March 1

There was one student who completed the optional project during vacation. Anna shared her results from the optional vacation project with us today. She created tally sheets for her family to complete during one Saturday to collect data. Each time a family member used water, they recorded it on the tally sheets. Anna then compiled the data with her dad, and they figured out how much water was used for each activity, like hand-washing or doing a load of laundry. After they figured out the total gallons used for each activity, they compiled the water-use totals for the whole day. Anna's family of six used about 217 gallons of water on Saturday! Thank you, Anna, for sharing your project with us! You set a great example for everyone.

We had inside recess today because of the ice outside. These clever boys decided to build the most awesome domino creation. There were bridges and turns and towers! We all stopped to watch the dominoes cascade throughout the course. I loved overhearing the problem-solving that went on, especially when someone *gasp* bumped the table. Great teamwork, guys!

In math today, we worked on finding the whole (or the ONE) when given a fraction. For example, if 3 counters equals one third of the whole, we figured out that the whole must be nine counters. We also used pattern blocks. I think that the most entertaining part of the lesson was when the teacher got overhead marker on her face again.

We're working on writing personal narratives and have done some fun brainstorming activities to help us find story ideas. Right now, we're writing about a special "first" in our lives. Some of the essays are about the first time going to the dentist, the first time riding a roller coaster, the first time sleeping over at Grandma's and the first time riding in a helicopter. All of this good planning and writing we're doing will really help us come MCAS day!

In reading, we reviewed what a book's theme is...and came up with a list about theme. The class decided that a book's theme is what the author is trying to say through the story, a lifelong lesson that can be learned, and an idea that can apply to more than just the book. Ask your child about the theme in the book Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores.

We're exploring the reasons why people should conserve water in science. One of the basic ideas of the water cycle is that there is no NEW water on Earth, since it is all rotating through the water cycle. So why should we worry about conservation? We'll let you know!

~ Miss O'Reilly