Independent ProjectsA brainstorming sheet went home for independent project last Friday, I only received a few back. We brainstormed ideas in class and got the ball rolling with the beginnings of planning. Please do not forget to continue to work on independent projects throughout the month as the deadline: May 22 will sneak up on us! Scroll down to last week's post for more guidance on independent projects. Below are the planning questions that were due last week: Poetry SlamPictured above: two of our Poetry Slam presenters rockin' it onstage. The kids did a great job at our Poetry Slam on Wednesday; they presented with confidence. Roles of BeesWe talked about the different roles of all the different worker bees this week as well as how they make honey. Everyone adopted a bee's role in a role play game, it was pretty fun to watch. Afterwards they made these cards to show the role they played. MathWe have been working with numbers using blocks and money and separating them into tens and ones to become familiar with place value. We have used these groupings to also help us add large numbers together. Concrete PoetryThis week we wrapped up poetry month with some concrete poetry. Concrete poetry is shaped like the topic of the poem. We also talked about using our five senses when writing our poems. There were lots of different pictures taken from magazines that they could take from the board to use as inspiration for their poem. Here are some of the creative creations that came from it:
0 Comments
Finished Auction Project...Ta Da!The auction is right around the corner. You or another guest will have the option of buying this lovely garden set. It is exciting to see all our hard work and different pieces put together. Poetry SlamNext Wednesday is our school wide Poetry Slam. I have encouraged the kids to choose a poem to present for the school, please encourage and practice with them at home too. They had some time this week in class to practice presenting, and will have more time next week as well. To present I told them they should: -memorize their poem* -speak loudly -say it with emotion/intonation -can include hand motions or act it out too *(Not required school wide, but I am pushing it in my class since they were told at the beginning of the month about it. Ultimately I would rather have them present unmemorized than not at all, but they do need to be well rehearsed.) If you would like to join us for the assembly it will be next Wednesday. The exact time is yet to be determined (depends on how many students sign up to present). Health Fair April 27thNext Thursday there will be a Health Fair held after school. There will be close to 30 tables of different groups from our community. Take some time after school at 3:15 to browse through, learn more about healthy living and resources within our community. MathThis week we talked about the fractions 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4. We also looked at lines of symmetry in shapes...including our face! <--The line of symmetry being shown with a mirror. Prepping the Bee SanctuaryOur queen bee arrived this Wednesday. We are hoping that we can provide a good home for the bees so that they will stay this year. This past year the bees left the hive. On Friday we planted some shrubs to not only section off the area for the bees, but to also provide flowers to collect from and pollinate. It was a gorgeous day to be working outside!
I will be introducing Independent Projects to the kids next week, but just so you know what is coming... Donations needed!We will be doing an art project on Wednesday that requires toilet paper tubes. Paper towel tubes would be great too! If you have any, please send them our way. Prepping for a Bee GardenUnfortunately our bees from last year left our hive. We will be getting a new queen for our hive and want to create an environment that will help our bees stay. The Huckleberries will be creating a bee garden. To do that we will first need to prep the area for the garden. If you have any cardboard or black and white newspapers laying around the house, please send them along for us to use. Thank you! This is a request to borrow wagons for Tuesday April 25th. Clarkia classes have been learning all about the Oregon Trail over the past few months and will be concluding their journey on Tuesday April 25th. They will be reenacting parts of the Oregon Trail and will be using props for many of the stops along the way. They will be needing 12 wagons for their reenactment and were hoping to be able to borrow some from families. If you have a wagon you would be willing to lend, please send Emily Ingalls (Clarkia North's teacher) and email: [email protected]. Thank you!
ConferencesPlease make sure that you have signed up for a conference time for next week. Please note that these are student led conferences. Students are practicing running their conference and are expected to lead without teacher help. This is a great chance for them to step into a leadership role. We have been preparing and practicing this week for the big day next week. In case you haven't signed up yet: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-huckleberry1 PoetryThis week starts poetry month. This week we have been practicing our rhyming words and looking at poems with aabb rhyme schemes. They also had a chance to start writing their own aabb rhyme scheme poems. At the end of the month we will be having a Poetry Slam. All the students will come to the gym to hear others present their poetry. Huckleberries are being encouraged to choose a poem that they would like to perform April 26th at the Poetry Slam Assembly. They can practice throughout the month. To present, they will need to have their poem memorized and have practiced saying it loudly and with emotion. MathIn math, the first graders are looking at different shapes and practicing identifying and being able to describe them. We looked at hexagon, triangles, and rhombuses. Next week we will get into 3-D shapes. They have also prepared a sample of solving a math equation to share at conferences.
This week we started diving into our bee unit! In writing we talked about the difference between fiction and non-fiction books and started our own non-fiction books about bees. They have made a table of contents, glossary, and labeled bee diagram so far. During our community theme work time we have talked about what honey bees are, the different parts of a honey bee, and what their main focus is. We've talked about how they don't want to sting, but will if they feel threatened. We will continue to add to our "Bee Keeper's Journal" throughout the unit. At the end of the unit we will publish a non-fiction book with a compilation of different journal entries about bees to donate to our school library. Homework
Soccer Camp this Summer: Led by our very own Ms. Ingalls!Dear Parents and Guardians of MRA-
My name is Emily Ingalls and I'm the 3rd/4th grade teacher here at MRA. I am thrilled to share that this summer on the MRA campus I will be hosting a soccer camp with my new company called Ingalls West Coast Soccer Academy or WCSA. I have done many private training camps, working with younger players up to college players and I am now very excited to finally offer my own youth soccer camp at my school. The camp dates are June 26th-30th and July 17th-21st, Junior Camp is from 8:30-11:30 and the Premier Camp is from 12:30-3:30. The ages of the participants and times are located on my website at ingallswcsa.myfreesites.net.The camp offers opportunities for players to make new friends, learn new skills and techniques, and form a lasting love of soccer. Each player also gets a daily artistic souvenir and a WCSA T-Shirt. There is also a coffee bar for parents at the beginning of every camp. Another treat, my sister who currently plays on an international professional Swedish soccer team will be there one day for each camp to discuss sportsmanship and respectful-competitive play. Very cool! I think it will be a blast for all the players and myself to see my students working hard at a sport we love. Let me know if you have any questions about signing your child up or trouble making a payment. MRA students get a 20% discount from my camp price but if that price doesn’t work for your family, we can of course discuss that. This camp will be open this week to all MRA students only before reaching out to other elementary schools in Molalla. Thanks so much for your support and I look forward to an active and soccer filled summer!! This is how you register: Please email me your child's name, age, and skill level. There are two camps; Juniors and Premiers. Based on age and skill level I can put your child into a specific camp. If they have a friend in another camp and they want to be with them, we can discuss that too. Once, I receive your email I will forward you the paperwork to fill out. :) Sincerely, Emily Ingalls [email protected] Spring ConcertThe kids have been working hard on their musical piece for the Spring Concert next week. It is really coming together! They are all playing different instruments with different beats. It is amazing to see how much they have grown since their earlier space performance. Don't forget to book it in your calendar for next Wednesday! Dress Code Please make sure your kids come dressed up, if they are wearing athletic shoes they will not be able to perform! Please let me know if you need support with acquiring dress shoes for your child. Displaying Our Artwork in the Greater CommunityNext week we will be creating artwork to be put on display at the 18th Annual Clackamas County Sheriff's Family Violence & Child Abuse Summit. Attendees are professionals ranging from doctors, nurses, police, prosecutors, counselors, social workers, advocates, etc. They come from all over the world and generally work in the field of protecting children. Our art will be on display in the hallways where attendees walk and gather between sessions. It is an exciting chance to connect within our greater community! The students' first name and grade will be posted with their artwork. All our artwork will be labeled as coming from MRA. If you would prefer for your child's art to not be posted, please let me know! Conferences Coming UpSign ups are now available for conferences in April. You can sign up for our class using this link: www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-huckleberry1 If you have a child in another class, here are the other links. Conference Sign ups: Trillium: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-trillium Huckleberry North: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-huckleberry Huckleberry South: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-huckleberry1 Clarkia North: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-clarkia1 Clarkia South: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-clarkia Alder East http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-alder Alder West http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-alder1 Cedar East http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-cedar Cedar West http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-cedar1 Owl's Nest: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-owls Great River: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-great Mountain Meadow: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-mountain Wildwoods: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090844aba723a6f58-wildwoods Happy St. Patrick's Day!This week I'm sure you heard that we were making leprechaun traps. Unfortunately we did not catch a leprechaun, but he certainly did visit our class! Quote of the week! Friendships help a community thrive because it builds trust. If you build trust you can build a community. If you trust someone, you can trust them to help you with building a house or chopping down wood. -Tyler Our local community unit is coming to a close. This week we worked on finishing all the different pieces that would go into our Class Atlas Book, some kids who had already completed their pieces had the chance to publish a new story, and we worked on a service project to give back to our school community. We also worked on our auction project, it is looking fabulous! It was a busy week to say the least. Class AtlasIn this unit we started with looking close up at each individual student and who they are as a community member. We then looked at themselves within their home. They created a map of their home. We then zoomed out even more to how they get from home to school and created a map of that. After that we started to talk about our local community: Molalla. Then traveled back in time to when the settlers arrived here, what their community looked like, and then traveled even further back in time to look at the Native American's community. In the process the kids have made different pieces that will all go into a book- our Class Atlas. This week students had the chance to finish any pieces they did not previously finish. Service Project: Accepting Donations!As mentioned from last week, we started our service project this week to give back to our school community and help it thrive. We adopted a berm on campus and have started prepping the soil for flowers. If you have any seeds or cuttings that we could use to plant on our berm it would be greatly appreciated, let me know! Auction ProjectWe are almost done with our auction project. The kids got a chance to mix, scoop, and smooth out concrete into stepping stones and a bench. They then decorated the concrete with leaf pressings. It looks great so far! MathThis week the first graders were introduced to the intricacies of a number line. We looked at a number line with just a few numbers and worked to determine the values of missing numbers based on their relative location to known numbers on the line. We talked about how if a number is half way between two numbers, the value that would belong should be halfway between as well. (0--------___------------20) In this case the value would be ten. We also talked about how if there is an unknown value closer to a known number, that the value should be closer as well. (0-------------------__-20) The value could be 19 or 18.
Auction Project: We need your help!Next week we will be working on another component to our class' auction project. We will be making the bench and stepping stones to go with our garden set. We could certainly use help! Also, please send a shirt or covering for your son or daughter to work in to avoid concrete sticking to their uniforms on Wednesday. Volunteering: Wednesday March 8 8-9:50 and possibly 10:30-11:30 (depending on how the morning goes) You would help with mixing concrete (no experience needed, I have none!), helping remind kids to push gently with their leaves in the concrete, help with clean up, and just overall business. Donating: We will need a few materials before Wednesday: - 5 throw away pie tins (made out of aluminum, large size) - 1-2 cans of vegetable oil spray - interesting leaves that would make good imprints (they can even be lettuce leaves from the store since not much is growing right now) - two large buckets for mixing concrete - big old t-shirts to protect uniforms How can we help our community thrive?This week we focused on what makes a community thrive, and how we could help our community thrive. As part of this the students brainstormed different service projects we could do for our community to help it thrive. We discussed this as a class and came up with a few ideas. We then broke into groups that leaned towards certain project ideas to expand on these original ideas. The groups then presented their plans to the class to vote on which one the class thought would be best to do together. The different group ideas were: have a school-wide trash clean up, raise money or items to donate to the poor, have a car wash to raise money for books, have a sale to raise money for books, plant more flowers for our school garden, and make stink bug traps for the campus. It was really great to see students really engaged and excited about their plans, many of them working with other kids that they don't usually select as partners, but coming together on a similar vision. New Logo and MRA Wear!You can order MRA wear online now with our new logo. Here is the link:
bashors.tuosystems.com/stores/molallariveracademyexplorer-owl Basket WeavingThis week we had the joy of learning about basket weaving! We have been talking about Native Americans in Molalla and comparing the culture and lifestyle to our current day Molalla. We talked about the materials and resources that were handy back then an now- Natives didn't have plastic, cardboard, and cloth bags to carry around goods. They may made baskets to carry goods from local plants. They also had to plan their basket making around the time of year that they could harvest materials. We learned about local plants that are used for basket weaving, as well as some basket weaving techniques. Here are some pictures: MathIn math we are continuing to practice our addition skills, and this week introduced a number line. We talked about how to decide where to place numbers on a number line, and thinking about the spacing between numbers on your line. We worked first as a class on a number line, then everyone made their own number lines. American Heritage Days |
Important DatesMay 22 Independent Project
Presentations Begin June 2 Donuts for Dudes Archives
June 2017
|