We have been busy, busy, busy the last few weeks. With hundred day celebrations, 5th Grade Tumbling Show performances, Valentine's Day activities, a Chinese New Year experience, and lots of new learning in spelling, writing, math, and science, we certainly have a lot to share!
Last week we celebrated the 100th Day of School on Thursday. Students were engaged in spelling, writing, and math activities having to do with the number one hundred. Students were challenged with finding as many words as they could with the letters in the words "one hundred," solved addition and subtraction problems to color a mystery picture, wrote informational paragraphs about their special hats, and walked along the catwalk and under the disco ball in the multi during our traditional "Hundred Day Hat Show." We took a fun class photograph after the show:
We practiced being a respectful audience when we attended the Tumbling Show last week. 5th graders worked in small groups to combine their knowledge of tumbling moves in conjunction with the events of the Winter Olympics as they created skits to music. It was a wonderful show!
Wednesday we enjoyed yummy treats, some Valentine spelling and math activities, and listened to a story read by Charlie's Grandmother. I heard several of the children exclaim, "This is the best day of my life!" It really was great!
Thursday brought us a Chinese New Year celebration. Thanks to Alex's parents, the children learned all about the Chinese New Year, the significance of the color red, and the traditions that families take part in each year. They also learned about the connection between the phases of the moon and the Chinese calendar. Every twelve years the Zodiac sign repeats. Many of the children thought it was pretty cool to know that they would be 19 or 20 years old when the next Year of the Dog returns. The children got to stuff some dumplings with veggies and some with pork, they boiled them and enjoyed them with some homemade soy sauce on the side. They watched the New Year's Gala on YouTube and did some non-fiction reading activities later in the day.
Finally, on Friday, it was time to celebrate the Winter Olympic games with our buddies. It was such a huge success! We traveled from station to station, participating in curling, bobsledding, scooter hockey, archery (with snowballs), and much more. To close out the day, we got back together with our buddies and watched some videos called, "The Science of the Olympics" to understand things like the importance of friction and momentum in many of the olympic events. It was truly a wonderful day! Only photos of inside stations are posted because it was too wet and foggy to take outside photos on my phone!
Upcoming Events and Things to Know About:
March 8th - Our class and Mrs. Vashel's class will be taking our trip to Marsh Billings Farm to do some winter tracking. We are excited to get outside, look for some animal tracks in the snow, draw a tracking story, and learn about movement patterns of different animals.
Conferences - I will be creating a sign up via VolunteerSpot. When you receive the email, please check the days and times and choose one that will work best for you.
March 12th - Inservice for Teachers; No School for Students
March 13 & 15th - Noon dismissal both days for teachers to host parent conferences
