Hard to believe, but we have arrived safely and soundly in the great country of Australia! We have learned that it is the world's smallest continent and also the only continent that is an island. Australia is also full of rich history as well as many amazing, unique animals. Soon we will be painting, stuffing and studying all of these animals and they will fill our classroom. Take a look below at the AMAZING mural Carmen's mom designed for us! WOW! THANK YOU SO MUCH, Michelle.....we are truly visiting THE LAND DOWN UNDER! We can appreciate the beauty every day!
Take a look at the pictures below from our language arts block. The children reviewed their spelling words, completed a variety of Flat Stanley activities, created Aussie puppets and began their Australian journal..just to name a few of the activities they got to enjoy:
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| A continuation of our FLAT STANLEY activities......how many fingers and toes do four flat friends have all together? |
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| Our first Australian journal entry.... |
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| Sophia and Jackson work on their Aussie puppets! |
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| A review of coins.....SPILL, GRAPH and TALLY! |
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| Mrs. Trainor stepped in and guided the students through Mountain Language while Mrs. Waller had to step out! THANK YOU! |
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| One guided reading group searches for long "a" words after they have read their story. |
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| Making Words with Mrs. Waller.....Carmen takes "d" away from den and adds a "p" to make pen! |
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| Lamar creates the word: speed |
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| Kate puts her Australian words in ABC order. |
In math this week we have continued our study of time! After creating our own clock out in the commons last week, we created a time line of our day in the classroom. The children are learning to read an analog clock and also how to write the time the digital way. They are also learning to distinguish between am and pm! They know that: hour is the short word, so hour is the short hand.....minute is the long word, so minute is the long hand! A chant we do to help us remember! This can be a very hard concept for many! If your child has an analog watch, it would be great to have them start wearing it.....ask them the time when the minute hand is on the 12 or the 6! Take further if you can!
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| The students create their very own timeline of the day! |
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| Making the clock with a little help from our friends! |
In social studies the children have begun their study of Australia! They are already learning about the many different animals that are unique to Australia. Thursday, Ms. Lorfing introduced the children to the Australian flag and its history. Thank you to the Trainors who have loaned us an Australian flag to use in the classroom!
In TNT on Wednesday we had our big animal reveal....similar to our famous American reveal, the students received a brief summary of the unique Australian animal and then we announced which student would study that animal. The children were so excited!
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| THE DINGO! |
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| THE FRILLED-NECKED LIZARD! |
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| We all know who this is! |
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| Look closely....that is Sophie under there......our FAIRY PENGUIN! |
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| THE FAIRY PENGUIN! |
THE MAGIC FINGER experiment! WOW! Hands-On Science was a huge success today. We continued talking about the magic of water and its surface tension. Each child had a bowl of water, some pepper, a dab of dish washing liquid, and their magic finger! They made predictions related to the following question: How can I make the pepper run away from my finger? Ask your child all about it...this would be the perfect experiment to do at home!
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| Mrs. Wyllie introduces the kids to their MAGIC FINGER! |
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| Sofia receives her drop of dish washing liquid.....what next? |
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| Sophia is surprised by the pepper as it runs away! |
In computer lab the students visited www.learninggamesforkids.com and explored a variety of Australian geography games!
A CELEBRATION
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| Happy Birthday, HOLDEN! |
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| Thank you for your help! |
Thank you to our volunteers this week, Wendy, Pam and Kelly....we greatly appreciate your help.
SPELLING
We will not have a spelling test next week because of our short week. We will send home new spelling words next Wednesday.
REMINDERS
Monday, February 24th Australian animal painting....if you have volunteered, come with your painting clothes on! We will see you at 9:15!
Thursday/Friday February 27th & 28th Parent/Teacher conferences-NO SCHOOL for students
*****Please note that your child's Australian animal will come home painted either Monday (2/24) or Tuesday (2/25).....we have to wait for them to dry and get them prepared to come home! They will then be due back to school by Friday, March 7th!
We have had a great week! We are anxious to see you all next week at conferences. See you soon. Have a great weekend!
Sara and Carey
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