This Month's Themes

During the month of November, we will be focusing on changes in the weather and the character trait of Cooperation.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Family and Cultural Traditions from Around the World!

 We were so lucky to have a couple of visitors to our classroom this month. MayBelle's grandparents came in to talk to us about the Netherlands and Nigeria. We learned so much from them!
 Here's MayBelle and a photo of her great-great grandparents from Holland.
 Map skills!
 We even got to see traditional Nigerian clothing and learned how women there carry their babies on their backs
 Brooke's mom came to visit and talked to us about their family holiday traditions. Their family enjoys making crafts together around this time of year so she brought two special crafts for us to do together.


Watching the Shrinky Dinks shrink in the toaster oven- so cool!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Children's Hospital Fundraiser

Hard at work making art to support Helen Devos Children's Hospital! Compassion in action!

How to Make Hot Cocoa

 After working hard on our "how-to" writing unit, we all enjoyed drinking hot cocoa and listening to each others work. Each student wrote a paragraph on "How to Make Hot Cocoa". Stop by and check out our writing on the bulletin board!






Sunday, December 8, 2013

Holiday Happenings in our Class!

 "Elfabet" the Elf made his appearance last week! The kids are excited to see where he is hiding each morning, and of course we are all on our best behavior!


 Elfabet took over the whiteboard while we were gone. He left us a note and some special "quiet" puffs to remind us to listen during class.
 Happy Birthday!
 Sneaky Elfabet got into the birthday cookies before we did. But he left a thank-you note and a special candy for the birthday girl!
 As we "travel around the world" and learn about other countries and cultures, we decided to try a German tradition of leaving our shoes outside for St. Nikolaustag to fill with goodies. We did math class with one shoe on and full of anticipation- would he find us?

 The joy of the season! Such excitement as we realize that our shoes have been filled with treats while we were hard at work on subtraction!



Friday, November 8, 2013

High School Teaching Buddies

Students from Mr. Barrett's high school class are participating in an independent study class that focuses on communicating about science. We were lucky enough to have them prepare and teach our class a lesson on weather. The girls did a great job!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

College Tour

 We started our day as "college kids" in a classroom where we met Miss Brigid, Director of Alumni Relations at Aquinas College and our tour guides for the day, all student ambassadors to the college.
Checking out the view from the library with tour guide Amanda
We visited the Moose Café, where students can enjoy a snack while they study.
We were invited to see a real dorm room and see where the students live and hang out with their friends. Here's where they get their mail from home.

President Olivarez was out of town during our visit, but we were still allowed to check out his office.
Here is Holmdene - administrative offices are housed here and this building used to be the home of the people that owned the estate before it became a college many years later. Some people even think there is a ghost upstairs! 
Photo op outside of the Academic Building
We even got to participate in a college business class! The first graders were so brave to share their ideas with the professor and students.
Aquinas College aims to become the first college ever to go "zero waste" in a couple of years, meaning they will recycle, compost, or teracycle everything - no garbage! Here the kids are checking out a floor made of recycled tires with Tyler and Amanda.
Big, big hugs for tour guide Molly
Everyone's favorite part of the day- enjoying lunch with the college kids!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Boy or Girl???

 The kids all made predictions about whether the new baby would be a boy or a girl. We took their predictions and made them into a graph. There were many more boy votes, but when they opened their cupcakes to find pink cake, the truth was revealed- a baby girl!


Zoo Field Trip


Well, it was pretty rainy but we still managed to have a great time on our Halloween field trip to the zoo! Thanks to all the parents that came along to chaperone!

Friday, October 18, 2013

Little Authors!

The students worked so hard on their very first fiction stories!
Be sure to check out your little pumpkin's story on our bulletin board.
Had to share this sweet and spooky treat that Becca's mom brought in for her birthday today.
Happy Birthday, Becca!

Cider Making Time






Monday afternoon was a beautiful day to work with Miss Holly and make fresh cider.
It's harder than it looks, but it sure tastes good!

Monday, October 7, 2013

Survivor's Release Day!

 The kids were so excited to see that Survivor had become a butterfly over the weekend!


 He was a little hesitant to leave us at first...
We had to give him a gentle "push" to join the other Monarchs and start his migration to Mexico. Love the pure joy on their faces!