Making a Statement

Our spelling list for the week was a review of root words and suffixes.  We talked about the rule for adding suffixes that begin with a vowel to root words that end with a consonant following a vowel.  So, the class turned "hop" into "hopping" by adding an extra "p".  The, we reviewed the rule about adding suffixes that begin with vowels to words that end with "e" after a consonant by dropping the "e".  This changed "hope" into "hoping".  We worked through many examples of these.  They used letter tiles to practice spelling different words.

Art-  In art class, we continued to work on our massive rooster collage!  These are looking awesome!  Most of the day was spent tracing and cutting, as they all needed to gather enough hand cutouts to create the body and head.  We will put the body together next time we are in class!

History-  Ms. Allison discussed Julius Caesar from their at home reading.  Then, she taught them about Caesar Augustus.  This leads up to the beginnings of Christianity, which they will begin in the next lessons.  To help the class remember how popular Caesar August was, they made calendars for the month of August, which was named after him.

Math-  Before the break, the class learned how to tell time on an analogue clock.  They created their own clocks, with movable hands, to help them as they worked at home.  Today, we talked about estimating time.  Instead of telling the exact time, they were able to look at the clock and tell what time is was near.  For instance, 8:10 is about 8:00.  They also learned the concepts of "till" and "past" in telling time.

Agriculture- Spring is here!  We reviewed the incubation times and requirements for guineas.  Unfortunately, none of our turkey eggs were fertile, which was due to it being too cold last month.  However, the guinea eggs are progressing nicely, and are due to hatch on Tuesday!  The class took a stroll over to see the pregnant does and their rapidly expanding udders today.  Gretta is due on Tuesday, and June is due on the following Sunday.  We discussed characteristics of mammals, including producing milk for their babies.  The class then learned the proper technique for milking.  It's tricky to master, as just "squeezing" the teat will cause the milk to flow back up into the udder.  You must begin the "squeeze" at the top and work your way down, but without pinching!  We used a glove to demonstrate the process.  It took some practice, but they did a great job by the end of class!

Science- Schoolyard Safari that extended all the way to the zoo.  To prepare for our field trip to the zoo, the kids went on an animal hunt.  They weren't just looking for animals, but they were looking for signs of animals.  They saw a wasp nest, which meant that wasps had been there.  They saw bees, chickens, goats, bugs, cats, and even fish in the fish pond.  The class created a Schoolyard Safari Survey, documenting their findings.  Ms. Caroline had an excellent discussion with the class about each animal and the different habitats in which they are found. 

Language Arts- Before the break, we had discussed the definition of a sentence.  The class also learned about sentences and sentence fragments.  At home, the class learned about the first of four types of sentences: statements.  Today, we discussed statements, and how they simply give us information.  The kids each drew scenes, and then came up with different statement sentences that described their scene.  This was a great way to practice writing complete sentences, using capital letters, and punctuation.  The class also learned a little about fact and opinion.  We worked through a reading exercise, answering whether or not different passages from the story were facts of opinions.

A Day In Pictures

Learning to tell time!

Honey came to wish us a happy Easter!

Honey enjoyed her visit!

Spring Break, here we come!

Gretta's trying hard to reach the clover!

Yum!

Happy Goats!

What on Earth are you crowing about?!

Is it a sentence or a fragment?

It's unanimous!

Halves and Fourths

 Well, I woke up this morning with no voice... none at all!  Needless to say, my plans had to quickly change!

Class began at 10:00 today, with Ms. Allison's history class. First, they cut out the shamrock activity from last week, when they learned about St. Patrick's use of the three leaves to explain the Holy Trinity.  They had used very thick finger paint, which was made from shaving cream, white school glue, and typical green finger paint.  It made a very fluffy, light paint that was full of texture! 

Then, they talked about Rome and Julius Caesar.  The class has been reading about Caesar at home, and they had a lot to talk about!  In Rome, mosaics were traditionally used to decorate floors and walls.  Today, Ms. Allison taught the class about mosaics and their significance to Rome.  Then, the kids worked on a mosaic of their own, using colored paper.

Math- In math today, the students learned all about halves and fourths.  They made a booklet, "My Fraction Book", where they kept all of the information that they gathered today.  We talked about ways to find a half of something.  At first, they just wanted to draw a line across a page to show halves.  However, after some explanation, they realized that this would not be an accurate representation.  Instead, they folded squares and circles to create more realistic halves.  We talked about ways to half other shapes, as well.  The class then learned about fourths, or quarters.  They had all heard people say things like, "I would like a quarter of your sandwich", but they didn't know exactly what that meant!  They learned that fourths, or quarters, are four equal parts of something.  We also connected the fact that there are four quarters in a dollar.  At the end of class, their Fractions Books were full of circles, squares, and even ladybugs, all divided up into halves and fourths.

Spanish-  Spring has sprung!  Ms. Rose talked to the class about all sorts of yummy vegetables, using the Spanish vocabulary.  They discussed their favorite ways to eat different foods, mixing in the Spanish terms as they spoke.  They talked about different ways that they eat their lechuga, zanahori, maís, tomate,etc.  This lead into a great conversation about different recipes, which kept those Spanish words flowing!  When you go to the grocery store, let the kids point out the different Spanish words that they know in the produce department!

Science/Ag-  We have turkey and guinea eggs in the incubator!  Back when we hatched chicken eggs, the kids learned that they take 21 days to hatch.  Turkeys and guineas can be set in the incubator at the same time, as they both take 28 days to hatch.  This was a great opportunity to throw in some real life multiplication/division examples, as we figured out how many weeks each took to hatch. 

We talked about each type of bird, why we raise them, and what types of personalities they have.  When these guys hatch, the class is going to flip out at how tiny the guinea keets are!  Our writing assignment for the week will be about guineas.  They have bald heads, like vultures.  The class will be writing their own fable for why the guinea has a bald head.

Language Arts-  The students shared their awesome leprechaun stories today!  They really did a great job with their concepts, sentence structure, and handwriting.  Most importantly, I could tell that they truly enjoyed writing the stories, and were eager to share them with their classmates! 

Early St. Patty's Day

The class began with a review of our current spelling list.  This list incorporates the three different sounds that the suffix "ed" can make.  It sounds much different in words like wished, nailed, & floated.  This can be so tricky for kids as they work to sound things out!

In art, the kids continued their rooster projects.  They overlapped the cut-outs of their hands to form tail-feathers!  This is a time consuming project, but it is looking amazing!

In math class, students have been learning that adding the same digit over and over is the same as multiplying!  Today, we took this concept a step further.  They took multilink cubes and broke the group of cubes up (divided them) into equal groups.  For instance, they could take 12 cubes and "divide" them into 3 equal groups.  Then, they took the same 12 cubes and divided them into 4 equal groups.  I wrote their findings on the board.  Then, I explained that they just practiced division!  They were very excited to hear how super smart they are!  We continued to work with manipulatives on division problems throughout class.  They may not have been told the term, but they also were introduced to the commutative property of multiplication.  Multiplying two numbers will give the same answer, regardless of the order that they are in.

History-  Today, the class learned the history of St. Patrick!  Ms. Allison brought out the globe, showing the students the location of Ireland.  They listened as she explained to them who St. Patrick was, and why he is celebrated!  During the story, the kids learned why St. Patrick used the clover as a symbol for the Holy Trinity.  After their discussion, the class painted their own clovers using homemade puff paint!

Spanish-  These kids were pretty impressive today, as they used sentences to say that they like or do not like certain fruits.  They played the game where they have to decide if Ms. Rose needs to order food at a restaurant or buy it at the store, depending on the Spanish phrase that she used.  They did a much better job this week than last week!

Science-  Science class began with a little project.  The class rummaged through magazines, cutting out images that showed anything made of trees.  They then discussed three categories of things that are made from trees: wood products, paper products, and food products.  After their talk, the kids took their cut out pictures and had to place them in the correct locations around the room.  They will be reading more about trees as resources at home!

The kids took turns reading their writing assignments.  Due to our field trip last week, they had two to read.  The first one was about their favorite day of the week, and the second was about their science assignment.  The improvements that these kids have made with their writing is just awesome!  They are using complete sentences, capital letters, punctuation, and have improved greatly with their handwriting!

 After everyone shared their stories, we read the new poem that the kids have been working on this week, "Mr. Nobody".  I explained some of the words in this poem, such as "mischief".  Then, we talked a bit about the things that Mr. Nobody does in our houses!   The class reviewed all of their grammar definitions: nouns (common & proper), verbs, and pronouns.  They recited the list of pronouns, which they still need to keep working on at home.  Each of them was then given a piece of paper, divided into three sections.  Each section was then labeled "verbs", "nouns", and "pronouns".  I then wrote a word on the board.  As a class, we decided which column it belonged in.  We worked our way through many different words.  At home, the kids will be adding their own words to the columns.  Next week, they will share them, and we will decide if they are correctly placed.

Field Trip to the GA Capitol & Atlanta History Center