Until Next Year

The end of this year has been bittersweet.  I have loved being able to watch and help these children grow and learn throughout the last nine months.  My hope is that they left the school doors this year having learned as much from me as I have from them.  I am thankful to each and every parent who worked hard to read with their child every night and helped their child throughout the school year. Working together is what helps to provide the groundwork for these kids to grow into a love of learning that will last a lifetime!  With this final thought I will be signing off for a couple of months.  If anyone is around Albia you can find me running the day camp program through the ISU Extension and Outreach.  We are going to have some fabulous camps this year. :)  With ideas for the new year running through my mind I will say farewell for now..... until next year!

Goods and Services Fair

The Goods and Services Fair was such a success!  I loved seeing all the kiddos putting all of their hard work on display!  Here are some pictures of the groups in action.

Fabulous Fractions

We have been leaning all about fractions recently.  This week I am asking the kiddos to demonstrate their knowledge by creating a fraction flag that is correctly labeled.  Here are a few examples of what they have accomplished so far.   What amazing mathematicians I have!

The Tech has Arrived!

We now have 5 I pads in our room and I can't tell you how excited I am!  While we have games we are working hard to turn them into tools that can help to demonstrate our learning and understanding!  :)  We have talked about digital citizenship a bit but don't be afraid to continue these conversations at home!  We each leave a digital footprint.

It's Spring!

Tomorrow marks the first day of April and the weather finally seems to agree.... Spring is here!  I am so excited to be able to be getting outside more and remembering just what there is to enjoy about Iowa weather!  With the recent end of the 3rd quarter it is remarkable how fast this year has gone!  We are going to be busy, busy, busy these next few months!  We will start our unit on seed dispersal this week and work on the ways that seeds may travel.  Along with just what it takes for a seed/plant to grow successfully.  During seed dispersal the students will learn to create a lab report.

In our reading we will be continuing to work with fluency, accuracy, and comprehension.  I love having the kids come back and share about reading at home.  Books truly do open doors to new worlds, thank you for taking time to share those worlds with them! :) We are going to be looking towards the main idea more in the month of April.  As your child reads to you it is a great idea to ask them to give you a five finger retell.  The five finger retell is as such:

Remember, the best way to become a better reader is to practice!  I am looking forward to the changing of seasons and all the fun that comes with being back out in the sun.  Here's to making the last of this year as fabulous as the rest of it has been!

S.T.E.M. Day 2

Day 2 of S.T.E.M. was a success!  After watching a quick video on the triangle and its relation to architecture we made our second attempt.  You can notice in our projects that the structures seem to be much more stable and are taller than the day before.  Isn't engineering fun? :)

S.T.E.M.

Last week we began our S.T.E.M activity.  Our goal: to see who could create the highest tower using spaghetti noodles and marshmallows.  This project required everyone to be able to work together to create the final product.  On day one there was much testing going on as to how to get the structure stable enough to support itself.  Here is what we accomplished!