Summer Vacation!

The last week of school was a great one!  We had a fabulous Publishers' Picnic on Monday, Field Day on Thursday, and last day of school on Friday.  The Jeopardy game was lots of fun (thank you to the brave parents willing to play against the kids!).  The kids won the game and received an AMC gift card (thank you to Misty Tinsley for getting them). 

I hope you all have a wonderful summer.  Remember to read, play math games, and write in a journal this summer! 

Week of June 1st

It is hard to believe it is already June with only 7 days left of school.  The kids are getting restless, but we are continuing our routines and learning. 

Friday, June 3rd is Beach Day.  The kids should come dressed in layers with appropriate beach clothes and shoes.  Please send an extra set of clothes and shoes with your child just in case they get wet.  Subway sandwiches will be provided for the students, so if this meal will be a problem, please send something else with your child.  All students will need to bring a water bottle.  I have some parents who have volunteered to help with Beach Day, but we could always use more!  Let me know if you are available.  We will have gathering at 8:30 and will leave about 9 to get down to the beach.  We will return before 3. 

Please join us on Monday, June 6th for the Publishers' Picnic.  The students will have recess from 12-12:30, then we will (hopefully) have a picnic lunch to show off our fabulous writing from the year.  Many students would love a "special" lunch on this day.  PLEASE let me know if your child will not have anyone here.  I will be asking administrators to please come over to eat lunch with students who are without an adult. 

June 9th is Field Day.  We will be going over to Norpoint Center's new play and spray ground for the afternoon.  We will leave campus about 12:00, having lunch there.  Please remember to pack a cold lunch for your student, no microwave will be available.  Students may wear a bathing suit to go into the water park, but must also bring a towel and extra set of clothes and shoes.  We will play and have organized activities for the afternoon and be back by 3.  I have 5 parents who have volunteered, but we can always use more.  Please let me know if you are also available.

June 10th is the last day of school.  We will have Gathering at 9:00 this day.  This will be the awards gathering, and as always, parents are invited to attend.  At 11:00 we will have our class party.  For our party, we will have a game of Kids vs Parents Washington Jeopardy.  There will also be an ice cream bar and prizes for the winning team.  Please join us for this fun event!  The kids are so excited to take on the parents.  School dismisses at 12:00 with no After Care on this day. 

We have been plugging away with lessons and activities.  The kids will be tested on Washington State Geography and multiplication of multi-digit numbers on Thursday of this week.  The murals of the biomes for science turned out wonderfully.  Below are some pictures, but you will be able to see for yourselves the biomes and our art gallery if you are able to join us on Monday at the Publishers' Picnic. 

 The Rainforest

 The Grasslands

 The Ocean

 The Desert

The Tundra

I have enjoyed the camaraderie of the students in working on various projects this year.  As we are writing the Jeopardy game, the students are giving each other ideas of questions to write in various categories.  It is great to see! 

As the scool  year closes, please spend some time looking for library and classroom books your student has brought home.  We would appreciate these being returned in the next week.  Thank you for your help with this.

Last, please send a large sturdy bag with your student on Monday.  We will be cleaning out all of our materials on Tuesday and Wednesday, so students will need more than a backpack to get everything home. 

Wednesday afternoon the kids helped one of the moms cut her hair to donate to Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for children who have cancer.  Thank you to all of the families that donated money.  I was especially proud of the children who came with $3, $4, $5 from their allowance willing to give it to the organization.  The class raised over $200. 



Week of May 25th

The students all did a great job at the music performance last night.  We have very creative students here! 

There are a few upcoming events I would like to emphasize. 

Grandparents and Special Friends Day is this Thursday from 1:30-3:00.  We will have an art show and other activities for the event. 

There will be no school on Friday, May 27th and Monday, May 30th.  Enjoy the long weekend!

Friday, June 3rd is Beach Day!  We will be going to Dash Point State Park all day.  Students should be prepared for all kinds of weather.  Please make sure they have on sunscreen before coming to school that day.  They will be able to wade in the water, so appropriate clothes AND shoes are necessary.  Please send your student will an extra set of clothes and shoes, a towel, and a snack.  The PBC will be providing a sub sandwich for the students for lunch.  Parents are needed for the trip.  You can follow the bus or meet us there.  Please let me know if you are available to go. 

Monday, June 6th is our Publisher's Picnic.  The students have worked hard this year in writing, so we are showing it off on this day.  Please bring a lunch for you and your student and a blanket to sit on.  We will sit outside (hopefully) and allow the students to share all of their hard work with you.  Lunch will begin at 12:30.  The students will be going to recess at 12:00 if you would like to join them early for this.  

Thursday, June 9th is our Field Day.  We believe we will be taking the children to the Norpoint Center's new play ground and water park.  I have some parent volunteers for the event, but if you would also like to help, please let me know.  We will have more details about the day soon. 

Friday, June 10th is our last day of school.  For our party, we will have a kids vs parents match of Jeopardy.  This will take place at 11:15.  We hope you can join us for this fun event! 

The students have been working hard and have had a great week.  Check out these pictures of the last few days with our Artist in Residence, Joanie Joachim, who did lots of great projects with us.  These will be in our art show and will be coming home in the next week or two. 

May 18th

Upcoming Events:

May 26-Grandparents and Special Friends Day 1:30-3:00

May 27-May 30-No School

June 3-Beach Day

June 6 (tentatively)-Publishers' Picnic

June 9-Field Day

June 10-Last Day of School, noon dismissal

A Horse's Tale has us visiting Mason City and the Grand Coulee Dam in the 1930s.  Next we will head to Puyallup and the Japanese internment camps of the 1940s.  This should make for an engaging conversation.  The kids are working really hard on synonyms and antonyms with the word of the day. 


In math, we have begun working on two and three digit numbers multiplied by a one digit number.  The children learned the partial products method, which leads nicely into multiplying binomials in algebra (how many of you remember FOIL?).  Basically, they will look at a problem like 46 x 6, write 46 in expanded notation (40 + 6), then multiply each of those parts by 6 and add the answers together.  The kids are quite excited about this, so be sure to ask your Beacon about it.  We will learn the traditional method for multiplying in the next week. 


In writing, the students are peer and teacher conferencing with their persuasion paper.  They had to write a 5 paragraph paper on why others should move to Washington state.  There are some very good arguments for it.  We will be typing these in the next week. 


Has your student told you about their biome in science yet?  Be sure to ask.  They are creating and mapping their biome, making sure the scale of things is appropriate.  We will be ready to unveil them the last week of school.


In social studies, the kids are making up questions for Jeopardy.  It will be done on the computer, so it has taken some figuring on how to make it work.  Once the questions (or should I say answers) are written out, it will look fabulous.  The kids are very excited about it. 


Check out these pictures from our pajama day.  It was a great day to lounge around and read on our new bean bag chairs (thank you to everyone who donated them)!

Week of May 11th

Upcoming Events:

May 12-Field Trip to the Washington State History Museum - Wear Seabury shirt and bring a cold lunch!

May 13-Pajama and Pancake Day

May 26-Grandparents and Special Friends Day

May 27-May 30-No School

June 3-Beach Day

June 6 (tentatively)-Publishers' Picnic

June 9-Field Day

June 10-Last Day of School, noon dismissal

Our Horse's Tale book continued into the 1910s and 20s this past week. The students visited Roslyn and Darrington, WA.  they did some comparisons of different eras, as well as comparing towns.  The students are enjoying reading this great book.
 
In math, we began a unit on multiplication of larger numbers.  The students have been multiplying multiples of 10 and estimating products of larger numbers.  We want to make sure they can understand whether their answer makes sense by estimating answers first.  In the next week, the students will be learning a few different ways to multiply multi-digit numbers.
 
Our writers' workshop time finds us trying to persuade someone to move to Washington.  The students are writing a 5 paragraph paper, complete with opening, 3 supporting, and concluding paragraphs, topic sentences, good details, and concluding sentences.  I think these papers would convince me! 
 
In science, the children began working on their murals for their biome.  They must show plants, animals, the climate, and human impact on their biome mural.  We are also talking about how to make things in the appropriate scale.  It is hard for the kids to understand that if your grass is 1 foot tall, the bison wouldn't be less than that! 
 
Social Studies continues with research for the Jeopardy game.  Our field trip to the Washington State History Museum will tie in nicely with our study.  Students will explore the museum and write notes of questions to include in our game. 
 
This week and next, we have Joanie Joachim working with the students as our Artist in Residence.  The students are working on making sculptures.  Our first project was to use a birdhouse, clay pot, stick, and other materials to create a fun and funky sculpture.  Enjoy these pictures from this week and be sure to check back for more pictures next week.

Week of May 4th

Upcoming Events:

May 12-Field Trip to the Washington State History Museum

May 13-Pajama and Pancake Day

May 26-Grandparents and Special Friends Day

May 27-May 30-No School

June 3-Beach Day

June 6 (tentatively)-Publishers' Picnic

June 9-Field Day

June 10-Last Day of School, noon dismissal

As you can see, there are many things happening in the last 5 1/2 weeks of school.  There are some fabulous things happening in the classroom as well.  

In language arts, students are really enjoying The Horse's Tale.  They are enjoying reading about different times and locations.  They must mark the location of each chapter on a map, so they eagerly jump up from reading to do that. They also love creating their Venn diagrams.  One of the things I am enjoying is watching the kids when they encounter a word that is unfamiliar to them.  This book has a glossary in the back, so they look any unfamiliar words, discussing with each other the meaning.  What responsible students!

In math, we are testing on decimals on Thursday and will begin a chapter on multiplying multi-digit numbers next.  I will be presenting the students with the opportunity to "invent" their own method for multiplying, and we will find a strategy that works best for each student.  They are eager to multiply larger numbers!

Much to the disappointment of the students, we have concluded our month of poetry.  They were eager learners of all kinds of poems and created some fantastic work.  We will conclude our year with a persuasive paper.  The students will be writing a multiple paragraph argument about why others should move to Washington State.  We will begin brainstorming on Friday and begin the writing on Monday.  Please note on the calendar that I have tentatively scheduled the Publishers' Picnic for June 6th.  This is a great opportunity for you and others to join your Beacon for a picnic lunch and a look at all of the writing your student has done this year. 

Has your student told you about their jar ecosystem?  Students are watching water levels, aquatic plants, and seeds sprouting in their jars with their partners.  It is interesting to hear them make some conclusions about why certain things are happening and how everything works together in that ecosystem.  Students are also researching their biomes, as next week we will begin to recreate that biome.  Students will be able to show the web of life from their ecosystem and how human impact effects it. 

In Social Studies, students are finishing up their information packets so they can begin creating questions for our Jeopardy game.  Care to play kids vs parents???  Stay tuned for details! 

Thank you to all families for making this a great Teacher Appreciation Week.  All of the plants, flowers, goodies, classroom enhancements, brunch items, etc. are very appreciated. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms.  Have a wonderful week!

Week of April 27th

Upcoming Events:

May 12th - Field Trip to Washington State History Museum

May 13th - Pajama Day and pancake snack

The Beacons have had a great week.  Here are some of the highlights!

We had a great Earth Day.  The students wore their hats and walked around the neighborhood picking up trash. 

Those are some fabulous looking newspaper hats!

The students began reading A Horse's Tale.  This fabulous book looks back through 100 years of Washington state history and geography.  We visited Ritzville, WA in the 1890s this week. The kids compared the 1890s with 2011, creating a Venn diagram to illustrate the similarities and differences.  We will travel to many other places and times in the week to come.

In Writers' Workshop, our poetry unit continues for National Poetry month.  The children have written haikus, tankas, free verse, and cinquains this week.  The expectation is that students will complete a poem each day.  Once they finish, they can write another poem of their choice.  We have some very prolific writers of poetry! 

In math, the students are moving into decimals.  They are looking at the place value after a decimal point, converting fractions and decimals, and applying this work to money.  The kids are very excited about decimals, and are making some good connections with the place value. 

In Science, we have been hard at work on ecosystems.  On one of our sunny days, we went outside and dug in the dirt to see what lives in the ecosystem in our garden.  There were many kids who were excited about the words and other insects they found.  We also saw roots of plants and discussed why each of these things was important to that ecosystem.  We also created terrariums with a partner.  We began with 2 inches of soil, added 3 inches of water, then added a plant to the jar.  We have begun dropping seeds into the jar.  The students are making observations every few days about the water level, what happens to the seeds, and how the plant is growing.  The goal is to watch as the water level drops, what happens to the seeds and plants.  Hopefully we will see how this ecosystem needs certain things to survive and what those are. 

In Social Studies, the students are learning about the history of Washington state.  We read some information, worked on highlighting properly the important facts, and are now answering questions about what we read.  Soon the students will be gathering facts and writing questions for our Jeopardy game. 

Only 6 weeks left of school! 

Week of April 20th

The children did a great job showing off their organs and bones at Gathering on Friday. Congratulations on a job well done to all the Beacons.

We are beginning our last book of the year on Thursday.  A Horse's Tale edited by Nancy Luenn will take the children through 100 years of adventure in Washington state.  This ties nicely with our Social Studies unit on Washington and Puget Sound.  The children will be comparing and contrasting different decades from the book. 

If you haven't heard about our poetry writing, please ask your Beacon!  The kids are very excited about writing different types of poems.  Even the most reluctant writers are finding great success with this.  In the last week, we have written color poems, poems about rules, a nonsense rhyming poem, shape poems, and couplets.  We will be putting all of the poems together in a booklet once April is finished and will have a publishers' picnic at the end of the year to share all of our great work.  Be sure to check out the pictures and poems below. 

In math, our fraction unit is coming to a close.  We will be testing on Friday.  The students are having great discussions when coming up with strategies for comparing and ordering fractions, as well as finding equivalent fractions.

In Science, we are beginning our study of ecosystems.  After a discussion about what an ecosystem is and how it works, the students will be creating their own ecosystem.  They will  need to create a food web and be able to discuss how the ecosystem works.

In Social Studies, we have begun looking at the history of Washington state.  The students are reading information booklets and learning how to highlight the important information (without highlighting the entire sentence or paragraph).  They are preparing topics for our Jeopardy game. 

The students will be wearing some lovely newspaper hats for Earth Day on Friday.  We will also be picking up trash around the school and neighborhood on Friday afternoon.  The Beacons are excellent stewards of the Earth.

We made inkblot pictures with paint, then wrote a couplet poem that went with our pictures.  What do you see?  This is what we see, written in couplet form. 

I have a paper body.

It has a brain and something dotty.

It has a tongue. 

And something dumb.

 I see nothing,

And I see something.

I know you are confused,

But I asked to be excused.

 I found this but I don't know what it is.

I see the name and now I surely know it's his.

It is very colorful.

It is very wonderful.

 I was watching the gliders,

When some galactic fighters

Zoomed through the sky!!!

Fly! Fly! Fly!

 I saw some colorful rain.

Then they went into the drain.

But then the rain changed.

It was so strange.

 I see something.

But I know it's nothing.

I know it's puffy.

I don't think it's a toughie.

 I'm sorry this picture is really nothing. 

Although I think it's something.

I really don't know what it is.

A mishmash, a hodgepodge, some sort of paintish fizz. 

 Smiley faces always looking at you.

And then it says boo. 

It says it's sorry.

Then it goes on a safari.

 The boxer fights for his sight.

The boxer fights for his right.

The boxer is going to kick.

It is going to be quick!

 The gate is made out of a wall,

It will not fall,

It has ferns,

And it turns.

 I see lots of colors in front of me.

A lot of colors I see.

I see yellow.

And it is mellow.

 I see a butterfly in front of me.

I see it's with a honeybee!

A butterfly is on a flower.

It's so dirty it needs a shower!

 Some wrestlers went to confess who is best,

They are wearing the same clothes and are really dressed.

They are really hairy on their chests,

They love the word crest.

I see the joker.

He is playing poker.

He's wearing brass

In a class.

Have a wonderful week!

Week of April 13

Welcome back from Spring Break!  The kids all returned enthused and rested for the last 9 weeks of school. 


In language arts, the children are finishing up their second trimester books this week.  They are having to connect some pieces all throughout the book.  We have discussed foreshadowing, so the children are now thinking of at least 2 instances of foreshadowing in their book.  It has been quite impressive to see the kids thinking hard about this. 


In math, we have begun a chapter on fractions.  We will explore fractions of a whole, fractions of a set, and equivalent fractions over the next week.  The children have made fraction sticks to help understand these concepts and we will be playing some fraction games in the next week. 


In writing, we are finishing up our hard backed books.  The students have all finished typing their stories, and are now illustrating and putting them together.  We will be working on the covers, including the summary, author information and comments in the next week.  Since April is National Poetry month, we will be writing a variety of poems this month.


In science we are finishing up the human body and beginning the study of ecosystems.  There are many fun and interesting topics on the agenda for ecosystems, including the recreation of different biomes.  More details to come about this!


Social Studies has us looking at Washington State.  We will do lots of exploring of the geography, history and current economy throughout our study.  The students will be writing and creating a Washington version of Jepoardy on the computer.  They are very excited about researching this and making the game. 

Have a wonderful week!

Week of March 30

The kids did a wonderful job with the Living History Museum on Friday.  Here are some great pictures from the event. 

If you didn't get a chance to see it, here is the quilt the students made for the Seabury Auction. Thanks to Cathy Moeller and her friends for helping with the sewing!
 
Just a reminder that next week is Spring Break.  Hopefully you and your Beacon will have a wonderful and restful time off of school to recharge.