Chocolate Alert-Hershey's Math!

FREE OFFER-snow just for you....how much would you like?  We have another 2 hr delay!  Ok, 51 school closings and delays in Northeast WI...can you say, "ROSE, YOU SHOULD STILL BE SLEEPING."

On to math...yesterday we used Hershey's bar to help us understand and demonstrate our understanding of fractions.  A sweet parent, donated 17 Hershey's bars and each student got one to show parts of a whole- 1/12, 12/12, 3/12, 4/12, and 1/2 or 6/12.   We used the Hershy's Bar challenge.

With the perfectly cut rectangles, my students were easily able to break the pieces into groups!  They needed to share the sections with 2 friends, 3 friends, 4 friends, and also in the end, keep the whole thing to themselves and eat 12/12!  We also incorporated measuring by measuring the length and width.  SWWEEEETTT MATH!

Smiles,

A Belated Gift from our Trucker Buddy!

TUESDAY IS HERE and with it a Valentine's gift from our Trucker Buddy!  Is it ever too late...NO!
We got our own little Valentines and a bundle of Candy Hearts.  We are so grateful to have him and in a few weeks he accepts his award for being December's Trucker Buddy of the Month.

Smiles,

M is for Measuring!

Happy Sunday!
It's in the 30's!  But, I can't toot my warm up horn too loud or often because we are expecting SNOW-yes, wish I could have typed SUN!

We have been using our rulers and measuring tools more than our pencils it seems!  Yard and Meter sticks, rulers, blocks, cubes, candy, shapes, scales, etc. have all been the items we have used to increase our understanding and experiences with measuring.  I have quickly discovered that my Multi-agers need help on how to write fractions-that tricky 1/2!  How do I write 1 and a half or other increments with a 1/2 of an inch seem to give my students a challenge-BUT, we have been practicing and are now "wrapping our measuring tools" around what 1/2 looks like when measuring!  (I just assumed they would connect what they have been learning with 1/2 of drawn shapes to our measuring experiences...but have learned that transfer did not happen). Next, measuring lines and shapes made by peers!

Smiles,

Sweet Candy Heart Math!

Happy Thursday!
To me, it's Wednesday (Monday we had meetings..talk about being a creature of habit and routine).   A little change in the normal Monday-Friday rigor makes me wake up thinking it's a whole different day!
Well, time to break out the Candy Hearts-yes, it was supposed to be a lesson on Valentine's Day, but this teacher got a little of pace and had to draw lines in my lesson plan book-delayed 6 days!
Each student got a box of hearts.  With the hearts, they also got a math sheet with numerous activities to complete:  measuring, making arrays, adding, subtracting, making patterns, and no on the sheet they did not find-Last, eat them!  (ha ha...they did get to).

Smiles,

Valentines Boxes Are Not All The Same

Valentines, sweet Valentines!
For me, sick Valentines...I can't see out of my left eye Valentines! I tried very hard to put on my loving and St. Valentine's smiles, but the pain in my eye and the dryness of my throat were tough to battle!
But, my kiddos excitement, joy, and pride in their Valentines' "boxes" was enough to light up our whole village!  Because we only had a half day on the 14th, we had to SQUEEZE in many red and pink activities before 11:20 A.M.  The best one....happened at 10:35!  YOU GUESSED IT...passing out their Valentines!
"Where is the door?  This one has two holes!  Her horse keeps falling down; maybe it broke its leg."  Oh, the delightful and precious comments from 6, 7, and 8 year olds!  SWEET TIMES!

Trees, horses, football stadiums, giraffes, butterflies, oh my!

Smiles,

100th Day and Fat Tuesday!

Happy Fat Tuesday and 100th Day of School from us to you!  If you have had your 100th Day of School, congrats!  If you are eagerly awaiting this wonderful day, good luck keeping yourself and kiddos calm!

Today we honored the big day with wearing our 100th Day shirts, sharing our 100th Day collections, writing 100 words, flipping a penny 100 times, journaling about 100 things we would eat, reading a book about a girl who indecisive about what to bring for her 100th Day of School, and eating....hold on....Packi's-a jelly filled and made from scratch donut!

We counted these items by two, fives, and tens.  We sorted and classified them!  We also measured, weighed and graphed our items!

Sugar Heaven!

A great read...

Happy 100th Day of School!
Smiles,

Magnetic Fun

Hello!  Monday is here and we have a 2 hr delay.  Ice, Ice, Ice, and more Ice!  My prayers go out to the N.E. coast as they deal with 3 feet of snow.   Our layer of ice is trivial compared to 36 inches of snow.

On Friday we went fishing!  No, not ice fishing...magnetic fishing.  We are three weeks into our magnetic unit and have a firm understanding on properties of magnets, magnet types, locations of magnets, and what magnets attract to and repel. Now, we put on our science fishing outfit, got our fishing gear-a magnet on a ribbon, and headed to the lake-the carpet.  We hope to clean the lake in 30 seconds (colored paper fish with a paperclip clipped onto them). (thankfully we were young enough...we did not need to buy a fishing license...).

After each Fisherman and Fisherlady had his or her turn to take we discussed why the cow magnet attracted to the fish.  They automatically concluded that the magnet attracted to the paperclip!  HOORAY!

Smiles,

This Speech Was Mooing!!!

Happy Friday!

IT'S in the 30s!  Ok, I need to say  that again.  IT'S IN THE 30's and the sun is shining like a halogen light!

Are you ready for spring or is it just me that is getting restless with winter?

Today we had our final speech!  One of my Multi-agers gave a speech on how to walk his cow for the fair.

He did a wonderful job presenting and demonstrating!  We were so proud of him!  The calf even showed her skills and was warming up to us!  A couple of my girls grew quick attachments!  A special shout out to his parents for bringing in his calf.  A four star performance!  MOOING TIME!

SMILES!

Drink milk!  

I Am So Thankful...Teacher of Distinction Award

It's a SMILE moment for me!  I found out I won a Teacher of Distinction Award.  I'm so grateful to all of my past students and their families, my fellow staff members, principal, family, and friend for supporting my calling to teach!  I am honored to be a teacher and also be a "student."  God has blessed me 7 fold!
Never stop learning, shining, and achieving.

Don't they remind you of spring...it's on its way, right

Smiles,

You've Got Talent!

Happy Taco Tuesday-are tacos being served for lunch today in your cafeteria?

I need to give a wonderful and huge shout out to my Muti-agers!  I am so PROUD of them!  Last week Thursday-Open House Day-they confidently stood in front of their peers and a group of excited guests and shared their talents with us!  We had speeches on tieing shoelaces, making cherry Kool-aid and chocolate pudding, playing the keyboard, making Lego structures, crafting a stepping stone, to throwing a football.  Our classroom is full of wonderful attributes and skills!  As I gazed around the classroom during the speeches, the parents were in awe and fellow students were eager to hear what their peers were going to demonstrate!  THEY WERE TICKLED PINK WITH PROUD HEARTS!  After all the speeches were done, we used Popsicle sticks to draw names for students to give positive remarks to a peer's speech!

Decorating a cookie!

Making Kool-aid

Smiles,