Our garden is really growing! We have picked all the radishes and some are near golf ball size. We’re already making a salad with the butter lettuce and spinach. The peas are getting taller and we may see some in a couple weeks.
Map 14, 2012
Friday Sharing
Sydney, Jack, Joey and Aaliyah
Wed. Dismissal 1:00
Concrete Tour Thurs.
We are all ready for the tour. Lunch is provided and please be sure your child has a jacket and regular shoes (no sandals or Crocs, please.) I’ve heard “I think my Dad is coming.” Please email me if you’ll be joining us, there’s plenty of room.
Pedestrian Safety
We had our final lesson by practicing looking, right, left and all around when using a crosswalk or any corner or alley. The rest of the month, the traffic group is tallying the number of children who walk to school on Fridays.
Bike Helmets
Roller skating is over so we no longer need helmets for P.E.
Soils
This week we re-tested the clay balls we made last week, to see what would happen if they got wet. I suggested dipping them in a little water, since droplets were taking a long time, but most of them dissolved. They were supposed to see that unless the clay is baked, it will soften when wet and later dry again. We also made “smears” of each soil on paper to compare.
Series Book Clubs
We are now in our book clubs and as each group of 3 or 4 readers finishes a book, they trade it with someone in their group. They’re looking for similarities with characters, settings, problems and solutions.
Map 7, 2012
Friday Sharing
Ryan, Dain, Max and Connor H
MAP
We started MAP testing on Friday and will test the next few Fridays. We do it first thing, so please be sure your child is here on time.
Concrete Tour
We will be taking our concrete tour on Wed., 5/17. We have room for 5-6 volunteers, but we can’t take younger siblings. The permission slip is attached. Please email me if you want to go with us.
Warrior Cat Club
Ms. Gallagher, our librarian, started a Monday lunch book club to read from the Warrior Cat Club series. Many of the children checked out these books, but they are a 4th grade level, so it’s a good read-aloud.
Pedestrian Safety
Last week we practiced crossing on a simulated street and also learned the importance of watching alleys, driveways and parking lots. This week we’ll go outside to practice.
Bike Helmets
We will need bike helmets on Thu. and Fri. this week for P.E.
Soils
This week we observed and recorded what we could see in the “Worms” and “No Worms” containers. We also used our senses to explore the 3 different soils; sand, clay and humus. Then we added water to each to see which of them could be formed into a ball. Muddy fun for all!
Literacy
We are completing our study of fairy tales and fables. We will present our best written fairy tales for Young Authors Day on May 30. We will be looking for volunteers to lead table groups.
Our next writing unit will be poetry and reading unit will be leveled book series clubs, like Magic Tree House or Flat Stanley books.
This is our lush garden. We will thin our the plants this week. The radishes are already showing their red coats.
Apr. 30, 2012
Friday Sharing
Taulby, Kai, Josie and Evan
Final Book Order Due Tomorrow
Pedestrian Safety
We have completed 1 of the final 3 lessons in Pedestrian Safety provided by a crew from the City of Seattle.
Bike Helmets
Ms. Matthews will begin a unit on roller skating and has asked that kids to bring in their bike helmets. She has knee and wrist pads.
Trouble in Turtle Town
I glued little bits of paper to our town to create a problem. Someone was “trashing Turtle Town!” We had to figure out what we were going to do about litter. They had lots of ideas, so I had them meet in their family groups and then choose 1 person to represent their family at the Town Council. They came up with great solutions.
Soils
First, we wrote about what we think is in soil and then observed some to find out what it contained. Afterwards, we set up a Fair Test with two containers. Each container had 5 fruits/vegetables, a paper clip and a piece of chalk. We then added the worms to just one of the containers and we’ll watch how things decompose. I posted pictures on the blog.
Our Garden
With the combination of sun and rain, our garden is really growing. We’ll need to thin it again on Tues.
Check the blog.
Dismissal 1:00 5/16.
We got a chance to examine our new friends before adding them to compost containers.
Representatives for the Turtle Town Council met to discuss the litter problem and find solutions.
Apr. 23, 2012
Friday Sharing
Ailsa, Amy, Jonas, Erik
Library Tomorrow
Alice went home Wed., after 15 days and is recovering well.
Final Book Order
This will be our last order for the school year. There are sets of books for summer reading. The order will be due May 1st.
PTA/Math Night
Tomorrow night the PTA meeting will also include a presentation on Everyday Math.
Science Night 4/27
Thursday night is our annual science night. It will also be a celebration of our 120 years!
Our Garden
Our volunteer was here this week to help each group “thin out” their plants. We’ve got a great early start. The radishes are easy to grow in a short time.
Turtle Town
We dedicated a few hours to finishing up Turtle Town by adding our businesses and services. Our buildings include: Police and fire station, school, GLSA, library and pizza restaurant with drive thru on one side of Turtaurora St. The other side has the Target store with a bank, City Hall, a hospital and Sanitation (the dump). City Hall includes: the post office, court, jail, engineering with tools and tax payment office. We just need to complete the multi-purpose sports facility with swimming pool and add the people.
The other streets are Turtle Dome Place, Tortoise Ave and Shell St., along with Turtlevelt and Turtle Pond Wy. I sense a theme. They’ve done a great job!
Check the blog for a picture.
Soils
This week we will begin our new science unit and we expect our red worms to arrive on Wed.
Apr. 9, 2012
Friday Sharing
Colin, Cole, Connor G and Emma
Library Tomorrow
Fairy Tales
Our writers have been working hard on their fairy tales. They know the elements of great stories, beginning with Once Upon a Time… They need to add characters with “voices”, a problem and solution, among other things. Reading partners have the same story, so they’re working on acting and adding drama as they read.
Our Garden
We’ve had plenty of rain, so we should be ready to “thin” our sprouts this week with the help of volunteers. Hopefully, each plant is showing some growth.
Turtle Town
The kids are now in family groups of 3 people. We started working on making family crests. We combined first names to make our family names. For instance, Erik, Connor and Taulby have a family name of “Ericonby”. We also had to decide on jobs in our community. We can’t have 10 soccer players and no police, firefighters or teachers. Most people will volunteer for coaching or playing in their off hours and when the firefighters or police aren’t busy, they will deliver the mail. It’s been great fun to watch them problem solve. Next we will make a map, name our streets and number the houses.
Enjoy Spring Break and maybe we’ll even have more spring weather!
Apr. 2, 2012
Friday Sharing
Jack, Joey, Aaliyah and Lucy
Library Tomorrow
Swimming
Snack Juice
4/9 Amy Jonas
Report Cards
Please sign the envelope and return. You keep the report card.
Fairy Tales
We started writing our own fairy tales, by planning them out as an author would. We also have fairy tale books for reading partners.
Our Garden
We’ve had plenty of rain, so hopefully we’ll be able to see some tiny growth before we leave for break. The beds are protected so the birds and squirrels don’t have a feast on our seeds.
Science
Our final lesson had each child trying to build a toy or system that would float. It had to use clay or aluminum foil along with pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, yarn and paper. I posted a picture on the blog. After the break, we will be ready to begin our third unit which is Soils. It ties in great with our garden, since the first few activities deal with observing red worms and the contribution they make to our eco-system.
Speed Stacking
The kids have enjoyed learning to do Speed Stacking in P.E. They use 12 plastic cups with holes and a timer to stack and restack them. In started in California in the 1980’s and there are now world-wide championships. If you go to Youtube and search for “speed stacking”, you can see a demonstration of how it works.
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