The Great Pumpkin Caper and Class Luncheon!

We had a blast on Friday with our pumpkin investigation - The Great Pumpkin Caper!

Students worked together to find out how many lines around their pumpkin....



What was the circumference of their pumpkin...



How much their pumpkin weighed...




Whether their pumpkin would sink or float...







As you can see, the children were all surprised to learn that ALL the pumpkins floated!

And the most fun part - Finding out how many seeds their pumpkin had!














After counting the seeds, the kids were surprised to learn that a smaller pumpkin like this one, could actually have MORE seeds than a much bigger pumpkin. As we discussed afterward, it's all about survival! The smaller pumpkins have a lesser chance of being eaten so they need to work extra hard to make more seeds so that they increase their chances of reproducing!


After the fun with the pumpkins, we had our first Quarterly Luncheon! I was very pleased and surprised at how many parents (and grandparents) showed up at our luncheon! I think this was a record! Figures, now that I'm in a teeny tiny room, that's when all the parents show up!







Here's Amber with her grandma and grandpa!


And here's Nick getting a kiss goodbye from his mom! Awwwwwwe!

Our next luncheon will be early - on December 17th! And since it's right before the holiday break, we're going to have a full-on party for that one! I hope even more parents are able to join us next time!

Monster Mash!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Pumpkins and Fall Luncheon!

On Friday, October 29th, we'll be having the first of our quarterly luncheons for parents and family. Our luncheon will be at 12:00 and all parents are welcomed to come and join us! Please let me know if you are planning to attend and also if you will be bringing or sending anything in for hue luncheon. I'll likely order pizzas (unless someone offers up a better idea!), and I'll need someone to pick them up. We'll also need plates, napkins, cups, drinks, and sides. Let me know what you can do to help ASAP.

Also, on that Friday, to go along with our Book of the Month, we'll be doing a special pumpkin science project! In order to do this, I am asking for some parents to send iin a pumpkin to be used for the project. We'll need 6 pumpkins total, varying in size. Any student who brings a pumpkin will be able to bring it back home undamaged and ready for carving at the end of the day that same Friday! Please send one in if you can anytime before Friday, October 29th!

Also, during the science project there will be a lot of stuff going on in the room at the same time, and it'd be nice to have an extra adult or two. If you'd like to help out in the classroom for this project, between 9:00-11:00 let me know!

Ben's Going to State!!

I just found out yesterday that my little brother, Ben, just got accepted into Michigan State University, one of the best colleges in Michigan! The best thing is he only applied to ONE college!!




After working hard to get As from Kindergarten through 11th grade, my brother was able to pick his college! I'm so proud of my little brother. Though with him going into college in less than a year, I guess I can't keep calling him my "little brother".

Halloween Rap!

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Geography Test This Friday

We'll be having a unit test on geography this Friday! We'll spend much of the week reviewing the many things we've learned so far in social studies, but you can get a head start studying for your test. Here are all the things you need to know:

*Vocabulary (map, globe, atlas, hemisphere, equator, continent, ocean, landforms, special purpose maps)
*Continents and Oceans - names, locations, and important details
*Common landforms (island, peninsula, mountain, hill, canyon, valley, plain, lake, river, harbor)
*Parts of a map and how to use them (map title, key/legend, map scale, compass rose, lines of latitude and longitude)

You can use any of our previous social studies tests to help you review.

- Landforms
- Oceans and Continents

Science Homework - October 7

Review the types of vertebrates using this practice quiz. Click on the type of vertebrate for each animal shown. Careful! Some of the animals are invertebrates!

Progress Reports Tomorrow!

Progress Reports will be coming home tomorrow (MONDAY)!!

Please make sure to review your child's grades with them, sign the progress report, and have your child return it to school Tuesday!

Starting a New Novel!

We've just finished reading "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing," and this week we'll be starting a new novel - "Trading Places with Tank Talbott." This is a great story filled with lots of twists, turns, and surprises! Here's the premise from the back cover:

"All Jason Pheiffer wants to do is finish his horror movie script. Lately, though, his whole life is full of horrors! He has to take swimming lessons, put his face in the water, and deal with Tank Talbott.

All Tank Talbott wants to do is beat people up. (At least, that's what Jason thinks.) But now Tank has to take ballroom dance classes! There's nothing Tank hates more than dancing-except maybe being mistaken for a dork face like Jason.

And that's just what gives Jason an idea to help them both."