Preposition Chickens

 We began class a little differently today!  Because one of our classmates was visiting Washington D.C., we pulled out the map and globe.  The class learned about our country's 50 states.  We discussed how Washington D.C. is actually not located in a state, and why.  The discussion led to talks about the "lower 48", Alaska and Hawaii, and our bordering countries.  Looking at the globe prompted a lesson in weather at the equator vs the poles.  This little change in schedule prompted a new writing assignment, "If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to..."  The kids will work on this at home and share them with the class next week!

Art-  In art class today, the kids continued to work on their "epic" Valentine's Day card project!  They finished the cards, and created envelopes for them.  They worked so hard on these, and it shows!

History-  Ms. Allison discussed the caste system with the class today.  At home, they had read about India, Buddha, and the Aryan migration from Asia to India.  The have learned about rice farming, as well.  Rice is a staple food in India.  Our class made rice today, eating a small bowl during snack time!  To end the class, the students made Indian rakhi, which are braided bracelets.  In India, these are given to brothers and sisters as a promise that you will always look after them.  The Indian people celebrate Raksha Bandhan, which is a day to express the bond of love between siblings.

Math-  In math class today, we practiced the mental math strategies that the kids worked on with the online videos at home.  At first, we worked with colored linking blocks.  They mentally added two digit numbers with one digit numbers, with and without regrouping.  They were able to look at 34 cubes (3 "ten rods" and 4 "ones") and then 8 single cubes and add them together by first taking 2 from the 4 ones to make the 8 a 10, and then adding in the leftover 2 ones.  By the end of the lesson, they were adding these quite well!  They worked on similar problems in their workbooks.

Ms. Rose had to be out to care for a sick child, so... The class and I went to check out the Netherland Dwarf bunny.  First, we stopped at the garden, where we picked some of the kale leaves that had begun to yellow.  Then, we delivered these kale leaves to the bunny!  She was a little nervous, so I told the class I would post a video of Honey Bunny's crazy dance moves for them!

Science-  Ms. Caroline began the class with an art activity about butterflies.  Our caterpillars are now all snug inside their chrysalises.  The class made chrysalises of their own... with a cute little butterfly inside!  The class has completed the biology material from Real Science 4 Kids.  They are now moving into Georgia Ecology!  The material for this unit will be from Project Learning Tree.  For more information, visit www.plt.org!  The class learned about shaped in nature.  Ms. Caroline took them on a nature walk, where they noted the triangle shape of the chickens' beaks and Copper's ears, the circular shape of a tree trunk, the oval shape of pecans, and the angular nature of some rocks. For next week, the class will be bringing in pictures from magazines of the 5 main shapes in buildings and architecture.  They will be comparing shapes in nature to shapes from man-made objects.

In Language Arts, the kids reviewed the spelling list that they have been studying at home for the week.  After a review, we played a game.  Hula hoops were placed in a line from one rug to another.  The kids all stood on one rug.  The treasure box was placed on the other rug.  In order for the treasure hunters to find the treasure, they had to hop from hoop to hoop... by spelling a word correctly!  This was a treasure hunting TEAM, which means they all had to reach the other rug in order to open the treasure box!

In grammar, we continued our lesson in the seasons and months.  They have learned that seasons are not capitalized, but that months and days of the week are.  The students each brought in the sheets that they decorated at home.  I am compiling them into their book of seasons!  We reviewed the list of pronouns.  Some of the kids already have the list memorized, but others are still working on it.  I wrote the list on the board.  First, the class had to stand up and bend their knees each time they said a word of the chant.  Then, they patted their tummies and heads.  Finally, they flapped their "wings" with each word.  In the end, we combined the knee-bend and the wing-flap for a seriously funny list of prepositions!  We briefly discussed common and proper nouns before moving on to rules on suffixes.  The kids added suffixes that began with vowels, and those that do not, to different words.  For instance, they added "er" to words like "flip" as well as "wash" and "whine".  They are doing a great job recognizing what needs to be dropped or added!