Buzz, Buzz!

Grammar-  Today, we went back and reviewed predicate nominatives.  It has been a long time since we diagrammed them!  It was important for us to do a review of prepositions, linking verbs, predicate nominatives, and adjective phrases, because today we put them all together.  We found the prepositional phrases, located the verb and subject, pointed out the predicate nominative, and then recognized that the prepositional phrase acted as an adjective, describing the predicate nominative.  We diagrammed one of these sentences together, but they will be working on diagramming a few more at home.

Writing-  Our writing class has graduated from expository writing, moving on to narrative writing!  Ms. Bev had the class in stitches as she read her own narrative paper.  It was about her son and his interesting temper tantrums.  The story served as a backbone in which to teach the elements of narrative writing.  As Ms. Bev taught the concepts, she pointed them out in her story.  The students began working on their own narrative today!

Science-  In science class, Ms. Gail began by reviewing the students' work from the week.  After discussing what they have learned about cells, the class was given a plant and animal cell diagram.  They weren't just any diagram worksheet... They were shrinky dinks!  The kids colored the different parts of the cells, creating a color coded key.  Then, they put their cells into the oven.  Lo and behold... They shrunk!  It was science magic at its best!  The cells were hung on little rings for the kids to take home... or to pretend that they are plant and animal cell earrings, as the case may be!

Literature-  This class is flying through "A Cord of Three Strands"!  I think this book was perfect timing, as we just finished studying the Underground Railroad last semester. Ms. Gail and the class checked and reviewed each answer on their worksheets from home.  Then, she read the next few chapters, aloud.  As they read, they talked about historical fiction.  Which parts are true?  Did the author make this part up?  Was this part based on fact?  Ms. Gail reminded them that they should remember all of their questions, as the author will be speaking to our class at the end of the month!

Social Studies-  Mr. Dennis began class with a vocabulary review.  The kids have been adding each new term onto their ring of index cards, creating a mobile glossary for them to study.  They read and learned about cattle ranchers today.  Along with this lesson, they are having a miniature economics lesson!  Mr. Dennis used the cattle market to open up a lesson on supply and demand.  By the end of class, they were able to explain the relationship between supply/demand and cost.

Agriculture-  We continued our lesson on bees today.  We reviewed the key aspects of bee anatomy from last week's handout.  Then, the class was given a veritable buffet of craft items.  They were given the freedom to use any of the items they liked to create a honey bee, complete with the key anatomical terms. The kids LOVED the fact that they could express their creativity in any way that they liked!  In the end, we had some seriously fabulous bees!

Shaping Up

Spelling- We began our in-class week with an introduction to the new vocabulary and spelling list.  This week's list, like last week's, incorporates many words used in our next science, literature, and agriculture lessons.  We pronounced each word orally, as a group, and discussed their meanings.  We also looked specifically at the special sound "ch" as in "chorus" or "chemistry".  This sound pops up more than once in this week's list.

Grammar- In grammar today, we went over the sentences that the kids diagrammed at home on Friday.  These sentences each contained a direct and indirect object.  A few students were having a difficult time discerning which is which in the sentences.  It is important to remember that the direct object is the noun or pronoun that received the action from the verb.  The indirect object is the noun or pronoun that the direct object is "for".  This video lesson on Friday was thrown in for extra practice before continuing to diagram prepositional phrases that describe direct or indirect objects.  I graded Lesson 46 from Monday's video lesson.  We will continue to work on diagramming prepositional phrases in another video lesson tomorrow.

Math- The 3A class, using a video lesson, learned about the commutative and associative properties of multiplication at home yesterday.  Today, they continued to work with these properties.  After a multiplication quiz, which they then pasted into their math journals, they worked on different math cards.  Each card presented a different problem, each involving either the commutative property, the associative property, or both.  The students need to continue to study their multiplication tables at home, as memorizing them makes the application of more complicated math concepts far easier!  The 4A class continued their lesson in solid figures.  They worked through problems where they were given a diagram of a 3 dimension figure and had to draw its net, or its flat, unfolded "template".  Then, they were given the net and had to draw the figure that it would make if it were folded.  Finally, the class passed around different nets, each of a different color.  They folded them into their shapes, and filled in a chart for its number of edges, vertices, and faces.

Writing- The class broke into small groups, each armed with either a laptop or tablet.  Each group used factmonster.com to complete a worksheet on topic sentences and supporting details.  While they worked, Ms. Bev took turns sitting and working, individually, with students on their dinosaur assignments.  Once these are completed, the entire class will be moving on to the next type of writing: narrative.

Spanish- Sometimes, I get blown away with the class's ability to complete a difficult assignment.  Today, in Spanish, Ms. Rose gave the students sentences to translate.  The class got to work doing just that.  Using the terms that they learned so far, as well as the lessons that Ms. Rose has taught on feminine/masculine articles, sentence formation, etc, the class hammered out some English translations! 

Social Studies- In social studies today, the class was given a quiz over vocabulary from the Western Mining lesson.  It was obvious that the class has been studying!  Almost everyone made a 100!  After their Vocabulary Challenge, they began working on a Western Mining crossword puzzle, which they will complete at home.  They also read about the Comstock Lode, which was the greatest single deposit ever mined in the United States. 

Agriculture-  No, it's not typically an agriculture day.  However, I did use a bit of the kids' free time to introduce them to our upcoming agriculture project.  They just loved those cute agriculture videos that parody songs and sing about how great farming is.  Well, these kids are going to, you guessed it, make their own!  Yes, even those whose faces turned bright red at the thought of making a fool of themselves in front of my little video camera will come around.  I released the song, sung the first verse and chorus, and planted the seeds of excitement (or anxiety)!

Lists from Winter Garden Fear Factor

Art- In art class today, Ms. Nancy helped the kids finish up their projects from last week.  They had painted over their works of art with red tempura paint.  Today, they scratched off the dried paint, and the results are great!  They also took the crayon work they had started last week and covered it with India Ink.  So many of our projects this year are multi-stepped ones.  It is exciting to see the kids when their artwork makes an unexpected turn!

Sodbusters and Exodusters

Grammar- Today, the class had a big review in direct and indirect objects.  It has been a while since we diagrammed them!  It didn't take long for everyone to remember how HILARIOUS indirect objects can be.  you see, in the sentence "Aunt May mailed relatives gifts.", you have to know that "gifts" is the direct object and NOT "relatives".  Aunt May doesn't mail relatives!  Yes, yes.  Grammar is a hoot.  After a review of diagramming these sentences, we added the concept of preposition phrases that describe indirect objects.  "Aunt May mailed relatives in Maine gifts."  The prepositional phrase "in Maine" tells us which relatives.  We will finish up this lesson at home.

Math- The 4A math class continued their lesson in solid shapes today.  They have learned about all types of prisms and their names.  As a matter of fact, I have learned a lot, myself!  I would have never been able to correctly name a "hexagonal prism" before today.  The 3A math class played a multiplication game.  They continued to work on the very important skill of multiplying and dividing, focusing on the "9's".

Writing-  Ms. Bev has been working to get each student to a single point in their expository writing lessons.  It is so important that each child be allowed to work through the lessons at the pace that meets their individual needs.  Those that are further along are working through stand alone writing exercises.  Once they all finish up the assignment, she will move forward as a class to the next type of writing.  The class went over the synonyms and antonyms from their at home assignments.  They also worked on putting together a single paragraph, as a class.  This was done by the students orally, as Ms. Bev wrote the sentences on the board.  They had to remember the scope and purpose of a paragraph, as well as transition words.

Science- In science class, Ms. Gail reviewed the material in chapter 2.  To kick off the biology lesson, Ms. Gail brought in a short clip of Mr. Nye the Science Guy to talk to the kids about cells.  The class learned about the different parts of a cell, drawing them on their cell diagrams. 

Literature-  The class began their new literature book today, "A Cord of Three Strands" by local author, Holly Moulder.  The book is a book of historical fiction, set in the days of the Underground Railroad.  The class listened attentively as Ms. Gail began reading the first few chapters of the book.  I can already tell that this is going to be another one where they end the class period in a chorus of "awwww!".  They are never ready to quit!

Social Studies-  The class has been learning about the Great Plains.  Today, they worked on vocabulary from their reading assignments.  They added terms from their reading to their ongoing vocabulary notecards.  The class then began working on a handout titled Western Mining Activity.  This handout follows the corresponding reading, and will be completed at home tomorrow.

Agriculture- We began our agriculture class by talking about our Fear Factor game.  The students brought in their lists of vegetables, in order from "I like it" to "I don't like it".  I was suprised by the number of new vegetables in the "like" or "don't mind it" categories! 
Afterward, we began our unit on bees!  Today was an overview.  We touched on the different types of bees, the number of different species of bees, the then we narrowed in on honey bees.  The students have a lot of background knowledge on pollinators, and bees in general.  But, over the next few weeks, we will be learning about bee life in an in depth study!  To close class, the students worked in small groups to try to guess which parts of the honey bee corresponded with the given terms. 

Polygons, Prepositions, and the Great Plains

Today, we began compiling a book list.  Each child added the names of books that they have read and enjoyed.  I hope that this will get the kids excited about reading!  I will have the list posted in the room, as well as linked from Homework Hideout.

Spelling- I introduced the class to list 18 today.  It's a fairly difficult vocabulary list, but it incorporates many words that will be learned in science and literature class this week!

Handwriting-  During first semester, we took things slow, working through the alphabet letter by letter.  As we begin our second semester, the structure of our spelling class will change.  Those in the "C" handwriting book will be working on applying their cursive skills to their spelling lists.  Those in the "T" handwriting book will be working on perfecting their cursive skills with in class lessons from the workbook.  The "C" class will no longer need to bring their books to class. 

Math-  Ms. Jennifer worked with the 3A group on multiplication and division by 9.  They have been adding to their math journal as they work.  The 4A class discussed solid shapes today.  They earned the names for many different 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional shapes.  Ms. Jennifer brought in examples of each shape, formed from card stock.  The class passed around the objects, naming them properly. 

Writing- Ms. Bev taught the class about synonyms and antonyms today.  After their discussion, each student was given two words.  They had to come up with synonyms for those words, using the thesaurus.  They had to use those alphabetical order skills to do so!  Each student chose a synonym for the words on their card.  Once everyone had finished, Ms. Bev used their synonyms to come up with a new (hilarious) version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star! 

Grammar- Before the break, we were working on prepositions, prepositional phrases, and objects of the preposition.  We also learned about prepositional phrases that describe a subject, acting as an adjective.  Today, we reviewed what we learned way back then, and went on to learn about prepositional phrases that describe direct objects.  The class worked through many examples, and ended the lesson by diagramming a few of these types of sentences.

Spanish-  In Spanish class, Ms. Rose discussed the similarities between Spanish, Italian, and French.  They reviewed common Spanish phrases.  As they did, she wrote the Italian and French translations on the board to illustrate their likeness.  Now that the students are more comfortable speaking out in class with their Spanish words, Ms. Rose had them translate some sentences, as a group.  They created little booklets of classroom items.  Today was a great review day after a nice long break!

Social Studies- Mr. Dennis went over the material that the students read on The Great Plains, as well as their map activity from yesterday's at home assignment.  They learned about dust storms, farming, the use of sod, and the Homestead Act.  The class then worked in small groups to complete an written activity based on their reading.

Art-  In art class, Ms. Nancy taught the students about the work of Paul Klee.  They learned about his abstract style of art.  Specifically, they talked about his painting, Senecio.  The students then worked on their own versions of Paul Klee's work.  After they completed their projects, some students needed to continue to work on their Civil War era puppet project.  It was definitely a packed day in art!

Fear Factor

Instead of moving on the adverb phrases, I spent today driving home the adjective phrase lesson from Tuesday.  We worked together, as a class, to locate prepositions in sentences, find the objects of the prepositions, and find the prepositional phrases.  Then, the class ignored those phrases while we diagrammed the rest of the sentence.  Finally, they diagrammed the prepositional phrases that described a noun by telling "which one, what kind, how many, or whose".  We will jump back in with adverb phrases in January.

In math today, both classes continued to work through lessons on their current topic.  The 4A class used what they have learned about the different types of triangles, while the 3A class worked with multiplication and division.
 
Writing-  Each of the students worked on their individual writing assignments.  Ms. Bev rotates throughout the room, helping each child with his or her needs.  I don't think anyone is at the same spot, but they are all doing an amazing job and have come a long way in understanding how to construct an informative paragraph!

Literature-  In literature today, Ms. Gale and the class reviewed last week's comprehension questions.  Then, they finished reading the book, "Mr. Tucket".  This book was an absolute HIT!  The kids loved it.  There are more Mr. Tucket books, so keep on reading!  After completing the book, the class enjoyed a holiday activity!  They made gumdrops using droplets of water and dry Jello mix.  Then, they created doughnut snowmen! 

Science-  The holiday fun continued, as the kids used ice to turn milk, sugar, and vanilla into ice cream!  The kids worked very hard to shake up their ice cream bags.  It took lots of arm muscles, but they enjoyed their sweet reward!

Today was the last day of class before Christmas break.  Instead of a party or presents, the kids collected money so that we could donate farm animals to a family in an underdeveloped country.  We assumed that we could raise $100.  I gave the class a list of the animals and prices.  At home, they each wrote paragraphs explaining which animals they would like to donate, and why.  They used all of the information they have learned so far in agriculture class to back up their selections.  Today, the kids were able to read their paragraphs to the class.  When it was time to take a vote, I gave them the big news.  We raised twice as much as we had hoped to!  Instead of voting, they were told that we could give EACH of the animals!  In all, we donated a goat, 10 ducks, 2 chickens, and 2 rabbits.  And, I didn't hear, "Why don't we get anything?" or "Why don't we get a party?" one single time.

 Today was the day of our winter garden version of Fear Factor!  The class was divided into two groups : boys vs. girls.  Each vegetable dish was given a different point value.  Each team member could earn the points by trying (chewing and swallowing) a bite.  If each team member tried a dish, then the team earned double!  As I concocted this nefarious plan, I figured that an entire team might earn double points for just a few items.  I mean, what is the chance that any amount of peer pressure could cause a multiple 8-10 year olds to try brussel sprouts and bok choy cabbage?  Well, this is obviously a very competitive (and very brave) group of kids!  Last week, one of the kids said to me, "You know what my biggest fear is?  Cauliflower!  But, I'm going to TRY IT!"  As the game began, I was a little nervous.  I just KNEW someone was going to throw up (which would, of course, lose points for your team!).  Fortunately, I think adrenaline kicked in and the kids got into it!

When it was all said and done, there was only one item that didn't earn extra points: one of the brussel sprout dishes.  The game included: raw carrots, sweet cooked carrots, savory cooked carrots, brussel sprouts with cranberries & feta cheese, savory roasted brussel sprouts, roasted garlic cauliflower, raw cauliflower, raw broccoli, steamed broccoli, bok choy cabbage, raw snap peas, raw spinach, spanakopita, kale chips, chocolate/kale/avocado shake, different lettuces, and spaghetti squash.  I was ecstatic to hear, on many occasions, "Hey!  This isn't so bad!" 

In order for parents to get a sneak peek at what their kids like, or what they will tolerate, I had them list the vegetables in categories:  I Like It / It's Not So Bad / I Don't Like It.  In my own house, I now know I can serve raw cauliflower!  They may not love it, but they will eat it!  Success!

Busy Hands

Working on a top secret project!  Shhhhh...

Ms. Nancy, teaching how to make construction paper wreaths.

Diagram of our classroom, with labels in Spanish!

Spanish Project

Spanish Project  (That's me behind the counter!)

Spanish Project

Merry Christmas!

Our Next Art Class Will Be in 2013!

The Gift of Giving

Grammar-  Today, the class had a review of prepositions, objects of prepositions, and prepositional phrases.

Math-  The 4A math class continued to work with angles, parallel lines, and perpendicular lines.  Geometry seems like a big hit with this group of kids!  They are flying through and enjoying themselves!  The 3A class continued in their multiplication and division unit.  Each class will be working toward moving along the multiplication table track with an at-home timed quiz!

Writing-  Right now, each student is in a different place with writing.  Ms. Bev is working with them, individually, to improve each of their papers.  Some of working on dinosaur research, some are working on insect papers, and others have moved on to a "free choice" paragraph.  Each of these are working through the same process, using the same outlined writing guide.  They have been making leaps and bounds as they have learned to choose a main idea, come up with subtopics, and back them up with supporting details.  They are also coming a long with in their sentence structure, narrowing down to a focused topic, and using transitional phrases to allow their thoughts to flow.  Ms. Bev and I are proud of each of them for the hard work and patience they are demonstrating!

Literature-  Ms. Gail and the class discussed the answers to the comprehension questions for the first 10 chapters of "Mr. Tucket".  There were a lot of at home questions this week, and the class really did a great job rising up and tackling such a huge assignment!  They read the next few chapters in the book.  I really love that they are learning to enjoy books that they may not have chosen for themselves to read.  Sometimes, kids can get very picky about their reading materials... deciding they simply cannot read something that isn't in their narrow concept of acceptable reading.  This class is hopefully helping them to broaden their interests, or at least learn to enjoy books that they didn't chose for themselves.

Science- Today was the day of the big midterm test!  The room was completely silent.  Nothing could be heard except the whirring of little brains and the flying of pencils over paper.  This was a closed book, closed note test over the entire semester of Chemistry.  This was not easy... and these children rose to the challenge, and then some!  The average grade on this test was 94! 

Social Studies- The class has been learning about territorial growth and the expansion of the United States.  They have read and watched videos about the Louisiana Purchase, Texas Annexation, Mexican Cession, the Gadsden Purchase, and others.  Today, they took what they have learned and applied it to a map exercise.  They used an outline map of the U.S. to create a visual record of territorial growth.  They created a legend for the map, completed a chart of the various purchases and expansions, and expressed how the map illustrates the idea of Manifest Destiny.

Agriculture- Today, we collected money for our Christmas charity project with World Vision.  The students were given a list of animals and prices from World Vision.  They each came up with their own selection and the reasons behind it.  They thought through animal reproduction, sustainability, and took into consideration the product that each animal supplies its owner with.  At home, they will be writing persuasive paragraphs making their argument for the animals that they chose.  On Tuesday, we will read the paragraphs and take a silent vote!