Hello Everyone! What a great spirit week! From Monday’s patriotic day to Wednesday’s, very awesome, Harry Potter day, to Friday’s picnic day we all had a great time.
We started the week with patriotic day, although I think I only took pictures during PE, but we were all showing our USA pride! Speaking of PE, it has been so fun this year. Mr. Flynn has been doing a great mix of fun games, movement activities, and skill practice. All of the kids are running around like crazy having fun and getting exercise.
Third graders had hearing (and vision if requested) screenings this week. I took the entire class to the computer lab and they had to be silent while their classmates were tested. They did an absolutely wonderful job. Even the screener commended them on their behavior. Go Ms. Hahn’s class!
This week we’ve continued to learn about the woodland environment. First the students watched an old video about a bird losing it’s home because it’s tree was cut down. Then they used tree cookies (thin slices of tree trunks) to determine how old a tree might of been, how it grew, and if it had any disease or problems. Finally, the third graders began their first research project. They are researching and writing about a woodland animal. This week they researched by using books to find information. Next week we will show them how to use sites such as Nat Geo for kids and others to research their animal.
But wait, there’s more! We all had a great time on Wednesday for spirit week. We were supposed to pick a classroom theme and while most classes chose things like sports or pajama day, we took it up a notch and did Harry Potter day. I honestly had no idea how much the kids would be into it. But so many of them came dressed in robes or full on costumes. We had marauders maps, a sorting hat, and wands all over the place. Mrs. Dybas came by and took our picture and told us that we were the most creative of all the classes! It got really funny when I took the kids out to recess. Due to Farm to Table schedules I usually take our class to the space in front of the gym for recess. This way we don’t have too many classes at any one place at a time. So they had the whole space to themselves and they ran around with their robes flowing, their wands casting spells, and huge smiles on their faces. It really looked like a quidditch practice was happening on our campus!
Later that day we went outside for phenology too. This time it looked like they were doing research for a potions or herbology class at Hogwarts.
Finally, on Friday we had a whole school picnic out on the grass between buildings. It was a great way to conclude spirit week.
I will leave you with a quick video of what it was like on Harry Potter day at recess!
Have a wonderful week. Don’t forget, no school on Wednesday!
~ Mrs. Steinbeck