Time is FLYING...can we slow down just a LITTLE!?!?

Well, I think this is once again going to be a post of pictures...I have SOOO many to share...but first let me say that I am having so much fun with this group...I want the time to slow down...we're getting way too close to the end...and I'm NOT ready!  I love these kids...

We have been super busy and will continue to be right up until the last day!!  Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions about anything...I anticipate the blog will be lighter just because of the amount of time it takes...for instance...my family left town for a baseball tournament Friday at 6:30 and got home today at 6:00 pm!  So...as you can see, my time is very limited...

Enjoy these photos and let your child give you the captions!

So that is what I wrote LAST weekend...then the computer gave me a hard time uploading...let's try again...

We had a great week...many kids turned in their opinion essays on Friday...and I have a few more finishing them up on Monday...I have been very impressed with their writing!  We also finished our novel this week...I'm pretty sure if you ask your kids they'd say they really liked The Twenty-One Balloons.  We will finish up with some comprehension and then we will move into "Reading Functional Documents" along with other things in Language Arts.

We have the AG BUS at school right now...have you heard about it?  It is a portable science center where the kids get to go in and participate in experiments...I have photos below...let your child give you captions!!  We also have been busy with rocks and fossils.  We were fortunate to have Mrs. Smith, the mom of another third grader at UES, come and visit our classroom this week.  She studied environmental science and geology in college and had SO much to teach us...and she brought tons of samples for the kids to observe.  THANK YOU, MRS. SMITH!!

Our Writer's Workshop is just plugging along...we have so many kids publsihing these days!!  I have watched your kids grow into better writers while moving through the writing process this year.  I have held what feels like MILLIONS of teacher conferences...and each time I meet with a student we work on something particular that they need to improve on...some kids have become pros at quotation marks in dialogue.  Others have learned to indent with each new speaker.  Some have worked on keeping with the same tense while writing, or continuing to write from the same perspective...but everyone is improving!!

We have a very busy month with TONS ahead of us...I will do my best to keep you updated...look for more REMIND 101s and probably less frequent (not less than every two weeks) blogging...

Have a beautiful Saturday...LOVIN this weather!! 

Do worms prefer light or dark spaces?  wet or dry places?  

hot, warm, or cold temperatures?

-our worm experiments

 

The Earth Space Science Lab

Click on the link below to enjoy the field trip movie!!

ESSL 2013

FINALLY!!! The 2013 Wax Museum Movie

Click on the link below...and enjoy!!

2013 Wax Museum

Sorry it's been awhile....

Life is CRAZY busy at the Wills house...this weekend was lighter than last weekend and we had five baseball games, Opening Day for Kate (and my) softball team, 2 three hour dance practices, church, and well...do I need to go on?!

I have been working on the Wax Museum movie for about an hour...and somehow have lost the pictures from the actual parent presentation...I'm so sad...I had taken a shot of each kid, the group photo, the funny faces photo, I had taken a shot of the screen while the poems were rolling, and of the program...they're all just gone...into my computer somewhere, but not somewhere I can find them.  I don't want to finish the movie without some of those...so, can you guys send me what you have?  The good news is, I took a picture of almost every kid at the dress rehearsal, but Jack was sick, so I don't have a picture of him.  I would appreciate if you could send me any and all pix from that day and I will add them to the movie.  Just email them to me.  Thanks so much.

We have been super busy lately in school, too!  Read on to find out what we've been up to...

Language Arts
We have read six chapters of our novel and met in Literature Circles six times...the kids changed jobs recently...we still have a Discussion Director, but we now also have a Vocabulary Enricher and a Summarizer.  The kids have been working on improving their comprehension through these discussions.  We took a break from Literature Circles Thursday and Friday and worked strictly on comprehension.  I love to sit and listen to the kids talk about what they're reading...and this is such a fabulous book!  We will continue with The 21 Balloons this coming week.

Math
In my math class we have been working on the most efficient way to divide larger numbers...long division.  We started with mastering the concept using hundreds, tens, and ones blocks while solving word problems.  Once I was certain everyone understood that concept, we moved into the algorithm.  This is very hard for some, and comes quite easily to others.  I equated it to riding a bike.  We have a student in our classroom who shared that she is still learning to ride a bike and we have a student who learned when she was FIVE.  We talked about how we all learn things at different paces and at different times...they seemed to be able to relate to that analogy!  We will continue with division as we review and dig deeper into many of the concepts the kids have seen already this year...Quarter four is to make sure all indicators are to mastery and gives us the opportunity to stretch and enrich!

Science
Well...we set up fantastic compost bins ready for our worms...and then our worm delivery got delayed...ugh!!  We read about worms, took notes about worms, watched video clips about worms, and talked about worms...we are ready for them!  We will make some predictions and do some experiments with the worms when they first arrive...then they will be placed in the compost bins and we will watch them do their jobs.  We have also done quite a bit of research on composting, so we are all set to see this natural recycling occur.  Once we have the worms, I'll be asking for more food scraps...preferably fruits and vegetables.  This unit then focuses on rocks and fossils.  That is where we are headed soon....

FIELD TRIP TOMORROW!!  We are headed to our annual E.S.S.L. field trip tomorrow.  The Earth Space Science Lab is such a fantastic place to visit, so we are all looking forward to a morning full of science!!

NEEDS!!  We need tissues and Clorox wipes...if you could help with this, it is very appreciated!

Last, but not least...this week, Dr. Ayala, a chemist whose son is in fourth grade at UES came to hang with our class and Ms. Maenner's class...he brought with him many different experiments that helped us to see Why Science MATTERS!!  (pun intended)  Take a look at what a great time was had by all!!