Here is our reading bulletin board all about places to read, things to read about, and a Seuss hat with all the Dr. Seuss books we have already read
And, a few minutes before break we did the tooty-ta. Doesn't it look fun?
Friday, March 16, 2012
Right Before Break
Using our new alphabet beads to write words
Here is our reading bulletin board all about places to read, things to read about, and a Seuss hat with all the Dr. Seuss books we have already read
And, a few minutes before break we did the tooty-ta. Doesn't it look fun?
Here is our reading bulletin board all about places to read, things to read about, and a Seuss hat with all the Dr. Seuss books we have already readAnd, a few minutes before break we did the tooty-ta. Doesn't it look fun?
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
1 more post for tonight:
This week we started having a 'Featured Number" with the intended purpose of giving us additional practice with some of the bigger, trickier numbers. Of course we have used these numbers often during calendar time, but in math we don't really focus on them until the very end of the year, and I thought we needed a little more. We'll see how this goes. So far the class is enjoying it.
Wax Museum
Today we went on a field trip to the 5th Grade Wax Museum. When we asked a question and then pushed the button, the wax 'statues' came to life! Another teacher lent us a few of her 3rd graders to help us read some of the questions. 
Thomas Edison (he was in my first class!)
Alan Shepard
Laura Ingalls Wilder
We had a lot of fun. Ask your child if they remember anything about any of these people. Some people already know who they are going to dress up when they are in 5th Grade :)
Thomas Edison (he was in my first class!)
Alan Shepard
Laura Ingalls Wilder
We had a lot of fun. Ask your child if they remember anything about any of these people. Some people already know who they are going to dress up when they are in 5th Grade :)
Dr. Seuss fun continues!
I found this idea somewhere online last weekend - coloring Dr. Seuss pictures overlaid on a grid, so you are supposed to color each section in an AB pattern with 2 similar colors (I tried to stress the pattern part more than the similar colors). Despite it being rather challenging, most of the students enjoyed it. They could choose 1 of the 3 pictures, but a few children colored all 3. I had a lot of fun coloring :) and now have samples for next year, which will probably help make the explanation more clear.
In another Seuss-ical news, we did our yearly drawing of the cat in the hat. We had to look at the picture and then try to draw it the same. First I asked what shape the head was.
"CIRCLE!" most of the class enthusiastically answered. Sometimes it is hard to separate what we see from what we 'know'.
"No," I answered. "Look carefully."
This time there was a mix of "CIRCLE" and "OVAL"
I pointed out the shape of the face, how it had bumps. We talked about whether or not we could see feet or a tail (no) and then they all had to try to draw it. There were actually 2 posters: the 'easy' one that is just the head/hat/bow, and the 'challenge' one which includes the hands.
Nobody drew feet or a tail this year: yay! 3 children noticed that the hat was curved. Here a few close-ups. I love the variety! This project (the product more than the process) makes me laugh.
Look how many Dr. Seuss books we've read in March so far! Every time we read one as a class, we write down the title and add it to the hat. It's a little crooked so I was going to fix it, but then one of my students pointed out that the cat in the hat's hat was curved, so then everyone wanted it to stay crooked. We had a vote. I lost. Quite honestly, the crookedness bothers me, but I will survive.
P.S. Look! I had green eggs and ham for dinner at IHOP :)
In another Seuss-ical news, we did our yearly drawing of the cat in the hat. We had to look at the picture and then try to draw it the same. First I asked what shape the head was."CIRCLE!" most of the class enthusiastically answered. Sometimes it is hard to separate what we see from what we 'know'.
"No," I answered. "Look carefully."
This time there was a mix of "CIRCLE" and "OVAL"
I pointed out the shape of the face, how it had bumps. We talked about whether or not we could see feet or a tail (no) and then they all had to try to draw it. There were actually 2 posters: the 'easy' one that is just the head/hat/bow, and the 'challenge' one which includes the hands.
Nobody drew feet or a tail this year: yay! 3 children noticed that the hat was curved. Here a few close-ups. I love the variety! This project (the product more than the process) makes me laugh.
Look how many Dr. Seuss books we've read in March so far! Every time we read one as a class, we write down the title and add it to the hat. It's a little crooked so I was going to fix it, but then one of my students pointed out that the cat in the hat's hat was curved, so then everyone wanted it to stay crooked. We had a vote. I lost. Quite honestly, the crookedness bothers me, but I will survive.
P.S. Look! I had green eggs and ham for dinner at IHOP :)
Cows
Today we were reading a non-fiction book about cows. One picture showed a pregnant cow and then it showed a picture of a calf. When I started reading the page, 2 children raised their hands (you know, when they are stretching their arm as high as it goes, shaking their hand back and forth, and their eyes are huge, and if you don't call on them soon, they'll probably burst), so I called on one of them.
"Miss Vis, when a calf is born it comes out of the cow's BUTT!"
Thank you for sharing.
Later the book talked about uses for cows: milk, beef, leather from their hide... Another student, with a very concerned look on her face, asked "Does it HURT the cow when they use its skin to make leather?" I assured her that they only used the skin from dead cows.
Lastly, the book showed some cows around the world. Everyone was really excited to hear about cows that walk in traffic in India. Then we read about a Masai woman (African) using manure and sticks to make her hut strong. That was fine until someone asked what manure was. "Cow poop." Uproarious laughter followed.
Learning can be oh so entertaining.
We worked together to cover this cow poster with pictures of cows and cow products.
"Miss Vis, when a calf is born it comes out of the cow's BUTT!"
Thank you for sharing.
Later the book talked about uses for cows: milk, beef, leather from their hide... Another student, with a very concerned look on her face, asked "Does it HURT the cow when they use its skin to make leather?" I assured her that they only used the skin from dead cows.
Lastly, the book showed some cows around the world. Everyone was really excited to hear about cows that walk in traffic in India. Then we read about a Masai woman (African) using manure and sticks to make her hut strong. That was fine until someone asked what manure was. "Cow poop." Uproarious laughter followed.
Learning can be oh so entertaining.
We worked together to cover this cow poster with pictures of cows and cow products.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Dr. Seuss Day
Today was Dr. Seuss' birthday, so we did many Seuss-tastic activities, with more to come next week.
We read Dr. Seuss books.
After reading Bartholomew and the Oobleck we played with our own oobleck.
We made hats and wrote words that rhyme with hat.
We read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and made a fish graph.
We read Green Eggs and Ham, guessed if we would like them, and then tried it. They were unanimously liked. Here is the recipe, as was requested by at least 1 student.
Put 2 pretzels down. Melt white chocolate chips; put a small amount over the pretzels. Add a green m&m. Let cool. Eat.
I meant to take pictures of our reading bulletin board, but I forgot.
Happy reading!
We read Dr. Seuss books.
After reading Bartholomew and the Oobleck we played with our own oobleck.
We made hats and wrote words that rhyme with hat.
We read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and made a fish graph.
We read Green Eggs and Ham, guessed if we would like them, and then tried it. They were unanimously liked. Here is the recipe, as was requested by at least 1 student.Put 2 pretzels down. Melt white chocolate chips; put a small amount over the pretzels. Add a green m&m. Let cool. Eat.
I meant to take pictures of our reading bulletin board, but I forgot.Happy reading!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
!yaD etisoppO
Our morning message was 'upside down' today. When we sang the "Good Morning Boogie", we sang Goodbye instead of hello. When we sang "Inright, Upright... Happy all the time" we did the actions opposite; that was hard, but it made us all laugh. And so Opposite Day begun.
We all shared the opposites we wore: backward shirts, backward shorts, mismatched shoes, long and short socks.
backward hat, black shoe/white sock, white shoe/black sock, backward/inside out shirts, more mismatched shoes, pigtail/no pigtail.
Not pictured: light and dark clothes, socks worn on hands...
We walked backward to our tables and tried to read our names backwards, read books about opposites, wrote a class opposite book, matched opposites, and played lots of opposite games. We played Opposite concentration, Lost my opposite, musical opposites (like musical chairs except no one gets out and there are picture cards taped to the chairs, so when the music stops you have to find the chair that shows the opposite of the card in your hand. Then switch cards and play again.), and Simon Says Opposite, also very tricky. Sorry - no pictures; I was too busy. Trust me, when I say we had a lot of fun.
We ended the day with a low five, and walking out the door backward. It was a great end to February.
I admit that I'm glad for a 'normal' day tomorrow. Then Friday will be Dr. Seuss day, as well as Kids BEneFIT.
We all shared the opposites we wore: backward shirts, backward shorts, mismatched shoes, long and short socks.
backward hat, black shoe/white sock, white shoe/black sock, backward/inside out shirts, more mismatched shoes, pigtail/no pigtail.
Not pictured: light and dark clothes, socks worn on hands...We walked backward to our tables and tried to read our names backwards, read books about opposites, wrote a class opposite book, matched opposites, and played lots of opposite games. We played Opposite concentration, Lost my opposite, musical opposites (like musical chairs except no one gets out and there are picture cards taped to the chairs, so when the music stops you have to find the chair that shows the opposite of the card in your hand. Then switch cards and play again.), and Simon Says Opposite, also very tricky. Sorry - no pictures; I was too busy. Trust me, when I say we had a lot of fun.
We ended the day with a low five, and walking out the door backward. It was a great end to February.
I admit that I'm glad for a 'normal' day tomorrow. Then Friday will be Dr. Seuss day, as well as Kids BEneFIT.
Olympics
Today, because of the letter Oo, we had the air Olympics. And if you are wondering why we did air Olympics, it was for the simple reason that they are easiest to do inside (much simpler than skiing or swimming or gymnastics. Not quieter though!)
Our first event we had played before near the beginning of the year. Each child tried to blow a ping pong ball from one cup to another cup. We tried it four times and only one person got it all four times, and it was definitely not the teacher.
Our second event was a race. We practiced staying in our lane (this will come in handy when we get to Track Day at the end of March) as we tried to blow the ping pong ball all the way to the finish line. After each race, we said "Good job" to the winner and "Good try" to the other participants. 1 child had a minor meltdown, and another pouted about losing, but most of the children did a really good job of practicing good sportsmanship and had fun cheering for their friends.
Here is a picture from free choice centers. Several children chose to replay the events.
Video clip. It really was a lot of fun.
Our third, and final event was 'air hockey'. They're trying to blow the ball across the table but can only stop it by blowing it - no hands/bodies allowed. After each match, the participants shook hands and said "good game."
So, if you're ever bored at home, find a few ping pong balls and some masking tape, and have some Olympic fun!
Our first event we had played before near the beginning of the year. Each child tried to blow a ping pong ball from one cup to another cup. We tried it four times and only one person got it all four times, and it was definitely not the teacher.
Our second event was a race. We practiced staying in our lane (this will come in handy when we get to Track Day at the end of March) as we tried to blow the ping pong ball all the way to the finish line. After each race, we said "Good job" to the winner and "Good try" to the other participants. 1 child had a minor meltdown, and another pouted about losing, but most of the children did a really good job of practicing good sportsmanship and had fun cheering for their friends.
Here is a picture from free choice centers. Several children chose to replay the events.
Video clip. It really was a lot of fun.Our third, and final event was 'air hockey'. They're trying to blow the ball across the table but can only stop it by blowing it - no hands/bodies allowed. After each match, the participants shook hands and said "good game."
So, if you're ever bored at home, find a few ping pong balls and some masking tape, and have some Olympic fun!
Sunny Solution
Today at lunch, a child took off his hat and waved it around. I assumed he was trying to shade his eyes. I was mistaken. His purpose was much broader than that, as he soon explained:
"I fanned the sun, so it's not too hot out here."
"I fanned the sun, so it's not too hot out here."
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
A Smattering of Pictures
We usually look for our letter of the week in the morning message. This week is Oo - tricky little bugger. These are the words containing O that we found: boys, good, morning, how, you, overhead, story, okay, love. Do ANY of those make the short o sound? No. No wonder learning to read can be so challenging!
Yesterday we had some visitors: guinea pigs. They were quite a hit. This is the best kind of class pet to have - the kind that comes for half a day and then disappears. No feeding, no cleaning required.
So one of our morning centers was observing the animals and writing or drawing some scientific observations. I think only 2 children decided to draw. Everyone else used solely writing. That's one indication of our proximity to Spring: children are much more confident in their writing abilities (and I can read more of it :)
This student observed: "They like to hide and they can twitch their nose and guinea pigs can eat."
And a few pictures from center time this afternoon:
One student came and asked me, "Miss Vis, can centers be a little bit longer today? Because I need to use the bathroom and I don't want to miss it." Don't worry - we had plenty of time.
Yesterday we had some visitors: guinea pigs. They were quite a hit. This is the best kind of class pet to have - the kind that comes for half a day and then disappears. No feeding, no cleaning required.
So one of our morning centers was observing the animals and writing or drawing some scientific observations. I think only 2 children decided to draw. Everyone else used solely writing. That's one indication of our proximity to Spring: children are much more confident in their writing abilities (and I can read more of it :)
This student observed: "They like to hide and they can twitch their nose and guinea pigs can eat."And a few pictures from center time this afternoon:
One student came and asked me, "Miss Vis, can centers be a little bit longer today? Because I need to use the bathroom and I don't want to miss it." Don't worry - we had plenty of time.
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