Turns out I didn’t take as many pictures as I normally do, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t do a lot of things. On the contrary, we did a bunch of fun and interesting things this week. Let’s get into all the detail!
Specials
In PE the kids did a name run. This is where they literally run for the entire PE period and see how many laps they can do. Everyone did a great job, with many running more than a mile! They also played pin guard and went on a fitness hike when the gym was unavailable due to installation of the new bleachers. In Spanish they are learning different Spanish speaking countries. They are learning to put notes together in music and they are doing great in art.
Math/ELA/Social Studies
We’ve continued learning a variety of strategies to solve multiplication problems. Ms. Hahn actually did a lesson where she wrote directly on a table with a whiteboard marker, boy did they like that! They also did some things with shapes and liquid measurement.
In writing they are developing their stories. They are adding more detail, dialogue, and telling their stories bit-by-bit. It’s not easy for them, but they are doing a great job.
Everyone has read the story of King Midas and are working on determining some character traits that apply to King Midas. They are also looking at the overall theme of the story. Ask your student to give you a summary of the story of King Midas.
We are now in a social studies unit and it is about Illinois history. At the moment we are focusing on maps and where in the world Illinois is located. Ask them what hemisphere, continent, country, state, and county PCCS is in.
Environmental Learning
This week we did a leaf study out behind the classroom. We read a bit about why leaves change color, what type of trees have leaves vs. needles, and learned how to draw a basic leaf design. Then we went and collected a few samples and tried to draw them.
Besides all that, we finally got to meet with our book buddies this morning. We are paired up with Mrs. Jackson’s 8th grade students, what a great group of kids. The first activity involved getting to know one another and introducing their buddies to the class. Then they got to go outside and play a great game called Thicket. Ask your student about their book buddy.
That is a good overview of what we have been doing in class this week.
I have a request for our parents, please try to get your student to school by 8:00. We have been having a number of kids not coming to class until 8:05, 8:10, even 8:15. Our class starts every day with a special. Three times a week it is PE, so by 8:05 we are already in line and walking to the gym. Pretty much every week we have kids coming in to the class late. This also impacts our morning routine which is when students are supposed to fill out their assignment notebooks. Most kids can get their notebooks filled out before the special starts, but kids who come in late are regularly behind. We, of course, understand that there may be a traffic issue, weather, etc., but most days those delays are not present. Please help us out by getting the students to school on time. It’s a lot less stressful for everyone. Thank you so much.
Thanks to all of the kids who come up and tell me the secret that I’ve been placing at the end of these posts. This week have the kids come to me with my favorite ice cream flavor – Mint Chocolate Chip! They will get a Hawks Ticket if they do.
~ Mrs. Steinbeck