Always shine by using all your talents and skills!

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

We Have Painted Lady Butterflies!

"Ms. Wenzel, look there is a butterfly,"  exclaimed one of my students!  Totally not predicted for today, but happened!  Day   and we had 1 miracle right in our classroom...many wished they could have been in the classroom to witness the release of the butterfly out of its chrysalis.  LIFE IS AMAZING!



Butterfly smiles,



Sunday, April 28, 2013

Day 16...we Have 5 Chrysalises!

Was your Saturday as beautiful as mine?  We topped 70 degrees in Northeast Wisconsin!  You're right it is Sunday, but I am still in awe of yesterday's weather!  I went on three different trails and pounded, pounded, and pounded!

We are anticipating Painted Lady Butterflies soon!  Just 16 days ago they were crawling around in the container and leaving silk strands now they are chrysalises.  Oh, we wonder, what day will they emerge?  Any predictions?



SMILES my friends,

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Shapes and Figures in our Community!

SUN!!!  Oops..can't forget that tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 60's. HEAT WAVE here in Wisconsin!

Yesterday we went on a walking field trip to our village's library!  On our walk we brought our camera and decided to be Figure/Shape Hunters!  Each student had to take a picture of a shape/figure he or she spied!  Cones, cylinders, triangles, rectangles, pyramids, and circles galore!  When we arrived back we had 84 pictures!  All in a half mile walk!

Next step, pass the pictures around and students will need to correctly identify the shapes/figure that the child was trying to capture or Guess My Shape!

Circle Smiles,





Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Fractions/Shares Using a Paper Plate!


HELLO!  It's Tuesday, just in case you were wondering and all of your days are blending together like mine!

Today we used a paper plate to show shares-fractions!  We started with a blank paper plate and then cut it into half with a yellow crayon.  We labeled the parts 1. Next we got an orange crayon and cut it into fourths and labeled the parts 1 and noticed we had 4 parts-fourths.  Then we got a green crayon and cut our circle into eights.  HMMM...we got 8 parts-eights.  Finally, we got a blue crayon and cut it into sixteen parts-WOW.  We then folded the plate until we got down to that small silver of the circle 1/16.  We discussed how it would be appetite pleasing to cut it into 1/2's vs. 1/6's if we were hungry and were craving this "cookie" or "pizza."  We would definitely want the whole thing, but sharing it with another person would allow us to have a greater portion than 15 friends.


Smiles,

Monday, April 22, 2013

Adjectives and a Caterpillar-What's the Connection?

HAPPY EARTH DAY!
Today our school spent most of the day with our lights off to honor Earth Day!  Just like in the Colonial Times (we remembered that from our Colonial research).  Till the P.M. part of the day, we were very tempted to turn on the lights, but we RESISTED!  LOVE THE EARTH...Earth hugs!

Today we also used a caterpillar template to write and create an adjective caterpillar!  We used this template link as our rough draft and wrote down words to describe ourselves.  After conferencing, we traced the circles on construction paper and then rewrote the adjectives.  Next, we assembled our creepy crawlers!  Finally, we [resented our buggy friends!




Smiles,

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Our Trucker Buddy Came!!

Saturday, Saturday, and SUN!!!

Hope you are able to say the same!

Yesterday our Trucker Buddy visited!  WE WERE ECSTATIC AS THE GUY WE WERE WRITING TO AND EMAILING "CAME TO LIFE" AND WALKED INTO OUR CLASSROOM!  Donita, his wife also came!!  What a HOOT it was to have them both of them here!  They shared trucking stories, laughed, and reminisced about past experiences!  K-5th graders were able to listen to these delightful tales and then he gave us a "tour" of his truck!  We even got to go inside the cab!  May I also mention, TOOT the horn-not once, twice, but many students pulled the cord!  I think the whole village heard us!





Again, what a delight and an experience of a lifetime!
Smiles,

Thursday, April 18, 2013

THEY ARE ALMOST READY TO GO INTO THE "J"

We have been noting dramatic changes with our larvae caterpillars!  They are slowly inching toward the top and have been busy leaving behind silk strands!!  They have also molted a few times and are depositing their frass everywhere!
When do you think we will have 5 chrysalides?


Smiles,

VOTING TIME!

Happy Wet Thursday!

Today we learned about reasons we elect and vote for for candidates!  We answered questions like:  Why do people for one candidate over another?  What characteristics do those candidates have?  How does a candidate persuade you to vote for them!

Next, I typed up a "mock ballet" with 17 characteristics that each student then had vote on.  They needed to match up each student to a characteristic.  For example, Best Smile, Creative, Math Brain, Game Player, etc.  They also had to vote for themselves.

Finally, we shared our results and discussed the outcomes!  Many were surprised with the results and were pleasantly surprised by what their peers thought of them!




  

Red, White, and Blue Smiles,

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Colonial Times

If I look outside I see something bright that makes me squint my eyes if I continue to peer out my window.  What is it?  THE SUN!!!  Hooray it is visiting us this morning!!

Our Time Fair at school was anything but a quick leap back in time!  Each class got to choose a theme-Prehistoric, Industrial Revolution, Medievil, the Digital/Future, and ours-Colonial Time!

Everyone was absorbed into their "characters" and truly undertook the life of the Colonial people!
Here are some photos from Friday when we had our All School Time Fair!


Future meets Colonial!

Smiles,

Friday, April 12, 2013

They are 3 centimeters long!

HELLO! Our 5 Painted Lady Butterfly larvae/caterpillars are doing well!  They are slowly growing and seem content!  We will be measuring them each day and noting changes and developments!  How long will it be?
Will they all survive?  How do they "hang" from the lid?  What are those strands in there?  How big will they be before they make their chrysalis? What will the Painted Lady Butterflies look like?   The questions are numerous and thought provoking!  If you are eager and want to order your own to begin your investigations, here is the link I ordered them from:  Insect Lore



Creepy smiles :)

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

THEY ARRIVED!!! OPEN IMMEDIATELY!

A two hour delay in April!  Have you ever heard of that?  If you live in Wisconsin, you are probably wishing you could not say, "Yes," but we had one today!  (tomorrow might bring more ice, sleet, snow, all mixed together...hmmm Mother Nature what is going on?)

Hooray we got a package that did not fit in my mailbox.  I zoomed to the post office after school and lit up when I got our box.  Open Immediately!  Careful Live Contents!

WHAT'S INSIDE???


More to come...are you as anxious as us?

Smiles,

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

What Shape Did You Make?

Tuesday is here!  Day 2 of indoor recess.. :-(

But, it's not SNOW!!

April is Poetry Month!!  A poem, is a poem, is a poem...or is it?  Today we began our salute to National Poetry month by using 15 words we cut out of magazines and newspapers (a couple even typed them in Word) to make a shape poem!  My Multi-agers had to arrange their words to form a poem!  Next, they glued their words down on construction paper to make a shape!  Finally, they added decor and presented their poem!




Have yet to figure out why they rotate...sorry!
 Poetry Smiles,


Monday, April 8, 2013

Barefoot Island Renditions!

Happy Marvelous Monday!

We have knee deep in map work in our classroom!  We have three different map projects going on!  Confusing...no just structured chaos!  But, educational chaos!  My Youngers- 1st graders skills have taken off like Google Earth!

One map project that they gave a round of applause to was Barefoot Island!  Thank you to Kyle Knips who Pinned this activity:  Barefoot Island 


Sorry that this one is turned!




Smiles,
Rosie

Friday, April 5, 2013

Make Raisins Float!

FRIDAY!  FRIDAY!  FRIDAY!  Is someone in Pulaski, Wisconsin excited-YUP!  ME!

Wow, today was a major science exploration with solids, liquids, and gases!  We were all about Matter!  Matter mattered!

Today our supplies were:  raisins, Sprite, and a cup!  CAN YOU GUESS what happened when we put the raisins into the cup of soda?  Hint:  think floating and sinking!

You're right the raisins rise to the top when the Carbon Dioxide lifts them up and they sink when the bubbles pop!

Now, that's a sweet matter experiment.


Smiles,

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Lost My Camera Cord!

HELLO FANTASTIC TEACHERS AND WONDERFUL BLOGGERS!!!

Robins, Red Wing Blackbirds, and Tundra Swan are here; this must be a sure sign all the snow will be gone soon, right?  Do you still have the yucky, black want to be snow hills still standing?

Just an update, I have been on a MAD hunt for my camera cord!  NEVER TAKE IT FOR GRANTED!

I have lots to share with you, just need a camera (other than cell phone and webcam).

SMILES ...more smiles when I find my cord!