Multiplication Mania!

The students have been working so hard to learn their basic multiplication facts! I am proud of their efforts! This is a year long effort and it is so important for the students to become automatic in their recall of facts. Please have your children practice their facts at home. You can make this fact practice fun by playing games, such as rolling two dice and finding the product. Another idea is to play multiplication "war" using playing cards. If you have internet access at home, you can have your child play a variety of practice games online, such as the games on my portaportal, which you can find from the Keister webpage. Here are also a link to some of my favorite multiplication games online: http://www.multiplication.com/games/all-games Enjoy your winter break and keep learning!

Fall Fun!

We have been enjoying all of our learning activities heading into this lovely fall season! One of our favorites was our first i-STEM unit, where we built a bird beak using provided materials. We were able to design our own beak and then test the beak using "bird foods!" We used science, mathematics, engineering and technology throughout these lessons and learned a great deal about animal adaptations! Check out some photos of our beaks and the learning process!

Engaging Mathematics!

We have been spending time in mathematics gaining a better understanding of the true meaning of numbers up to one hundred thousand. The students have built models of numbers using base ten blocks, practiced writing forms of numbers in various ways, explored their number sense by doing a variety of cooperative games and activities and even had time to use technology, such as the iPads to show off their learning! Here are some pictures to show our class in action during math! Enjoy!

Awesome August Fun!

The school year is off to an "Awesome August" start! Now we can't wait for some "Super September" fun! We have enjoyed getting to know one another during these first two weeks, and even learned a few things about reading, math, and science along the way! We have read some great stories, learned to read numbers to the hundred thousands place, and created our own whirlybirds in science to explore flight! Enjoy these pictures of our whirlybirds in action!

Getting Ready!

I am getting so excited for the new school year right around the corner! Don't get me wrong... I love summer with the time to enjoy my family, and of course, reading, reading, reading, but nothing is more fun than the anticipation of a brand new school year! That school supply smell in every store?! My favorite! I can't wait to meet you all and get to know each and every one of your children! I thank you all in advance for sharing your most precious treasure with me each day. We will learn something new every day, work as family, and most of all, have a wonderful time! As you anticipate the school year as well, please don't hesitate to contact me before the year begins. I am always just a phone call, text, or email away! We are in this together! Let the adventure begin! Mrs. S

I-Stem Fun!

We had a great time this year using science, technology, engineering and math to research various problems, then design and create our own solutions! Our latest design challenge was to create our own solar cookers and to test which materials would allow for the oven to get hottest and cook fastest. We made many changes to our ovens throughout the process and we ended the lessons with a celebration where we actually got to eat our cooked foods!

March into New Learning!

Can you believe it is March already? With a new month comes new things to learn! In math, we are finishing up our unit about graphing, and will be learning about fractions very soon! In Social Studies the students are learning about explorers, while in Science we are learning about all kinds of natural cycles. During literacy the students are reading stories with the theme of "Animal Habitats." We will also be writing an animal research report. We are "Marching" right along toward new and exciting learning each and every day!

Classroom Fun!

We have been learning about patterns in math and to help the students gain more experience with this concept, we created "pattern masks" last week! The students created an input/output chart with a number "rule" and glued this pattern onto the back of a paper plate. Next, they decorated the front of the plate like a robot mask. Lastly, they walked around the classroom asking other "robots" for numbers to enter into their input/output "robots" and they tried to solve for each others' rules! They had a great time problem solving!

Happy New Year!

Can you believe almost half of our school year has already flown by? Time does fly when we are having fun! I am certainly having fun with your children each and every day sharing new experiences and learning new things. Right now we are learning about Ancient Civilizations, Multiplication and Division of larger numbers, how to make inferences when we read, and how to write comparison/contrast pieces. Whew! We are busy! Thank you for all of your support at home to help your children be so successful at school. It is very appreciated!