Voting Day takes place the Tuesday we return from vacation, March 8th. Because voting takes place at the middle school, grades 4-8 will be having a remote learning day. Center woods and John Stark will not have a remote day. They will be at school. We were scheduled to have an early release day on the 7th, however, that has been rescheduled to Tuesday, March 29th @ 11:30.
What a week this will turn out to be! Tu-tu Twosday, Invention Convention, Presidents Day, and vacation.
Today we talked a little about President's Day and we read a story about Abe Lincoln.
The children have been learning about the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska. So far we have learned the history as to why the Iditarod was started. They picked their veteran mushers today and will be researching that person and making a poster about them. Then we will pick a rookie musher to follow as well. The children will be tracking their mushers as they travel throughout the race, they will be writing to the K-9 Journalists- Dogs who post information about the race, and they will be putting on a play to learn more about the rules of the race. So far the kids really seem to like this unit. It encompasses research, history, graphing and map skills, elapsed time and distance traveled, writing, reading, and math. We learn more about the Alaskan terrain and weather. The race begins while we are on vacation- Saturday, March 5th. You can follow along at iditarod.com
In reading, we are learning about fractured fairy tales- Specifically Cinderella. We are looking at what makes a fractured fairy tale (Change the characters, setting, point of view the story is written in, etc...) The children are reading about troll, bigfoot, and dinosaur cinderellas, they are looking at it from the stepmother's point of view. They are reading stories from different cultures that are similar to Cinderella. Then the children will be doing a readers theatre play on another version and hopefully can create their own fractured fairy tale.
In math, we are continuing to learn about multiplication. Our focus though is shifting to converting units of measurement like time and weight.
To help you with your valentines- here is a class list.
Liam, Eva, Collin, Dylan, Ryder, Teagan, Jeremiah, Tyler, Greyson, Serenity, Gavin, Shaelan, Kiersten, Arabella
This Friday, the 11th we will have our Valentine's Day Party. (snow date Monday 2/14) We will exchange cards and have some light snacks. Your child is welcome to make or purchase cards to give to everyone in the class. There are 14 students (and 2 adults. But often 3). If you would like to contribute anything to our party, please let me know.
The invention convention has started. The children who chose to participate have until 2/28 to work on their projects, inventions, and displays. Not every child chose to make an invention. This is not a classroom activity. These projects are to be worked on at home. Your child went home last week with an instruction journal. Some will bring home a trifold poster board if they asked for one. Please note that this is an extracurricular activity and is not an assignment for class. if you have questions you can contact me, or Wil Crabtree who is in charge of the invention convention. wil.crabtree@sau24.org. I hope your child has fun making their creations. I am excited to see what their imaginations come up with.
We have finished our mid-year assessments. I was so glad to see the progress many of these kids are making. Because of that, we were able to open up enrichment sessions to more students. Those who made it in start this week. I'm so proud of how far they have come and continue to grow.