"Tut Tut, It looks like rain." ~Pooh

Spanish- We are really getting a feel for how our Mexican restaurant night will flow! Each child has a different role to play, and we spent the day working on our parts, and practicing the Spanish words that we will need to know! Be thinking of how many people will be joining you on Feb. 23^rd at 6:00 and let me know as soon as possible. We need to begin making reservations!

Spelling- We reviewed spelling list 22 today by jumping from tape to tape. Each child had a different path to follow. For each correctly spelling word, they could take a jump to the next tape. Each path lead to a hula hoop in the middle of class! Although it took some longer than others to reach the hoop, the kids cheered each other on... and ended the game with a big hula-hoop-group-hug!

Grammar- The students made flash cards today to help them memorize their prepositions. Now, instead of cracking their workbooks, they can practice there prepositions anywhere! I am so impressed with their grasp on prepositions and prepositional phrases... and now, also with objects of prepositions. We did lesson 51 together, circling the prepositions, underlining the prepositional phrases, and putting a box around the objects of the preposition.

Reading- Today, we discussed the major change in Nick and Curie's attitude towards the men in the black sedan. They had a completely different theory about the men, and we talked about the evidence that Nick and Curie found that helped them to change their ideas. We also reviewed the vocabulary for chapters 11 and 12. As of next week, we will be finished with “The Earthshaking Earthquake Mystery”! By popular demand, we will be picking up another of the “Shakespeare for Kids” books and reading Hamlet next. Can you believe that Shakespeare is back by popular demand? WOW!

Math- Again, we used hands on learning to get a grasp on dividing with a remainder. We used dimes and pennies to represent tens and ones. The students divided the coins into equal groups, getting a strong visual on the pennies that remain. We wrote the division problems on the board, but the students did not work with a pencil and paper today. I want them to get a good understanding of WHY before they jump into the process of long division. Hopefully, this will provide them with the basic understanding that they need to master this concept on paper!

Science- We learned all about clouds and weather today! First, we talked about low and high pressure systems (they will be learning more about this at home online). I illustrated these systems by placing a latex glove over a mason jar, securing it with a rubber band. The kids attempted to reach inside the glove and pull it out of the jar. They were all so impressed that they weren't able to do it! Next, we discussed the different types of clouds and what they tend to mean. The students each created a cloud finder wheel. This wheel helped them to figure out which clouds were in the sky today! They made a chart that they will use to keep track of the types of clouds that they see each day. The wheel will help them to make predictions about what the weather will be like that afternoon/evening. Finally, we MADE the clouds that we learned about. Using shaving cream, the kids molded and shaped different types of clouds... stratus, cirrus, cumulus... all can be illustrated very well with shaving cream! As you can imagine, the kids LOVED this project!

Writing- We discussed the Valentine's Day writing project today. The kids only have until Tuesday to take their graphic organizers, write a rough draft, have a grown up help them revise and edit it, and write a final draft. In addition, they will be coloring a picture of their friend. Make it big and neat! They will be presenting their papers and pictures to the class for Valentine's Day on Tuesday.

Social Studies- The topic of the day was “Conflict”. The class learned about tensions in Boston, The Boston Massacre, The Boston Tea Party, and the First Continental Congress. They have been working at home on a long-term project; a timeline of the American Revolution. Today was packed full of events to add to the mix!