Information and Upcoming Events

The Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 29th.  This event will raise money to bring the circus to EMES!


Student-Led Conference Day- Friday, March 31st

Thank you to everyone for coming to our student-led conferences!  It has been exciting to talk with students as they write about their accomplishments and goals.  They know themselves so well as learners!  In the next few months, we will continue to help each other achieve our personal goals and to "lift the level" of our learning as a group.  Students should be so proud of their hard work!


Other Information and Upcoming Events:

• Some students in our classroom are working on speech with Mrs. Taffel.  At times, these students enjoy bringing a classmate to join them in their work.  Please let me know if you would not like your child to join in this activity as a guest.
• Our next E.C.O. lesson is on Tuesday, April 4th.  Please remind your child to come prepared for the morning outside. 
• After vacation, we are planning to take a walking field trip to the Liebermann's frog pond for our E.C.O. lesson on Tuesday, April 25th.  I will send home permission slips very soon.
• Progress reports will be sent home on Friday, April 14th.
• Our April break from April 15th to April 23rd.

Brook Trout in Mrs. Gannon's Room

A big thank you to Mrs. Gannon!  She let us visit her classroom to see the brook trout that the fourth grade are raising for a special science project.  Mrs. Gannon explained about the trout's life cycle and about the tank that is in her classroom.  Then, she let us feed the fish! 

Photos From Our Classroom This Week!

Here are some photos from sharing time and math games this week.  We have been playing games with 20-sided dice to help us practice using efficient strategies to solve basic subtraction facts.

Animal Group Presentations

Here are some photos of our animal group presentations.  Students shared their learning with each other and we compared the features of the different groups.

Becoming Deer: Learning about Adaptations and Survival

Last Tuesday, we continued our Vermont mammal study by learning about special adaptations and features that help deer survive.  We started by sharing "nature notes" about things that we have noticed in nature recently, including many stories about deer.  In small groups, we went on a Deer Scavenger Hunt, looking for tracks, scat, and other signs of deer in the ECO woods.  At snack time, I told a Dakota Sioux story called How the Fawn Got Its Spots.

Our main lesson was a game called Eat and Run.  To start, one student as chosen to be the coyote, while the rest of the class was a herd of deer.  One deer was given a white fabric tail that could be used to signal to the other deer when a predator was approaching.  Then, the deer had to try to make it safely to the ECO shed.  For the next rounds, we increased the number of deer with white "tails" and the number of predators.  Afterwards, we discussed the special features that help deer survive, such as a white tail to signal danger, a good sense of hearing, and eyes on the sides of their heads.  We also discussed how it helped the deer and the coyotes to be in a herd or pack.

Back in the classroom, we read a book about deer to give us more information about all of the animals in the deer family.  Then, students wrote second deer entry in their ECO journals. In have been impressed with their observations, descriptions, and questions.

E.C.O.: Fox Pouncing

On Friday, March 10th, we participated in another exciting E.C.O. lesson!  We started out our morning by making plaster casts of animal tracks using rubber forms.  Next, we went outside for three outdoor stations.  At one station, students warmed up by the fire and had their snack.  Another activity was fort-building, which is a group favorite.  The third station was a "fox pouncing" activity where students had to imagine that they were foxes and use their senses to find their prey.  In this case, the prey were four well-hidden energy balls that have a furry tail attached and move around when activated. When the "foxes" found their prey, they got to safely pounce on it.  A big thank you to Tracy, Jill, Ruth, Eve, and Angie for helping out at E.C.O. stations!

Our next E.C.O. lesson is coming up on Tuesday, March 21st.

In the classroom, we have been reading and writing about the animals that we focus on during our E.C.O. lessons.  I project photographs of the animal on the white board and everyone draws a detailed illustration of the animal.  Students write a few sentences and/or questions in their E.C.O. journals about what they notice, wonder, and already know about the animal.

After the fox lesson, I read aloud a book about red foxes to help us learn even more about these interesting animals.  Then, we participated in a movement lesson, in which students had a chance to dig, hunt, and pounce like red foxes.  Finally, we wrote about what we have learned in our journals.

Mud Bash Family Dance

E.C.O. Lesson: Becoming a Ruffed Grouse

On Friday, February 24th, we learned about ruffed grouse and how they tunnel under the snow and then fly out when they hear a potential predator approaching.  Students worked independently and in groups to build grouse houses for our bobcat/grouse tag game.  It was so much fun to build with snow and sticks!  As you can see from the photos, we were very busy!

Our next E.C.O. lesson is scheduled for this Friday, March 10th.  Then, we will return to our regular Tuesday morning times for lessons on March 14th and 21st. 

We are in need of white and brown sheets that could be cut up for a camouflage lesson.  Please let me know if you have a sheet that you could donate to our class.