Busy! Busy! Busy!

Even though the end of the school year is approaching there is still a LOT going on room 26!

Writing
We have been working hard on publishing our last opinion piece of the year.  The kiddos are making a book and also a google slides presentation of this piece.  We cannot wait to show off all of our incredible writing at Opinion & Oreos on Tuesday!!!

Reading
We have been working incredibly hard on reading and understanding poetry.  On Tuesday and today the kiddos made Simile Monsters.  They wrote similes to describe their monster and then drew a monster to match their description.  These will be hanging in our hallway - so make sure to check them out when you come for Opinions & Oreos! :)

Science
We have been learning about ecosystems, plants and food chains.  We started making plant posters to show off all of knowledge and these got finished up today! :)  These will also be hanging in the hallway.

Math
Your child is bringing home their measurement pre & post today.  We had also talked more about equivalency of 12 inches in a foot and 36 inches in a yard (there was some confusion).  I gave the kiddos a similar question that was on the test today and they did great with this question.  This is also stapled to the front - so in case your child missed that problem you can see where their thinking is now.  Please sign this test & send it back in with your child.  I will then give it back to your kiddo to bring back home because of the limited time that we have left together. :(

I hope that you have wonderful night!! :)

Amazing Field Trip!! :)

 We LOVED our field trip today!!!

We were so happy that the rain did not come near Jefferson City & the Runge Nature Center today!  We had such a fun time walking on trails, listening to a speaker talk about food chains, eating a picnic style lunch, and walking around the Nature Center learning about ecosystems and animals.  Make sure to check out ALL our pictures! Also, please check out your kiddo for ticks tonight - a few have already been found. :(  A HUGE thank you to all of our chaperones.

Lost & Found

Our Lost & Found at school has been over-flowing for quite some time.  Mrs. Spiller's class helped organize it.  We will be taking a tour through Lost & Found tomorrow, but if you are in the building please take the time to walk down & make sure that none of the items are something that is missing from your household. :)

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and were able to get outside and enjoy the weather before all the rain this week.  :(  I'm hoping the forecast isn't completely accurate and it won't rain all week.  Below is some important information regarding our field trip.  Your student also has some information coming in their backpack also.

Rain or Shine

• We will be going on our field trip rain or shine.  I'm hoping for more shine, than rain.  :)  If it is pouring on Wednesday morning, we may leave a little bit later since the first part of the field trip is walking around on the trail.  It will be a decision we make Wednesday morning.  We will still go whether it is raining or shining because some of the activities we have planned are indoors.  

Dress Appropriately

• Please make sure your student wears tennis shoes on Wednesday.  I recommend an older pair of tennis shoes due to the potential for some wet paths as we walk.  Also, please make sure your student is dressed appropriately for the weather.  If they would like a light jacket or raincoat, that is fine, but they will be responsible for the coat on the trip.

Sunscreen/Bug Spray

• I recommend applying sunscreen and bug spray before sending your students to school on Wednesday.  We will be outside most of the day.  We can't apply sunscreen or bug spray at school due to medication rules, but I would recommend applying it before sending your student to school.

Lunch

• Students need to bring their lunch on Wednesday (unless you indicated on the permission slip that they would be buying lunch).  Their lunch needs to be in a gallon size Ziploc bag with their name clearly marked.  All containers need to be disposable because we will not be bringing anything back with us to school.  Students may bring a soda to drink if they would like, but all drinks need to be in plastic or cans, NO GLASS.  If you do not have a gallon size bag, I will have some at school.  We have chaperones who will be transporting our lunches in coolers.  Chaperones, please don't forget to pack yourself a lunch also.  :)

Snack

• I have purchased fruit snacks for the students and chaperones to have while we are at Runge.  It will be up to the chaperones when to have their group stop to have the snack.  If your student would like to bring a snack to have when we get back to school, they may do so.  Please make sure that their afternoon snack is NOT packed in their Ziploc bag because we will not be transporting food back to RBE from Runge.

General Guidelines

• We are representing RBE and it is very important to represent out school in a good way.
• Students are REQUIRED to stay with their chaperone at all times.  
• They need to be walking on the paths only.  Please no walking in the mulch, flower beds, benches, etc.
• Please make sure your student arrives at school on time.  I would hate for anyone to miss the field trip because they are late to school.
• If your student has an RBE shirt or a green or blue shirt, have them wear them on Wednesday.  It makes it easier to spot the kids, plus it is fun for us all to match.  :)

Even with the forecast, I'm really looking forward to this field trip.  It should be a lot of fun and educational also.  If you have any questions regarding the field trip, please let me know!

Food Chains
We have been talking a lot about food chains and food webs.  We have talked that all food chains start with the sun because it gives energy to plants, and that there must be a plant eater in their food chain.  Today the kiddos made up their own food chain with actions.  Ask your child to tell you about their food chair - it's really cute with the actions.

Math

We worked on being persistent today to figure out how many coins are in a roll of pennies (50 cents); a roll of nickels ($2); a roll of dimes ($5); and a roll of quarters ($10).  There was some amazing thinking that happened today during math!  Ask your child to share with you their strategy to figure it how many coins.

Writing

We are continuing to work extremely hard on our last opinion writing (starting to publish today).  We will have LOTS of great writing to show you at Oreo & Opinions - we can't wait to show off our great writing skills! :)

Have a wonderful evening!

Happy Friday & Early Mother's Day!

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend!  I'm crossing my fingers the rain in the forecast for the weekend, holds off a little bit.  :)

I have uploaded the newsletter to the blog, please take the time to read over it.  There is a lot of important information about upcoming events and what we will be working on next week.

Thank you to everyone who has RSVP'd for our Oreos and Opinions, as well as our Lunch Bunch.  If you haven't RSVP'd and are planning to come, please do so.  This allows me to get an accurate head count for the cafeteria as well as to buy Oreos.  :)

Field Trip Next Wednesday!

• Please make sure your student has a lunch with them on Wednesday. Please pack their lunch in a gallon size Ziploc bag with all disposable containers.   We want to be to throw everything away at Runge when we eat lunch.  Please write their name clearly on the outside of the bag so lunches can be distributed easily.  If your student is purchasing a lunch from the cafeteria, they will go down that morning to get their lunch.  
• We will be outside all day.  Please apply sunscreen and bug spray to your student before they leave the house.  We cannot apply sunscreen or bug spray at school.
• Please make sure your student wears tennis shoes for our field trip.  There will be a lot of walking and sandals will not be comfortable for the day.
• Currently, the forecast is for upper 50's-lower 70's throughout the day.  Please make sure your student is dressed appropriately for the weather.  If they want to bring a light jacket, they may do so, but they are responsible for the jacket throughout the day.
• Please make sure your student is on time on Wednesday.  I would hate for anyone to miss our field trip because they arrived late to school.
• Please remind your student that we will have a lot of fun at our field trip, but our expectations are the same.  They need to be safe, respectful, learners on our field trip.  

Maker's Space - We Were Inventors!!!

The kiddos enjoyed our last Maker Space today - they were sad that it was our last. :(  We were inventors today!  Check out our pictures!

Homework Lunch Bunch

There were several kiddos that got to eat lunch in the classroom today for doing 3 nights of optional homework!

Math in the Outdoor Classroom

Today in math we put all of our measuring skills to good use and took our rulers to the outdoor classroom!  The kiddos were given the task measure different items in the garden area, by the pond, and in the prairie.  We were measuring and also able to enjoy the beautiful weather today - a win-win!  You can look at our pictures to see what we did.

Fitness Bracelets from PE

The kiddos were sporting their fitness bracelets when they came back from PE this afternoon.  Each bead on their bracelet represents a portion of the Fitness Test that they completed.  Make sure to check out your child's bracelet & ask them why they got the beads that they did!

All the kiddos showing off their fitness bracelets!

Birthdays
What are the odds that we would have two kids born on the exact same day in one classroom?  But, we did and their birthdays were even on Stars War Day!  "May the 4th be with you" on your birthday was a theme in our classroom on Wednesday!

Ian and Travis are sporting their birthday ribbons!

I can't believe we only have a few more weeks of school.  Please remind your student that even though the year is coming to a close, we still have to do our job at school.  I know when it is gorgeous outside, we all want to be outside, but it's important to remember to stay focused at school.  :)

Mother's Day

Your kiddos worked super hard on his/her present to for their mom.  There is a lot of love that came home with your child today.  Enjoy!!  We talked about all the special things that they can do on Sunday - I even heard a few say that they wouldn't fight with their siblings...so hold them to it :) Our class wants to wish all of our moms a "Happy Mother's Day!" 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Shhh!!! It's a Whisper Day!

Today we had a whisper day!  Our classroom so quiet and productive.  The kiddos responded so well to today!  The last few days have been louder and crazier than anyone of us would like - the "summer crazies" have started to kick in. :(  This was a nice turn or pace for our classroom.  Please reinforce with your child that we still have LOTS of learning that will still be happening in May, and to make the best choices so that they and others around them can learn.

You can view our newsletter here.

Math
We took our post-test in Measurement yesterday.  Overall, the kiddos did a wonderful job on measuring! :)  The word problems were difficult for some students, so we will be continuing to reinforce word problems throughout the rest of the month.  Word problems are something fairly easy to come up with to practice with your child over the summer also - they will only be getting harder next year with bigger numbers and multiplication/division.  I will be sending the Measurement test home next week for you to review.

Field Trip
Our field trip to Runge Nature Center is next week!! The kiddos are SUPER excited.  We will be learning about different food chains and also about a pond's ecosystem.

Library Checkout
Next, week will be our last library checkout - I can't believe how close we are to the end of the school year!!!  Due to our field trip, we will have library checkout on Thursday.  Please help your child remember to bring his/her books back to school next week.  There were several kiddos who were not able to checkout books yesterday because they still have books that have not been returned for over 2 months.  Please check with your child to make sure they are able to checkout books.

I hope you are able to get out & enjoy this beautiful weather we are having!!

Terrific Tuesday

We had a terrific Tuesday!! :)

Reading
In reading, we worked on a fancy word called onomatopoeia - ask your child what this word means! :) We are also continuing learning about plants at the science station.  We will start learning about food chains towards the end of this week.  All of this learning will be important part of our Runge Field Trip coming up next week.

Math
In math, I showed the kids a new computerized math program, that will be implemented in full force next year, call ST Math.  In Media Center the students signed in - so they should be ready to go!  There is also a home component of this program, and would be something that your child can do for math homework.

Writing
We have started to write our rough draft of our second BIG opinion piece and next week we will be working on publishing out writing!  Our last two opinion writings have not just been simply our opinion and reasons that we though of, but we have had to research.  It is a different skill to research with the purpose of writing an opinion versus with the purpose of writing an informational piece.  The kiddos are learning and doing a nice job with this!

Something Special
We have also been working on something special for a holiday that is coming up. :)  Lots of hard work & love is being put into these special somethings!  Be on the lookout for something coming home on Friday!

Spelling Bee
We are going to have a spelling bee towards the end of May (I can't believe that we are already in May!!).  The words that will definitely be on the list are the 3rd 100 Fry Words & contractions (we have really been practicing on these during third trimester).  I have sent a sheet home of words & contractions.  I will be posting the Spelling Bee Rules this week.  I know that we do not have homework in May but practicing these words will be beneficial for your child in the Spelling Bee and also in 3rd grade because their teachers will be expecting them to spelled correctly in their writing.

Have a wonderful evening! :)

Principal Appreciation Day

Monday started off with us celebrating our wonderful principals because it was Principal Appreciation Day.  We took our "Hats Off" to them as we wrote about all the things that they do for us at school.  Each student wrote something special on a hat and then decorated it.  We put all our hats together on a poster and delivered the posters to them.

 We also rehearsed a quick song and sang them a song when we delivered the posters.

Dr. Link & Ms. Benson were definitely surprised and happy with our presentation.  Our posters are hanging in in both of their offices!

Homework
As a reminder, homework is optional during the rest of the school year.  Your child brought home a sheet to have signed if they would like to participate.  We will be eating lunch in the classroom for all students who complete 3 nights of homework each week. :)