Sing A Long

One of the traditions at UMS is to end the year with a school sing-a-long!  It is always so fun to watch the kids get so into the spirit!

FYI

Tomorrow (Tuesday, December 22nd) our class will NOT have reading program.  Our schedule will be quite off due to special projects, a student sing-a-long, and our end of day party.  I look forward to seeing all of our amazing volunteers when we return in 2016!

Measurement Trees

This morning students had an opportunity to put their measurement skills to work. We all completed the first step of our measurement trees. Boys and girls had to measure different lengths of paper to organize in a tree shape. Later, we will decorate our trees before hanging them in the hallway. 

Holiday Party!

We are still missing a few items for next week's celebration.  If you are able to contribute use the link below.  Thank you so much!

Please join us for a holiday celebration on Tuesday, December 22nd from 2:15-3:00 p.m.  If you are able/willing to provide something for our party please use this link. Thank you!

Our first Skype

Today we did our first of what I hope to be many Skype calls. We started with a practice call to Mrs. Davis' second graders down the hall. Today's focus was a mystery number Skype. We had to ask math questions to determine what their mystery number was. Students were awesome!

Special Visit

This afternoon we were treated to a special lesson on Christmas traditions from Switzerland. Elias and his Mom spoke about family traditions, showed us photos and a short video, and even brought in homemade grittibanzen (rolls shaped like little men) for us to try. It was a lot of fun! Thank you!

A Funny Thing

Ahhhh, perspective. I just thought that I'd share my whole reading group believed this book was from a "really long time ago" "like the 80's". Made my day!

Literary Non-Fiction

Last week we began a new focus in reading - literary (or narrative non-fiction). Students are realizing that books can be both entertaining and informative! Today, we practiced our note-taking skills by writing a fact we learned about Alaska from the book, Recess at 20 Below.

Guidance

Today in guidance we explored the difference between tattling and reporting. This can be a great skill for children to use at home too! Ask your child to explain how they would decide the difference between a tattle and a report.

Inside Out

In guidance, students at UMS have been studying and learning about the zones of regulation.  As a fun way to connect to what they’ve learned so far classroom teachers will be showing the movie ‘Inside Out’ either the Monday or Tuesday before Christmas vacation.  This movie is rated PG.  Please let your child’s classroom teacher know if you have any concerns.  Also, if you are interested in reading the movie synopsis visit this link:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/plotsummary

What We Learned

Below is our class 'padlet'. Students were asked to share 1 fact that they learned during our study of solids and liquids.

Created with Padlet

CHS Choir Performance

This afternoon we were lucky enough to watch a performance put on by the CHS Choir.  They sang a variety of winter holiday songs from many different cultures.

CHS Choir Performance

Eating Science!?

Today we got to eat our science. Yesterday we discussed how a liquid can be changed to a solid by changing its' temperature. Today at snack we got to eat the result! (Mango peach Popsicles)

Science

This afternoon we tried an experiment with Mentos and Diet Coke.  Unfortunately, the cold weather limited just how big our reaction was, but the kids still loved it!  We were combining a solid with a liquid to create a gas.

Musical Blending - Fun with Word Study

I am always trying to incorporate as much movement as possible into our daily routines/studies.  This morning we tried a new game called, 'Musical Blending' (think musical chairs with spelling).  The goal of the activity was to have students blend sounds together to create words.  Although the game needs a few adjustments I think that most students still enjoyed playing!