A few weeks ago we made bird pictures in art class after learning about John James Audubon who loved drawing birds. There were different categories to choose from such as cardinals, song birds, warblers, blue jays, and birds of prey. Everyone made one using photographs of real birds and colored pencils. Then we cut the birds out and glued them onto paper. Finally, we drew a tree and/or a background with pastels. Most of our class chose birds of prey such as eagles, falcons, and hawks. We had a choice to take it home or show it off. They are displayed outside our classroom. Everyone in our class loved their birds.
The whole school had an all-school sing along. Many students wore holiday clothing and hats. The Christmas songs we sang and performed were Sleigh Ride; You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch; Must Be Santa: Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree; and Jingle Bells. When Mr. Bohne was The Grinch he had face paint and costume that made him actually look like the character. Mrs. Heinonen read the real story while Mr. Bohne acted it out and the 5th graders played the bells. We all had a lot of fun at the sing-along before Winter Break.
After the all-school sing, we headed back to the classroom and had our Winter Party. The main activity was a time-capsule ornament. Some items included strips of papers with facts about ourselves, beads with our initials, a group picture of our class, pic of Okie, racing flag, orange bucket slip, snowflake, mini penguin, and our fall picture day photo. Mrs. Carley read us a book about 365 penguins. Other parents came to help as well. For snack we enjoyed tangerines, Rice Krispy Treats, and apple juice. Our goody bags contained a deck of cards and pencils. We had an awesome time and will remember this incredible event.
A second person from our class, Devam, has achieved over one million words in Reading Counts. He showed a lot of perseverance. Devam got to decorate an owl to put in the display case for others to admire. He also gets recognized by the librarian, Mr. Bohne, and gets to go to the Million-word Lock-in at the end of the year. Our class is very proud of Devam! A lot of students have been working hard to earn RC points and meet their personal goals. Several kids have already passed 100 points and they plan to keep on racing!
Last week we did a science experiment with water and soil. Our question was what soil can absorb water best. The types of soil we used were loam, clay, pebbles, gravel, and two types of sand. We thought the soil with the smallest particles would collect the most water. The materials you need for this are measuring cups, water, soil, and paper towels. We poured exactly 30 mL of water on each, collected the data, and compared the soil samples. 1st place was clay, 2nd was loam, 3rd was a tie between coarse sand and fine sand, 4th pebbles, then in 5th place was gravel. Each group added another 10 mL of water to try and break the tie between the sands. Overall, our hypothesis was correct. Clay absorbed the most water. Our class enjoyed this science experiment.
~ Mrs. Foley's Third Graders