We had an AWESOME afternoon at Mirror Lake!   We split the kids into 2 groups...half of us hiked while the other half canoed, and then we switched.  We went on the ECHO ROCK trail to the bridge (an easy hike if you're looking for a family outdoor adventure this summer), but the highlight of the day was definitely the canoe!!  A big THANK YOU to Mr. Williams :)  Here are some pictures...

Here are some pictures from math centers today....

We played a game like "Memory" called FLIP 5.  The students took turns flipping over 2 cards; if the sum equalled 5 they could keep the cards.  This would be a fun game to try at home...you could make number cards (0-5) or use a deck of cards (ace-5 with face cards for 0).

Another group was measuring summer pictures with a sun ruler.

During our group lessons, we've been practicing telling time to the hour.  At this center, students matched the digital time on the dice to the "analog" clock on their sheet.

We also had the straws and connectors set out to build 3D shapes.

Tuesday is our field trip to Mirror Lake.  Mr. Williams is bringing his BIG canoe, and we will also hike.  We plan to leave Pineview at 12:00 and be back around 2:30.  I've ordered warm, sunny weather! :)

Have a great weekend!

Our little entomologists are learning about butterflies.  Today we read a nonfiction book that told us a butterfly's tongue is like a straw, so we had to see what it would be like to have a "proboscis"!   We tried "eating" an apple, applesauce, and apple juice with a straw...

A lot of great learning took place during our recent plant unit, but I am MOST excited about our bean plants!  We read JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, planted bean seeds, gave them water, sunshine, and love.....and waited.  The seeds sprouted after about 5 days, and they grew sooo quickly.  The kids loved checking the plants each morning when they got to school!

(the plant stakes are the giant's castle from the story  :)

One of my favorite parts of our math curriculum is "Math Journals".  We started our journals back in October and we continue to do a page in them 2-3 times each week.  At the beginning of the year we did the math problems on each page together, and I would model a picture the kids could draw to help them figure out the answer.  We have covered shapes, patterns, ordinal numbers, addition, subtraction, and more!  This is a great chance for students to think through a math concept, and solve a problem at their own level.

Last Friday, Charlee's dad visited our classroom.  Mr. Dempsey is a firefighter in Reedsburg and Madison.  He told us about his job, talked about fire safety, and brought along his super cool uniform, which the kids got to try on!

We sprinkled love around the Pineview neighborhood today!  In honor of May Day, we decorated "baskets", filled them with flowers, and delivered them to homes around our school.  It was soooo fun watching the kids sneak up to "their" house, ring the doorbell, and run!  Our baskets brought smiles to a lot of faces :)

Happy May Day!!