I hope you all had a great Spring Break, whether you went away someplace tropical or stayed home and relaxed.  When the Lemurs return on Tuesday, they will find that our room has transformed again…here is a clue...this isn’t a simple machine, it’s a complex machine.

Looking over the photos from the week before break…I can’t believe we did so much in one week!  Next week we dive into preparations and practice for our upcoming play!  I am going in today to set up our curtain system.  The play will take place in the community room across from our classroom.   We will practice parts of the play every day until the show.  On Friday, I will be sending home lines with each student so that you can practice at home.

Group work last week…

Monday
Trap Brainstorm Problem Solving – The leprechaun came to our classroom but our traps didn’t stop him!  That clever little guy figured out a way to escape from each trap.  But Lemurs never give up!  We brainstormed how we could change each trap so that next year he doesn’t escape!
Math – Design pattern for 10 caterpillar numbers – Students created a color pattern for 10 circles.   
Read-Aloud – The Paper Bag Princess – by Robert Munsch

Tuesday
Dragon Habitats! – Thank you to our volunteers who helped us bring our visions alive!  Students poured over tables full of fabric, beads. ribbons, etc.  To find just the right decor for their dragon family.
Read-Aloud – The Seven Chinese Sisters – by Kathy Tucker.  This is a modern version of the old book, the Five Chinese Brothers.

Wednesday
Guided Reading – I listened to students read from books in their book bags.  The waiting students used literacy apps on the iPad.
Math – Writing Numbers – Students added a set of numbers to their color pattern.
Simple Machines – Gears -We learned how the direction of interlocking gears changes from left to right.  We put this knowledge to use by creating a machine that feeds Coconut a treat.

Thursday
Science – Volcanoes! – We learned about how volcanoes form from magma underneath the ground.  Once the magma explodes as lava and hardens, the mountain becomes larger.  This idea is depicted beautifully in this Pixar short we watched, ” I Lava You.”  Afterward, we mixed baking soda, vinegar, and dish soap to create individual baby volcanoes.
Volcano Math/Fine Motor – Students matched numbered volcanoes with matching numbered lava.
Read-Aloud – The Empty Pot by DEMI – One of my favorites!  This gorgeous book tells the tale of a young boy who’s bravery and honesty are truly valued.

Friday
NO SCHOOL

We are wrapping up our unit on dragons and castles this coming week by creating a habitat for our dragon puppet and dragon baby.  If you have not brought in a shoe box, please bring one in Monday or Tuesday…we still have many extras in the hallway if you need one.

We have 3 volunteers for Tuesday morning (thank you!) but I am happy to take more if anyone is free to help us make habitats from 9am – 10am.  Volunteers will be helping students “shop” for craft supplies and then using glue gun to attach fabric to shoe boxes.

Group work this past week…

Monday
Art:Design a dragon puppet – Students designed a sock puppet to be a mom or dad dragon for their baby dragon.  Mrs. Genovese assembled the puppets with a hot glue gun.  Now all these dragons need is a habitat!  Coming soon….
Math: Dragon Math Stories – Students rolled dice to get to numbers, then used those numbers to create a number story about dragons, such as “3 dragons went to get ice cream and met 2 dragons along the way, now there are 5 dragons getting ice cream”  Students then turned their story into a number sentence.

Tuesday
Art/Science: Painting Dragon Skies – Using real artist’s watercolor paper made from cotton, student soaked the paper in water (you can’t do that with regular paper!) and then watched the paint move in interesting ways as they created a dragon sunset.
Math – Dividing in Half – Partners had their baby dragons go on a playdate…they needed to divide all of the toys for their dragons in half so that things were fair.  Students used counting and measurement skills to divide items into even shares.
Simple Machines: Wheel and Axle – A wheel is very handy, but put a wheel on an axle and you have a simple machine…so powerful that it can move giant trucks!

Wednesday
K-2 Musical: Bugged! – We watched the big kids put on a great show!
Art: Adding a castle silhouette to our dragon sky – Using pre-cut black shapes, students created a castle silhouette against their watercolor sunset.
Puppet Theater Show: Jack and the Beanstalk – Using a simple machine (a pulley), we watched a beanstalk grow to the ceiling of our classroom in the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Thursday
Guided Reading – I read with students one on one from their book bags while the waiting students in group used literacy apps on iPads.
Chess – Mrs. Swanson took on her whole group in a game of Chess!
Simple Machines: The Screw – Take an inclined plane and wrap it around a tube and you have a screw!  So powerful!  So simple!

Friday
History: The Story of Saint Patrick – Mrs. Swanson read the story of the real Saint Patrick and students created a rainbow chain representing Saint Patrick’s character traits.
Engineering: Leprechaun Traps – Students took on the challenge of trapping a leprechaun…not any easy task!  You must create a contraption that the leprechaun can enter but not exit.  We will see on Monday if we were able to out-trick the trickiest leprechaun.
Read-aloud: Mrs. McCool and the Giant Cuhullin: An Irish Tale by Jessica Souhami –  I think Mrs. McCool could out-trick the leprechaun….I love this story of how a very clever wife uses her wits to fend off a dangerous giant.

I had knocked the side down when I took the photo…sorry!  I did fix it.

Save the Date! – Jr. K Performance…Friday, May 10th at 9am.   Dress Rehearsal – Thursday, May 9th 9am…option if you can’t make May 10th

(Please do not plan vacations during this time)

First there was “The Balloon Problem”…

Then we had “The Chicken Problem”…

Coming this May, the 2019 Lemur Class will present “Ernesto’s Problem”…

Group Work this week…

Monday – No School

Tuesday
Dragon Eggs – Using model magic and lots of jewels, students created proper dragon eggs for their baby dragons.  Next week we will make a mother or father dragon puppet.
Math – Dragon Pearl Trade Game – Students earned coins and traded them up for $1 to purchase a pearl from the Sun Dragon
Voting for simple machine song – We voted on which simple machine song we will be singing for our performance in May.
Read-Aloud – The Boy Who Painted Dragons by DEMI – Beautiful book about facing your fears and being truthful with yourself.

Wednesday
Guided Reading – Students read from their book bags with a teacher
Castle Simple Machines – Inclined Planes (ramps) – Groups were challenged to stack 4 “boulders’ without lifting them, only using simple machines (a wedge and a ramp).
Puppet Theater Story – The Dragon’s Pearl – An old Chinese tale about a dragon, a pearl, and an evil queen.

Thursday
Storytelling – Sparky the Popcorn Breathing Dragon – Using a popcorn machine cleverly disguised as a dragon, we heard the story of Sparky, a dragon who visited a corn farm and turned all of the corn into popcorn using his fire-y breath.
Sequencing the story – We then sequenced the events of the story
Retelling with Writing – Students then applied their writing skills to retell the story from sequenced pictures.

Friday
Castle Simple Machines – Drawbridge Pulley and Lever Catapult – We used a pulley to close up the castle and then attacked the castle with socks launched from catapults we made from different materials.
Memory Game – Magic Labryrinth – Great game!
Read-aloud – The Popcorn Dragon

Sequencing story before retelling with writing