Special Guests

Mr. Chris brought some special guests to class today--hissing cockroaches and stick bugs!  We learned about them, observed them, and even got to hold them!

These live insects and show-me boxes came from the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis.  Click here to visit their website (in case you're looking for a fun summer activity).

What's going on in class this week?

We're getting closer to the end of the year, but we're not slowing down just yet!  Here's an update about what's been happening this week.

Some reading groups started book circles!  Students worked together in pairs to read, discuss, and respond to a selection of text.

We also did an insect-themed team task.  Students worked together to draw and label a beetle.

We also started a unit on 3D shapes.  Here students are building various 3D shapes with popsicle sticks and playdough.

We're definitely almost ready for first grade!

Q Bear and Gino

Gino got to take Q Bear home yesterday. Here's what he had to say about their time together:

Today was an awesome day! My dad picked me up and said, "Hey, who's backpack is that?" I said it was Q Bear's, and he's coming home with us! We picked up my older brother from school and he too was curious to see Q Bear. Then we had to go to the store, it was boring, my brother, Q Bear and me were starving! When got home and had a snack and some popcorn!

I introduced him to all my bears friends; Blue Bear, Deli, Marshmellow, Fish, Fish Jr., Cool Bear, Panda, Brown Bear, Baby Bear, Butterscotch, Snowflake and Snowball. He enjoyed all of them.

We then decided to go on a bike ride. We crossed a bridge and watched a little league baseball game. We saw some friends, ran around and played and Q Bear found a ball! When we got home we showered up and ate dinner. We had BBQ chicken and some salad, but Q Bears favorite was the ice cream, mine too! We then drew some Bear heads and soon after we had to brush our teeth. We then got tidy up for bed and my Mommy read Q Bears book as we were both sleepy. I made a bed for him and lights out, it was bedtime.

Good night, Q Bear, I enjoyed having you as a friend.

Your friend,
Gino

Q Bear and Mayukh

Q Bear went home with Mayukh this week. Here's what Mayukh had to say about their time together:

Today is the day when I got Q bear for the first time. We read the Q bear's book after we came back from school. Then we ate lunch and Q bear took a nap. In the evening we went to the library and we played some computer games together. Then we came back home and had our favorite burger and fries. After that we drew pictures of spiderman and hulk together. At night we watched Wreck-It Ralph and it was so much fun. At last we read a bed time story and went to sleep together. Today is the best day ever and I am already missing Q bear.

Team Building Challenge

We had our first team building challenge today!  Students were given 10 pipecleaners and were asked to build the tallest, free-standing tower that they could.

First we had some silent, independent planning time:

After that, we shared our plans and agreed on a team plan.  Some teams even chose to compromise and combine their ideas!

Then it was time to build!

We built some awesome structures!