Congrats to...

Shyann and Bella Grace for reaching 200 steps for 100 Book Challenge! 

 

 

Keep reading girls!

Character Introduction

Today, I introduced the second story element which is characters.  We had such a fun time learning the motions and symbols!  Please use this video as a tool to extend learning at home!

Afterwards, the students illustrated and labeled the different characters in the book, Stellaluna.

Have a great afternoon!

Congratulations!

These great readers have all reached 200 steps in 100 Book Challenge!  Way to read!!

Nicholas, Isabella, Joshua, Lake

Learning all about setting with the book Stellaluna

We had so much fun introducing story elements today (setting, character, main character, and events in the story)!  Today, we began with setting.

We used hand signals and written symbols to teach these elements. Below is a video of the children using their hand signals to remember setting.  Please use this video as a tool to extend learning at home.

After learning the motions for setting, our class took a picture walk to observe the illustrations on each page to help us determine the setting of the book, Stellaluna.  The students did a wonderful job depicting the setting of the book.

Week 10!

On Wednesday, our class had the opportunity to participate in the Fun Run!  We all worked very hard and ran lots of laps!

After reading the book, Rainbow Fish, we talked about different ways that we could show friendship.  Bella Grace decided to be the teacher and read the book to a group of children.  Please enjoy this sweet video.

 

We also conducted a pumpkin investigation in our classroom today.  Can you believe that just the top of the pumpkin alone had 44 seeds in it?  We made some huge predictions about how many seeds we thought our pumpkin had inside!

In the picture below, Sheron is being a math detective and is searching for all of the number 1's on his paper.  He is an awesome detective!









Our Informational Video about Why Leaves Change Colors

I hope you enjoyed reading my previous post about our leaf unit! Today, we finally finished our own informational video and we wanted to share it with you! I hope you enjoy it!



Today, we had our very own video premier.  Mrs. Daniel's class came to our room and we had the privilege of watching each other's informational videos.  We also invited Dr. Patterson, Mrs. Skinner, and Mrs. Mckelvey to our video premier.  Aftewards, both classes were able to eat popcorn and discuss with other children, everything they had learned throughout the past two weeks.  We had such a fun time sharing our learning!

I also wanted to share the message that Dr. Patterson sent to our class after his visit. 

Dear 5K Friends –

I am so proud of you!  You guys are truly “Making Success Happen!”  You need to know that there are not many 5 and 6-year-olds who know how to use the words, evergreen, chlorophyll, and deciduous…BUT my 5K friends at Oakland do!  Keep up the good work and know that you are a very smart group of students.  I am thankful to be your principal. 

“Follow Your Own Star”

Dr. P





Field Trip to Strawberry Hill USA

We began our exciting day by enjoying a hay ride around Strawberry Hill.  Below are a few pictures as we enjoyed our ride.  To start the tractor each time, we all had to yell, "YeeHaw!!!"  As you can see, we each got our very own pumpkin!

Our next stop was at the pig pen.  Each teacher was asked to go into the pen and catch a pig.  With the help of my children cheering me on, I was able to catch a pig.

After catching the pig, our class had the opportunity to pet the baby cows.  Mrs. Brandi was feeding them with a bottle.

Next, we took a class picture and had a few minutes to play in the play area at Strawberry Hill.  They had tire swings, a pumpkin patch and much more!

Lastly, we ended our day by trying to find our way through the corn maze.  We had so much fun, dipping our fingers in differerent colored chalk which helped us find our way out!

This was such a fun day for our class!! I hope you enjoyed looking at all of the pictures!









Why do some leaves change colors?

"Why do some leaves change colors?"  That was the question that was asked by some of my students after we had gone outside to observe nature around us.  In the previous post, you saw the students conducting research and finding facts.  This week, we had the opportunity to conduct 3 different science experiments.  To start the week, Mrs. Daniel and I created our own informational video to show the children what they would be creating throughout the week to come.  Below is the link to our video:

 Evergreen Trees vs. Deciduous Trees

After viewing our video, the kids were SO excited to start our first experiment.  We began by discussing the purpose of the wax coating that helps Evergreen Trees keep their green color all year.  The class used 2 cups and filled them with the same amount of water.  We then covered one with wax paper and set them both out in the sunlight for two days.  As we observed, we noticed that more water stayed in the cup with the wax paper.  Below is a picture from this experiment.

 Sage and Emma were using their fingers to determine the difference in the water levels.

Next, as we continued discussing the purpose of the wax coat, we decided to try and stop a leaf from changing colors.  Our class took two sheets of wax paper and by using an iron, pressed a leaf between them.  We had such a fun time with this experiment.



This is one of our finished products.  We will continue observing this leaf over the next couple of weeks to see if our experiment was successful.

Lastly, we conducted a third experiment to try and pull the colors out of the leaves and onto the filter paper.  The link below will take you to the video of Mrs. Daniel and I performing the experiment beforehand. 

Mrs. Daniel and Ms. Garner's leaf experiment

The students watched our video first and then had the opportunity to conduct the experiment themselves.  While we were waiting, everyone formed their own hypothesis about what they predicted would happen.  Please enjoy a few photos below from our experiment.

We are now in the process of making our very own informational video about everything that we have learned the past two weeks.  I will post that video as soon as we finish it!  Thanks for taking the time to view our blog!

Week 8: Fall PBL, Walk to School Day, Book Buddies, and Shyann's Mom as our Mystery Reader!

We have started our Fall Unit and we are having so much fun!  We began by taking a stroll outside to observe different leaves, and the students recorded their observations into their informational booklets.  Here are a few pictures from the beginning of our research!

On Wednesday, we had our Walk to School Pep Rally!  The children dressed up as their favorite super hero's and we walked around the entire school!  We had so much fun!

Today was also an exciting day because we met our book buddies for the first time.  Our class is partnering with Mr. Carrol's 4th grade class to read each Friday.  We had such a great first day!



Today, Shyann's mom surprised us as our Mystery Reader.  The kids were guessing that it might be Shyann's mom, grandma, or even cousin.  They are beginning to notice that it is always the Mystery Reader's family who comes to read.  You all have some very smart kids!  Enjoy a few pictures below from our time with Shyann's mom.



As you can tell, we have had a very busy week!  I hope you enjoy the pictures!  Have a wonderful weekend!