Week 15: Dec. 12-16, 2011

This week was a busy one for my 3rd graders! We finished up a short math unit on patterns and are now on to multiplication and division! Time to take out the flash cards. We now know all of our lower-case cursive letters and are onto the capital letters. They are doing a great job! In Social Studies we have been studying landforms, climates and communities so it was the perfect opportunity for us to combine social studies and art and create 2D and 3D elevation maps. The students loved it and did such a wonderful job. They will be painted Monday! In science we continue to work on our Ornithology skills and filled out the Cardinal page in our bird book.

Week 14: Dec. 5-9, 2011

We did some partner work in Social Studies this week as we learned about landforms and climates in the US. Students started working in their Ornithology Field Guides in Science. They are so excited to learn about birds! Other highlights included: cleaning desks, an impromptu play about recycling in Social Studies and report cards went home.

Week 13: Nov. 28-Dec. 2, 2011

This week we started with an Art Adventures lesson. We learned about four different art pieces. It was so interesting and we are all so excited to see them in person when we got to the MAI in January! In Social Studies we have been learning about communities so we reflected upon our own communities, sharing places where people live, work and play in our community. In art we reviewed lines and symmetry by creating patterns inspired by kaleidoscopes.

Week 12: Nov. 21-25, 2011

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! We had a short, cold week. Snow fell over the weekend so that means it is time to get the boots, snow pants, gloves, hats, and coats ready for winter. We learned about communities this week in social studies. It is always fun to share about our communities.

Week 11: Nov. 14-18, 2011

We were sure busy this week! In math we are working on how to count money and make change. Students enjoy working with the fake bills and coins during these lessons. In science we finished our measurement unit with an assessment and moved on to ornithology. Students learned the four ways to identify birds. We had a bird identification lesson with Mrs. Koch later in the week. It was fun to show her our newly learned bird id skills!

Week 10: Nov. 7-11, 2011

This week's highlight was the Monarch Fair! It was so fun to see everyone who attended our Monarch Fair Thursday night. The students have worked so hard on all of their monarch projects. We were able to see all the finished projects in the gym Friday morning before they were all taken down. The Scholastic Book Fair was at our school this week. It is always fun to see the students so excited about new books. In science we worked on our metric measurement unit and learned all about measuring volume and temperature.

Week 9: Oct. 31-Nov. 4, 2011

November is here and the weather got a little cooler this week! We started a new geometry unit in math this week. Students are revisiting quadrilaterals and will be learning more about angles. In science we are studying the metric system and did many lessons on mass. We wrapped up the week with some blogging. On Friday students were able to spend some time updating their science blog with a post. It is so fun to see them so excited about sharing their knowledge and experiences. Enjoy the last few days of beautiful fall colors before all the leaves have fallen and don't forget to 'fall back'.

Week 8: Oct. 24-28. 2011

Week 7: Oct. 17-21, 2011

This week was a short one. We worked hard in the afternoons completing our coloration imovies. Students worked hard in their small groups and learned the program quickly. Conferences wrapped up on Tuesday. It was so great to meet with all of you. Thank you for all your continued support. Enjoy the four-day weekend!

Week 6: Oct. 10-14, 2011

We were busy working on measuring length this week! We are learning about the metric system in science and practiced measuring using centimeters. We also worked on measuring the perimeter of different quadrilaterals in math using centimeters. In science we put together our imovie storyboards. We will be using our storyboards next week as we make our imovies about butterfly coloration. Students have worked very hard learning about coloration and have done several activities so show what they know about camouflage, mimicry, warning, and startle coloration in butterflies. Our finished imovies will be showcased at the Monarch Fair November 10th, 5:30-7:30pm.

Week 5: Oct. 3-7, 2011

This week the weather felt like summer! Our painted lady butterflies all emerged and we were able to do a few investigations to see if they'd like bananas and grapes before we released them. In science we started a new unit on the metric system and did a few measuring lessons. We had a technology lesson with Mrs. Toll and created butterflies showing warning and mimic coloration using Pixie. On Thursday we had our all-school BBQ and many parents showed up for lunch. The students were so excited! We went on a fall nature hike later that afternoon through the nature center behind our school. Students worked with a partner to take digital photos. They worked on taking photos using different settings and from interesting perspectives. Their photos were beautiful! Check them out on our homepage. On Friday students started working on their first science blog post!

Week 4: Sept. 24-30, 2011

On Monday and Tuesday we released our newly emerged monarch butterflies. The weather was beautiful and the students all cheered as they flew away. In science, we had two lessons on coloration. We did a mimicry lesson using kool aid and a camouflage lesson finding colored toothpicks outside. On Thursday we had our first field trip to Feed My Starving Children. The students did an awesome job and bagged/packed enough meals to feed 25 children for an entire year. On Friday two of our painted lady moths emerged.

Week 3: Sept. 19-23, 2011

Three of our monarch butterflies emerged from their chrysalids this week. It is so amazing to watch the process in our very own classroom. The painted ladies and cecropia caterpillars are forming their chrysalids/cocoons too. We worked hard in math this week reviewing multi-digit addition/subtraction problems. In science we are discussing the importance of coloration. We did a lesson on warning and startle coloration. It is fun to see the students apply their coloration knowledge in the activities. In health we reviewed our bus safety rules.

Week 2: Sept. 12-16, 2011

Monday morning we discovered five of our six monarch caterpillars had become chrysalids. We were hoping to catch our sixth caterpillar enter the chrysalis stage on Thursday, but instead he/she waited until we all went home for the day. Bummer. The students are still bringing in a few different kinds of caterpillars and it's fun to compare them. We had a lesson on insect coloration with Mrs. Koch on Monday. We will be investigating coloration in monarchs and other insects this fall. During the week the students did a 'Hide A Butterfly' lesson to learn more about camouflage. Their finished product will be displayed at the Monarch Fair in November. On Wednesday we had our first media lesson. Students were able to check-out two books. After discussing and working on our own classroom rules and expectations for the last week and a half, our rules and expectations were finalized. On Friday we had our first all school assembly to unveil our 2011-2012 school rules and expectations.

Week 1: Sept. 5-9, 2011

We had a great first week of 3rd grade! We went over a lot of classroom procedures, made new friends, discussed hopes and dreams, observed our monarch caterpillars, reviewed place value in math, and did a lot of beginning of the year assessing. By Friday I think we were all a bit tired!

Open House

Tonight was Open House from 5-6:30 pm.  I was so excited to meet all of my new students and their families!  Thanks to all of you who came and spent a few minutes visiting with me.  It was so wonderful to meet you all and I am really looking forward to our year together!

Getting Ready

I’m busy getting ready for the upcoming school year and I’m so excited to meet my new students and families! I hope you all are planning to attend our Open House this Wednesday August 31st from 5-6:30pm. Please make sure you visit our class website and blogs often, especially during the school year, as they will be updated often.