Here Comes The Sun

It was one of those days that just came together!  After a early morning of frost, the sun came out and warmed us up, the kids were on target and ready to learn, and the lessons went as planned!

Spelling- Combining spelling with snack, we played "Pretzel Race".  The class was divided into two tables.  Each table raced to spell a spelling word using letter tiles.  The first table to spell it correctly got a pretzel.  Yes, it only takes a pretzel at a time to get the kids excited!  Pretzel by pretzel we made our way through the spelling list!

 Grammar- Today was a review in proper nouns with more than one word (such as George Washington Carver or Mickey Mouse).  We also reviewed helping verbs, and diagrammed sentences that combine both of these concepts.

Reading-  We read on in Macbeth today, and boy, are these kids hooked!  After the evil "deed" was done, King Duncan's two sons learned of the treachery.  They planned in secret to flee the land, for their protection.  After our reading, the kids wrote letters from the perspective of either son.  They were written to anyone of their choosing, and described the reason for their hasty departure!

Math-  We drilled some more mental subtraction today, using two different card and dice games.  The kids had to flip their cards over all at the same time, yelling out the answer to their subtraction problem off the tops of their heads.  They are pros at this!  We also reviewed long subtraction, which they will be working on in their next Teaching Textbooks lesson.  Beginning next week, we will start many many weeks of multiplication and division lessons!

Science-  What kid doesn't love learning about the solar system?  We learned about the moon/earth/sun relationship, as well as the other planets that make up our solar system.  There was much debate over that pesky little Pluto, and we discussed the reasons that it has been kicked out of the planet club and is now considered a dwarf planet.  After our lesson, we each chose cards that named a planet or the sun.  Each student wrote interesting facts on the back of their card, and then using acrylic paints, painting a Styrofoam model.  We will put all of the planets together to make a model of our solar system!

Social Studies-  Mr. Dennis continued his lessons on the Dutch settlers and their influence.  The kids have been working on their oral reading skills, reading comprehension, and reading graphs.  I am really impressed with the ease and confidence with which they are reading out loud! 

Writing-  After the kids shared their Thanksgiving interviews with the class, Ms. Sharon discussed the importance of writing thank you notes.  The students learned that even if they receive a gift that they may not like, it is good etiquette to not only graciously accept, but in some cases you even should write a thank you note!  Ms. Sharon helped them to understand the parts that make up the notes.  Then, she had each of them write a person on one card and a gift on another.  The students mixed the cards and drew from the stacks.  At home, they will be making (serious) thank you notes for the gifts they "received". 

The class will be hosting the children's moment this Sunday, December 4th, at Inman United Methodist Church.  Afterward, we will have an art show at the school house!