Time is FLYING...

Can you believe we're in the middle of May?! Holy moly!! Time is flying by and your kids have grown up so much...wait until you see these plays! They're WONDERFUL!

Speaking of the plays...the third grade magnet classes are performing four "fractured fairy tales" next week. Hopefully by now you've seen the pink letter that came home asking if you'll be attending the Parent Performances on Thursday, May 21st at 1:30 pm. If for any reason that time is not good for you, please email me...we have a dress rehearsal Monday and we're performing for the other third grade classes on Tuesday, so there are other options. We're hoping that our 2:30 shuttle friends can stay until 3pm on Thursday...we want to have a "cast party" and we won't have time before the 2:30pm dismissal. We really appreciate your help with this!

So...in Language Arts it's been all about the plays. The kids are learning so much...not only are they perfecting their oral communication skills, they are learning a lot about stage direction, and they are learning they need each other to run a successful play...if one person forgets to walk onto the stage, the play is at a standstill...if the curtain doesn't close on time...they cannot proceed...in saying that, they've had to work on being kind when reminding friends it's "their time/turn". The other thing I've noticed about your little drama kings and queens is that they are really learning how to be the character...quite a few of them have put their own spin on the character in a really mature way...this is something that will be hard to see because you won't have a script...but their mannerisms and twist on wording has been kid inspired...not my doing. I have to tell you...I'm hard on them...I'm a true stage director and they're so used to me, they don't even flinch, but if you heard me barking at them, you might cringe a little...I do it with love and the finished product will show their amazing hard work!

OK...so truth time...math kind of took a back seat this week...we're so into plays. They took a quiz and they did some problem solving, but truth be told, between plays, science, the two hour late arrival, and our visit from Ms. Fike to talk about bullying, math got the shaft. We will return full speed ahead next week with a unit on perimeter and area where the children are designing a garden...more to come on that!

Science, however, can't take a backseat because if it did, we'd have dead organisms all over the place! Yesterday the kids observed daphnia and aphids...these two organisms reproduce at a rapid pace and they will be doing an experiment next week that will help them observe the daphnia's biotic potential. This week we also read some non fiction articles about food chains and discussed consumers, producers, and decomposers...it has been great to have all of the different organisms in the classroom while learning about these scientific concepts!

The other focus this week was how to organize and complete the animal research project. The students were required to complete at least 10 note cards and site the references. We then took those cards and organized them...we constructed an outline using the questions as our topics and the facts on the cards as the details. The students were supposed to come in today with an idea of what visual they will use for their project. Next week the students will be required to work on the "written part of their project"...I write it like that because some children want to do a power point presentation...the outline will help them to set it up. Some kids want to do a venn diagram...the outline will have all the information they need...others want to complete a written report...by adding a few transition sentences, their report is mapped out for them. All next week the agenda will read, "work on project". Your child may need help organizing their time, but they should be doing this part by themselves as much as possible. Please contact me if your child needs extra guidance...I'd like this to be THEIR OWN WORK...and I appreciate your help in this matter.

Have a wonderful weekend. I hope you stay dry...the forecast doesn't look promising!