Are you excited for our field trip tomorrow?? I am. Remember to be at school by 8:45 so we can leave right at 9:00. My radio DJ friend is very excited to have you at the studios. We are so lucky because normally this radio studio does not allow public tours...we are the exception:-)

We had a wonderful discussion today about creation stories. We compared the Greek myth creation story with the creation stories that we are familiar with. It was very interesting to hear everyone's point of view as they looked for similarities and differences between each story. We found central themes in each text--many cultures believe the world was created, then man, then woman. We talked about why ancient cultures living all over the world, far away from each other would develop/believe some of the same ideas. We talked about the spread of ideas and how people can influence each other's thinking. The students also found strong similarities between the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve and the temptation to eat the apple with Pandora and her curiousness that caused her to open her box. This was an incredibly respectful, mature and insightful discussion--we really became more aware of the many ideas and beliefs that are present in our world today. I am so proud of all of my students for their participation in this discussion.

Tonight is no homework Wednesday--please remember to bring in your social studies journals tomorrow so we can share them with each other.

PS. Tell your families about the COLORS OF MY LIFE activity we did today. Try it with them. :-)

Better updates tomorrow...I am exhausted. :-)

Remember our field trip is Thursday. Reminder notes went home today. Have parents sign in your planners if you are able to ride in the front seat.

Your Oregon Trail journals are due Thursday--pick a Nebraska landmark that we have studied and document your travels up to that point.

Tell your families about our Living Mythology Museum on May 26th. I am so excited about it.

I am so tired.

Oh wait...garden updates--Mr. Don is going to help get our garden covered in 9-12 inches of good top soil. The ground is too rocky for him to use the rototiller. We will be able to plant all seeds by Monday. I am so excited.

The Showcase tonight was amazing. I hope you are all so proud of yourselves. All of you received wonderful comment cards. You can read them tomorrow morning.

Have a great night. Remember to work on your math if you didn't finish today's lesson.

Can you believe tomorrow is Wednesday already and we have 25 days of school left? Where does the time go?

Happy Monday,

I just got finished hanging up and displaying your landmark research on the Oregon Trail board. It look amazing. I want to save your paragraphs and pictures and put them into a laminated book to keep forever.

If your parents volunteered to drive on our field trip on Thursday, please let them know I will be sending them information/detail tomorrow. My radio DJ friend is really excited to show you all around the studios. He has put together some fun goodie bags for you--I hear free t-shirts for all are involved!!

Remember tomorrow is our Student Showcase from 3-5 p.m. We will get everything set up tomorrow and help some of the younger students in the afternoon. I will bring my camera and post pictures.

Homework tonight: Math, study spelling, states and capitals test retakes on Friday

In my spare time...

Hello!

I hope you are warm and cozy, enjoying this rainy Sunday. I decided to share something with you. In my spare time I like to notice small parts of the world around me through my camera lens. Here are some of my photos. What do you like to do in your spare time? Post your answers under the comments section:-)

Shining Stars

As promised from Mrs. Sloot:

http://www.maudhartlovelace.org



Thank you so much for helping your classmates get ready for Tuesday's showcase. An even bigger thank you for being such positive role models and leaders this afternoon during the all-school team building activities. The best thing you did all day was to continue making compliment stars for everyone who didn't get one. All of these things are the reasons I teach. You all made my day today in the biggest way possible.

I am counting my lucky stars for my 15 FPA shining stars.

Have a great weekend. Don't forget that your landmark research is due Monday. Please also remember to bring in your Internet/library information that you found on your Greek deity on Monday.

Quick update for the night. I just got back from a walk outside--the weather is gorgeous. I am excited that Spring is finally here. A few reminders:

Free Dress Day tomorrow
Picture Day tomorrow (you may bring picture clothes and casual clothes to change into later)
Mix It Up--all school activities 2:30-3:15
Spelling test tomorrow
States and Capitals test tomorrow
Final showcase displays due tomorrow

Lots of stuff to remember! If you haven't turned in permission slips, please remember to do so ASAP!

Have a great night.

I am so proud of your efforts today!

Today was a great day. This morning, we attended a Character Education/Self Defense program put on by Excel Martial Arts in Woodbury. Our very own Haven J. achieved her red belt from Excel earlier this year and was a participant in the program.

This afternoon, we were out in the "garden" preparing the area for planting. I think we quickly learned how much patience and discipline we need to complete such a large undertaking. We cleared a 10 foot x 6 foot area--we spent an hour and a half getting rid of the sod, and top soil, and trying our best to loosen the bottom layers of soil at a depth of 9 inches. We will definitely be renting a rototiller this weekend to ensure our soil is loosened. Next week we will be getting rid of any large rocks, and will be applying a new top layer of soil, mostly to level out the sloped area before planting our seeds. We will be planting lettuce, carrots, peas, radishes, sunflowers and watermelon to start. A big thank you to everyone who brought gardening tools, and to Sam's grandparents for sharing their gardening expertise with us.

We will decorate the outside of the garden with rocks painted by the entire FPA student community. I am so excited. I know it might not look like we made any progress today, but believe me...WE DID!

Congratulations to everyone for doing such a great job running the mile. There were some amazing times--several of us took an entire minute off of our Fall times. I really enjoyed running the mile with each of you today.

Remember to bring back both permission slips for one decision dollar per slip this week.

For more pictures from today, click here.
Homework: Math, practice spelling, states and capitals, showcase displays due Friday

PS. Please remember that all final showcase displays are due Friday!

Whew!

Whew! Just got back from a successful trip to Walmart--loaded the trunk full of gardening soil, seeds and shovels. I had so much dirt in my trunk, I needed my husband to come help me drop off the bags at school. It was weird to be on the playground at 8:00 at night. I was covered in dirt after 5 minutes--appropriate clothes tomorrow are ESSENTIAL! We will get dirty:-)

If you have extra gardening shovels (we are in need of large sized shovels) please bring them tomorrow. Any family members and friends are welcome to take part. We need all the man and woman power we can get!

Tomorrow is your mile run in gym. I will bring clothes to run the mile with each of you. I am excited. Headphones and IPODS are fine to bring if you want.

A big thank you to each and every one of my students... I appreciate all of you who keep me on my toes, who like to question, who are honest with me about things that are happening in your lives in and out of school, and who feel comfortable talking about personal concerns in a respectful and mature way. I am so glad that we have created a classroom environment where you feel comfortable expressing your true selves. I truly believe in each of you--you have so many wonderful talents and insights to offer. Our classroom would not be complete without any one of you. Remember that I am always here to listen to you and to be your advocate.

Some of our students have had some preliminary questions/concerns about what we will be discussing in our upcoming unit in Human Growth and Development. As I have told the kids, I will be sending home a detailed letter about the specific topics we will be covering in May. If they have any immediate questions, I told the students to ask a parent at home, and/or to write them down and save them for our future class discussions. Please be assured that no topic will be discussed prior to my letter home, and without school/family consent outside of our unit.

Homework: Math, practice spelling and states/capitals, landmark research due Monday, bring clothes for running and gardening, bring gardening tools if you have them

Pictures Galore!

Goodness gracious! I have TONS of pictures to share with you. Take a look at the several new albums I posted.

I posted pictures of you designing and creating landscaping plans for the FPA vegetable garden.
I posted pictures of you doing The Cup Game. The very first photo in the album is actually a video of you all! Very impressive.
I posted pictures of Jump Rope for Heart. I was so busy jumping and DDRing with you that I didn't have much time to take lots of pictures--but at least you get the idea of what we were doing.
I posted pictures of you drawing and researching your plants that are native to Minnesota. These are the same plants we will be planting in our rain garden. Did you tell your parents that your plant pictures will be made into seed packets that the Maplewood Nature Center will be passing out to guests? We will see if we can get a hold of your drawings on the seed packets so you can see what they look like. If you are interested, the seed packets will be passed out at the Nature Center on May 1 from 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Finally, I posted pictures of you webbing about Ancient Greece and Rome. Boy, we sure learned some interested facts about the culture!

We are continuing our trek along the Oregon Trail. Today students were each given two landmarks along the trail. They need to write one-two paragraph descriptions about each landmark and include a colored drawing of the location. Please make sure to include location, geographic features (mountains, trees, prairie, river, etc. ), a physical description (use your five senses), and for a challenge--how many miles from Independence, Missouri you are. All research and drawings are due Monday, April 27.

In literacy, we started a unit on Myths, Legends and Folk Tales. We did a webbing exercise using non-fictions books to learn about the ancient Roman and Greecian cultures. We will be learning about the elements of myths, as well as about the gods and goddesses--that's the plan for this week anyway:-)

This week for spelling, students chose 15 states and their capitals to practice. For our states and capitals test on Friday, students will be responsible for spelling those 15 states and capitals correctly!

Remember--Wednesday is our garden planting day. We need gardening tools!!!!!!!!!!!

Homework: Math, soc. studies journal, landmark project due Monday