So I'm sure you all have noticed that I've fallen a bit behind on updating the weekly newsletter/blog. And I bet you've all been asking if I was ever going to get back to it! Well, let me tell you, we had SO much going on in October that the entire month just flew by! Here is my attempt at catching up and letting you all see what we've been up to!
Boosterthon!
September ended with a super-fun pep rally to kick off this year's Boosterthon Fundraiser! The theme for Boosterthon this year was "Big World Recess!" During the pep rally, Mr. Durand challenged the students to raise more than $40,000 this year, topping last year's funds. If we did, the students would get to duct tape Mr. Durand to the cafeteria wall (no worries...we exceeded our school goal of $40,000 and the duct tape pictures will come soon....)!
After two weeks of fundraising and learning about how to play with character, it was finally time for our Boosterthon Fun Run on Friday, October 9th!
Counseling Lessons with Mrs. Surovick
We had two lessons with Mrs. Surovick in October. The first lesson was about Small Problems & Big Problems. A small problem is a problem that the students have the power to handle! Mrs. Surovick reminded us of the many different things we can do when we encounter a small problem. These are called Kelso's Choices, and the students have a copy of the 9 choices on the back cover of their Gator Binders!
Our second counseling lesson with Mrs. Surovick was about self-control! Mrs. Surovick reminded us that self-control has to be practiced over and over and over again! During this lesson, Mrs. Surovick threw a bunch of balloons around the room, and the students had to practice self-control by not reaching out to hit or touch the balloons! It was SO tempting...but we all managed to keep control!
Science Activities!
One science topic we covered in October is the difference between mixtures and solutions. A mixture is a type of solution that can be separated, whereas a solution is one that cannot be separated. The kids were given a cup of cereals and had to determine if it was a mixture or a solution by trying to separate the different pieces.
The kids quickly learned that the cereal could be separated and was therefore a mixture! We also discussed how each individual piece of cereal was an example of a solution, since we couldn't separate out the flour, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients.
We also had a Mobile Dairy Classroom from SouthWest Dairy Farmers come to Creek View and teach us about cows and milk! We learned about the cow's four stomachs, how a cow is milked, and why milk is important for our bodies!
Another science topic we explored was Forms of Energy! We explored light energy, mechanical energy, thermal (or heat) energy, sound energy, and solar energy through lab rotations!
Unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture of our solar energy experiment, as it has been very cloudy and rainy this month! Hopefully the students brought their UV beads home and they've been able to take them outside on a sunny day to see them change color!
Fun with Duct Tape!
As promised earlier, here are pictures of the kids duct-taping Mr. Durand to the cafeteria wall! Each student was given a piece of duct tape to add to Mr. Durand. He was secured with over 500 pieces of duct tape by the end of the day!
Dot Plots!
In addition to bar graphs and pictographs, students in 3rd grade now learn about dot plots. Say what?? I know...but the kids did great with them! To learn about dot plots, we decided to make our own! Each student received a scoop of Froot Loop cereal, which they had to separate by color, count and record the numbers of each color on a frequency table, and then create a dot plot based on the frequency table!
I Spy Camp!
Last, but certainly not least, we ended the month with our annual 3rd grade I Spy Great Thinkers camp! This "camp" helps students make the connection between reading strategies and math problem solving. It shows the kids that the same strategies they use in reading (such as making connections, making inferences, or asking questions) can help them when they are problem-solving in math! The kids had the opportunity to rotate to each of the six 3rd grade teachers, wear full spy gear, earn spy certificates, and celebrate their spy training at the end of the week!
Whew! October was exhausting but fun! We did lots of learning, lots of running, and lots of laughing! Will November be just as busy? Probably! :)