Tuesday, February 27, 2018

In phonics we have now begun learning about vowel teams.  The rule we are using is, "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking."  The video below helped us reinforce the concept.

Our recent "rev-up" vocabulary words that we have been practicing are photographed below.  Try and  integrate these words into your conversations with your child.

Our new picture prompts at the morning writing station have been a success!  Students are taking risks in their written work with words they might not otherwise attempt to spell.  We have also been focusing on placing periods in locations that make sense.

Reminders:

• February 28: Pink Shirt Day 
• February 28 and March 1: Popcorn Days ($2/bag)
• March 1: Keeping the Home Language Alive presentation 6:00 pm
• March 6: Acorn Art Fundraiser forms due (they will be sent home tomorrow)

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

We had a very exciting presentation today from the Leighton Art Center.  The artist who came showed us how to make a wire sculpture.  To do the project, we first used sketchbooks to draw stick figures in different action poses.  Then we bent and twisted our wires to match the sketches.  Last, we decorated our creations in some very original ways.  Here are a few photos of the project:

Reminders:

• February 15, 16 and 19: No School
• February 23 Fun Lunch

Thursday, February 8, 2018

In math, we are working hard on using different strategies to solve addition and subtraction questions.  At the same time, we are learning to communicate our reasoning.  Below are a few video clips of students using and communicating math strategies:

Reminders:

• Please return your in-class field trip form on Monday, if you have not already done so.
• February 15, 16, 19: No School

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Ms. Petrie summoned her courage and set us free, fingerprinting the other day.  We used our hands to create new journal covers, with minimal collateral damage!    

As we finish up our science unit on the five senses, we conducted a final experiment to explore how our sense of taste is connected to our sense of smell.  In the experiment, everyone closed their eyes and plugged their nose.  Ms. Petrie squeezed baby food (apple or pear) onto each student's spoon, and then told us to taste and guess.  We found that it was much easier to guess correctly when our nose was unplugged.

Today nurse Deanna was back again.  This time, she gave a dental health presentation.  We learned the importance of brushing our teeth after eating or drinking sugary products.  Nurse Deanna showed us an egg that had been soaked in Coca Cola overnight.  The egg was stained brown.  When we brushed the egg with toothpaste, it started to lighten again.

For the past week at our morning stations, our writing focus has been describing objects.  We are working on using as many senses as possible to observe and describe items.  So far, we have written about a battery, spoon, water bottle and kleenex box.  Here are a few samples:

Reminders:

• A form is coming home today with information about an in-class presentation/field trip.  Please sign and return it by this Friday.
• February 15, 16, 19: No School