Parents, congratulations! You AND your child made it through your first week of virtual learning! I am so proud of our students this week. They applied themselves with enthusiasm and positivity. They were patient and gracious with one another and with us as we navigated technical difficulties. They created ways to connect with us and with one another that were heartwarming and innovative! I can’t tell you the number of sweet, polite, thoughtful and thankful emails your children sent to me this week. I am so delighted that we are finding ways to feel the warmth of our classroom community, despite our separation. Thank you for all of your support and your patience this week. I am leaving you with pictures of our work spaces and also including one of our Gallon Gals that Raya created! Have a wonderful weekend!

The class did a wonderful job presenting on forms of Wellness! They chose to present from the following categories: Spiritual Wellness, Occupational Wellness, Physical Wellness, Environmental Wellness, Medical Wellness, Emotional Wellness, Social Wellness, and Intellectual Wellness. The class has been practicing effective note taking skills throughout the year and did a great job taking notes as others presented. We also have been reflecting on how we achieve wellness in these areas in our own lives. Take a look at these beautiful posters they created to present to the class! (I included a couple of blooper photos because they’re too fun not to share!)

Last week we began our provocations for our unit of inquiry through a series of stations. Students had to observe and illustrate various illnesses through a microscope, read an article on Rickets, find the commonalities among a group of photos, and brainstorm forms of wellness as they rotated through centers. After discussing what these stations had in common, they discovered they all had something to do with health.

The class always enjoys the day their Central Idea for the new unit is revealed. I scramble all of the words to their Central Idea, they write them on sentence strips, cut the words apart, and try to recreate the Central Idea. It is now safe to reveal our new unit!

Please save the date for our next Exposition! You are all invited to join us on April 8th from 2:30-3:30! We look forward to sharing all we’ve learned in our unit on Sharing the Planet!

Thank you so much for coming to support your children for our sound unit exposition! This was by far their favorite exposition! They loved creating their slide presentations and I really enjoyed observing how each child’s personality showed itself uniquely in the development of their slides. And so many interesting facts! I learned so many things about pigeons, sharks, whales, rats, horses, sea lions, bunnies, alpacas, Krakatoa, Pistol Shrimp, and how sound travels! Great job, Fourth Graders! Here are some pics for you to enjoy. I’m so sorry that I missed a few of you together! My appologies!

Here are more pictures from Day 3!

It was a beautiful, warm day at Bogus and today’s focus was all about ecology. The highlight of the day was crawling into the igloo that had been made by our instructors! We learned about animal adaptations and were challenged to run up a fresh bank of snow WITHOUT snowshoes to show how important adaptations are for survival. We especially enjoyed playing “Food-Water-Shelter” to demonstrate how animal populations can become unbalanced and what healthy populations look like in relation to the resources available to them. And, of course, no outdoor experience is complete without a game of Camouflage!

This week we began our provocations for our Unit of Inquiry: How We Express Ourselves.

Provocation #1: The Physics of Sound

We began our lesson talking about instruments, particularly the manner in which we handle and care for instruments. I explained that Mr. Hamilton and Mrs. Benton had generously allowed us to use one of the most expensive instruments our school owns. We talked in depth about handling them gently, with reverence and responsibility. They then closed their eyes in anticipation while I handed each student a……TONGUE DEPRESSOR! After a good laugh, I challenged the class to use the tongue depressors to compose Mary Had a Little Lamb. They began with tapping, and moved onto plucking. They began to experiment with pitch as they shortened and lengthened the tongue depressor on the edge of their desks. This first provocation was just the beginning teaser into our next Unit of Inquiry!

Provocation #2: What Messages Does Sound Convey?

In this second provocation, students listened to three organisms making sound: an infant crying, a beaver tail striking water, and a bird’s song. They were asked to brainstorm what messages were being conveyed by each organism.

Provocation #3: What Emotions Can Sound Convey?

Students were tasked with recording the emotions they felt while listening to seven compositions from popular movie sound tracks. Talk about passion and engagement! The class was so full of anticipation as each composition played, and overcome with the very emotions conveyed by each piece!

And on Friday we were finally able to unpack our new Unit of Inquiry!:

Save the date, families! We are looking forward to sharing all we’ve learned during this unit at our exposition on February 12th from 2:30-3:30!

Today, our 4th graders brainstormed ways to improve Riverstone for the better. We’ll be working in class on this project this week and next, but here are the details below. Students may choose one major topic, or two topics to discuss (their choice) and then will write a letter to persuade the powers that be to “make changes” if at all possible. We, of course, are focusing on ways that are “do-able” and practical. Feel free to discuss this with your child at home and to help them with any additional ideas. Tomorrow, everyone will begin to write a first draft using the graphic organizer below!