The First Week

Besides the fact that I called my 4th and 5th graders "3rd and 4th graders" more than once this week, I think that the week went pretty well. We put in four busy days. We got everything done that we were suppose to, although, maybe not within the timing that I had envisioned.

The 5th graders have been a great help "breaking in" the 4th graders. Besides tasks that I've asked the 5th graders to do, I've overheard them explaining classroom procedures to the 4th graders. Thanks!

One of the skills that I teach each year is the Scientific Method. I try to call the activities we do investigations, not experiments. Both grades worked on two investigations in science class this week. On Monday, the 4th graders planted seeds, and they've been checking on them each day. They were amazed at how the seed's size and hardness changed from Monday to Tuesday. I hope by next Tuesday that the seeds will have sprouted. 4th graders also studied gladiolas by drawing and counting the various flower parts such as the pistil, stamen, and petals. Their job was to discover what was the same and what was different about gladiolas.

The 5th graders each have a piece of bread on which they're growing mold. (The bags are sealed, so the mold spores are staying in the bag.) I would guess that by Tuesday, the bread should be pretty fuzzy. The other investigation was looking for signs of life. We had two jars. One with sand, sugar, and warm water. The other had dry yeast, sugar, and warm water. We put balloons on the top of each jar. They thought it was pretty cool that they could see the balloon on the yeast jar fill with air. When we came in from recess, the 5th graders noticed that the balloon was missing. There was enough gas created that it blew its top.

I wonder what next week will bring!

God's blessings,

Psalm 91:1

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.