitar hanging above the door! Many of the kids also looked wacky with inside out pants, backwards shirts, and mismatched shoes! Even our schedule was out of order! Talk to your child about their favorite wacky things today! 

Today was also our last day of science and many of the kids chose to hold a millipede! Many of them said all the legs tickled their hands! Ask your child to name some of the living and non-living things in the woodland and freshwater habitats.