I have so many pictures to post, info for you to read, and thoughts to share....
OUR BUDDIES!
We visited with our buddies recently...we brought a favorite picture book to share with them and they read the books they've been practicing to us! Then we all took a walk to the wetlands to see what signs of spring we could find. We have so much fun when we're all together!! Take a look....
OUR PEN PALS!
So...we have been exchanging letters with our pen pals all year...they are the high school students involved in the Future Educators of America club at UHS. Our very own, Ms. Runkles, is President of this club and served as the liaison between the high school students and our class. Just last week, we finally got to meet our pen pals...using FACETIME!! Wow...where technology has taken us.... I couldn't get everyone talking to their pen pals because we were using three devices and I was passing them back and forth to all the different kids...but I caught some on camera...here's a peek...
Way cool, right?? The kids thought it was awesome and have written one last letter to their pen pals. We should be receiving our replies within the next two weeks!
CULTURAL PROJECTS
The kids did a FABULOUS job on their cultural projects! We got to tasted foods from different countries, we saw beautiful clothing, fun games/toys, and many other interesting props the kids shared with us. I was trying to fill out rubrics while listening and watching, so I only captured a couple pictures...sorry about that! The posters are hanging in the hallway of the media center and are SO much fun to look at. Feel free to pop by and take a look!
WAX MUSEUM UPDATE....
Grab your calendars!! We have a Wills' Wax Museum date and time! The Parent Presentation will be Friday, May 29th at 9:15 in the cafeteria. Your children have been working SUPER hard on their biographies (written from the first person) and are now starting to put on the polishing touches. I have tons of pictures, but will save them for a movie once the entire project comes to a close. We will have a dress rehearsal the day before the Parent Presentation, so your child will need an outfit or prop to represent their famous person on May 28th and 29th. They will begin bringing their biographies home to practice the two weeks prior to their performance. Helping them practice and helping them with an outfit or prop are your only two jobs...your children are taking care of the rest of it themselves!! I'm so proud of their perseverance with this project and cannot wait for you to see them!!
FIELD TRIP!
On Monday, June 1, our class will take our last field trip...it is a ton of fun! Any and all parents are invited...there are two important things to note if you are planning to come....1. You must drive yourself. 2. You must be a trained volunteer. If you have not gone through our training, you can do it online from the UES website. Email me if you have questions.
MATH
We are in a Unit written especially for gifted children called "What's the ME in MEasurement All About?" We spent the past week measuring to the nearest centimeter using decimals. This unit covers third grade standards and exposes the kids to fourth and fifth grade math standards as well. There is a lot of verbal discourse and a lot of thinking outside the box with this unit. They will also be doing a fair amount of writing. I LOVE these units!!
My Thoughts....
As this year is starting to rush past us, I want to take a minute to tell you how much your kids have grown up! They are creative thinkers...who are confident. They know how to defend their ideas and have learned that seeking knowledge and taking your learning into your own hands is both important and completely doable. They are opinionated. (Not new news to you, I'm guessing..) But they recognize their opinions matter and can only be considered if backed up by reasons and evidence. They are strong readers and need to continue to read EVERY day even over the summer. One of the things you as parents can do to continue this growth is to continue to make your kids accountable in their thinking and their actions. They are old enough to remember to pack their backpacks. They are old enough to remember to charge their devices. They are old enough to remember to bring their recorders. And if they forget...they are old enough to learn there are consequences. We have to stop spoon feeding our youth. They will only become responsible big people if we make them responsible little people. I hope no one is offended by my advice...I have to take my own advice and its not easy and I'm in no way, shape, or form perfect at following it. But I see lots of kids not having to be responsible...and it's our job to help them. So thanks for allowing me to jump up on my soapbox...I'm off now and planning to grade some papers and then head to bed. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend...Mother Nature sure was good to us! Good night.
