Our Fantastic Field Trip!!!

We had a wonderful field trip to the WL Outdoor Education Center today. We learned about spiders and insects, helped plant some new trees and enjoyed eating lunch together! We appreciate the support of the WL Foundation for Excellence who helped fund part of our trip through their mini-grant program. 

We learned about how spiders make webs and catch insects by playing some fun spider games. 

We learned that insects have 3 body parts - we put insect puzzles together to help us see the 3 parts. 

There were many things for us to look at and investigate in the insect room. 

We tried out some special glasses to experience the compound eyes that insects have. 

 We went outside to look for spider webs and egg sacks, and then we helped plant some new trees!

The Outdoor Education Center was really cool - we loved exploring inside and outside today!

Earth Day, Journals and more Eric Carle books...

On Monday we talked about our planet, the Earth, and how we need to take care of it. We read books about how litter and trash can cause problems for our planet and the animals who live on it. We created these beautiful Earth pictures for our hallway board. 

"The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle was a perfect book to read - it tells the story of a seed and how it grew. We created beautiful art using a potato for a stamp, and we planted tiny seeds of our own. We can't wait until they begin to sprout! 

"Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, said the Sloth" gave us a great opportunity to talk about sloths and their rainforest environment. We learned that sloths are not lazy, but they do move slowly. They have green fungus in their fur - this helps them hide from predators. 

We also enjoyed painting chameleons after reading "The Mixed Up Chameleon". We painted colorful chameleons and wrote about how they change color to blend in to their environment. 

We have been hard at work on our journal writing - this is a new challenge for us, and the boys are doing a fantastic job. I am so pleased at the progress these boys have made in both their handwriting and their art work! We'll bring these journals home at the end of the month. 

Just a reminder that our Field Trip to the WL Outdoor Center is next Tuesday, April 30. Children need to bring a lunch and drink in a bag - we'll eat at the Center before returning to school that day. 

We are also collecting items for our Breakfast Themed Gift Basket - this will be raffled off during the Spring Fair on June 1. We are collecting items (pancake mix, syrup, jam, muffin mix, mixing spoons, mixing bowl, pot holder and towel etc.) until May 10. Much thanks to those who have already sent in items for our basket! 

Eric Carle Author Study

This week we began our Eric Carle author study. We really love his books! We learned about the ocean when we read "A House for Hermit Crab" and "Mister Seahorse". 

We talked about cooking and food when we read "Today is Monday" and "Pancakes, Pancakes". 

On Thursday we made bird's nests to eat - we used sticks (chow mein noodles), mud (chocolate and butterscotch chips), grass (coconut), eggs (jelly beans) and birds (peeps) to make our creations...YUMMMMM! 

I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend! We will continue with our Eric Carle author study next week. 

Ducks, Rabbits, Chickens...

We painted big ducks on Monday and created bunnies on Tuesday. We read several stories about ducks and rabbits.

On Wednesday we tried a directed drawing challenge to create some bunny faces of our own...the class did a fantastic job of watching, listening and then following the steps. 

All week long we worked on some specific coping skills, including size of the problem and taking a quiet break when we feel upset. We always praise students when they try to get calm, stay safe and get back in the green zone. Our work is a little more challenging this time of the year, so we also need to use coping skills when we feel frustrated. Asking for help, taking a break, and self talk are all good coping skills for work time frustration. 

We continue to work on our whiteboards - look at this great sentence!

Mrs. Nickel, our principal, joined us for Center Time on Thursday...she enjoyed interacting with us at our different centers! 

****Your child has brought home a field trip permission slip for our field trip to the WL Outdoor Education Center on April 30. They will need to bring a lunch/drink in a bag that day because we will eat our lunch at the Outdoor Center before returning to school. We are asking for $5.00 to offset the cost of the bus and trip - our Foundation for Excellence mini grant will cover the rest of the cost.

****We are joining with Miss Fifer's class to create a Breakfast themed basket for the Spring Fair on June 1. We would love any breakfast themed donations - due to us by May 10. Ideas include breakfast bars, pancake mix, jam, syrup, potholder, spatula, canned fruit, mixing bowl etc. Much thanks!