Penguin Family

 

Here are our Penguin Families we worked on over two weeks. Many of our art projects involve drawing, so it was a nice break to bring out good ol' fashioned construction paper.  (You can see our snowmen hanging with them.)  Many of the darlings wanted to add more penguins for their family, but for the sake of time we stuck with four.  They can always add a penguin later or recreate this project at home.

 

 

 

 

Aren't they cute?  They tried to pick scraves that their own families would like!

Hope you had a good weekend!

Go Math!

As we have been working though our new Math series, it is interesting to see how what is taught and when it is taught is completely different than our old books.  By the beginning of this December, we had already finished teaching three multiplication chapters in this book.  Usually we are just beginning multiplication  right now.  I thought you might be interested in the layout of the chapters.  This will give you a heads up with what to expect. 

 

Chapter -

1: Addition and Subtraction Within 1,000

2. Represent and Interpret Data

3. Understand Multiplication

4. Multiplication Facts and Strategies

5. Use Multiplication Facts

6. Understand Division

7. Division Facts and Strategies

8. Fractions

9. Compare Fractions

10. Time, Length, Liquid Volume, and Mass

11.  Perimeter and Area

12. Two Dimensional Shapes

 

This should take us through the end of the year.  Then there are several "Getting Ready for Grade 4 Lessons."  This series definitely gets more in depth.  It really wants the students to understand the process and strategies in solving a problem.  Does your child talk about Math?  What do they like or dislike about it?  Is there anything that you notice about math?  Just some questions to ponder...feel free to leave comments below.  I am curious to hear what you think.

 

Here is the direct link to get students to the Go Math! online resources.  They were given user names and passwords at the beginning of the year.  If they forgot, just have them ask!

 

https://www-k6.thinkcentral.com/ePC/start.do

Agriculture in the Classroom

Once a month Mrs. Clodfelter from the Whiteside County Farm Bureau visits our classroom for Ag in the Classroom.  She has taught students about apples, pumpkins, soy beans, and this month her lesson was about cows.  They learned about the cow's stomache, different breeds, and all the products we get from beef and dairy cows.  The activity with her lesson this month was "Making Butter." 

 

Each student was given a little plastic container, which she filled with heavy whipping cream and the students started shaking...and shaking....and shaking.  Eventually they got butter.  Here are some pictures from other day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They got to taste the butter when it got to the right stage.  They added some salty pretzels to enhance the flavor.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let is Snow!

On to the post...Tuesday we had Art. We have Art every Tuesday after lunch for a half an hour. As many schools do away with Art, I feel it is an important outlet for kids. They can be creative and use their brains in a completely different way. Some kids who struggle in other academic areas excel in Art!

  

Here is my disclaimer...I am not an artisit, I am afraid my twin got all of those genes; however, I can be art-ish and that is what I encourage the little darlings to be also. Here are the snowmen we created  using highlighting with an oil pastel and shading with charcoal. I think they look FABULOUS!

 

 

 

 

Happy Winter!

 

Welcome 2013!

Do you make New Years Resolutions?  I usually don't.  I mean I always want to eat healthier, but those resolutions can be quickly broken....on January 2nd!!  However, this year I really want to make sure I am doing my best to improve blog post.  If you have checked back here to see if there is anything new, then you know what I am talking about!  I had really great intentions, but it is a challenge to find the time.  Just as I know all of you can have a hard time finding a good balance and getting things done.  Please tell me I am not the only one!  I will admit there were many times I picked up the school camera just to find the batteries needed changing or weren't charged and I would just return the camera and figure I will take the picture later.  Well, not this year.  I will try to make sure I am at least making 1-2 regular posts each week.  I love that this blog can give you a peek at what we are doing in the classroom.  I know it can be a useful resource.  I do ask that maybe you can leave some comments!  Let me know if you enjoyed a post, need more information, or have a request about what you would like to see!

 

 

Update**With that said, I tried for about an hour last nigh to upload a picture of our snowmen art work and am having difficulties...go figure!  So, I will post this and try to get those up as soon as I figure out how.  I think blogger changed how I need to upload.  I will investigate! Next up will be changing the screen... I know Halloween was several months ago!

 

May you have a wonderful 2013!!