It is hard to believe that it is almost April already! Where has the time gone!? Spring is a crazy time of year, and to add to the craziness, we'll be taking a few field trips! If you would like to join us, please let me know. Graymont
MackinaW City
December is a crazy, wonderful, busy month, and our classroom was no different! Here are a few highlights from December: December Highlights
Living MuseumThis month, I assigned the students their historic figures for our annual Living Museum. This year our theme is Saints! They will be doing all of the research, projects, and speeches in class, so they do not need to worry about getting any of that done at home (I won't say they CAN'T work on it though, because overachieving is always allowed!). The only thing that will need to be done at home is to prepare a costume. It doesn't need to be elaborate; it just needs to give the impression of their person. I am tentatively planning for the museum to be held on January 22. If that changes, I'll let you know. If you need ideas for costumes, let me know. Here are a few pictures from past years to help you get some ideas: Housekeeping
If you are like me, you are thinking about Christmas and trying to find the perfect gifts! Each year I get a few questions about ideas for good educational gifts, so I thought this year I would put together a little blog post with some suggestions. If you happen to plan on shopping online, consider signing up for Ziggedy so our class can earn from your purchase! (more info on the side bar to the right). So...on with the fun stuff! Osmo
Candy Craft Chocolate Pen
GoldieBlox Ruby Rails
Sphero BB-8 Robot
Suggested BooksI think books make the very best gifts of all. These are some of the most popular books with the third graders:
A few more favorites:
Class WishlistSometimes people like to purchase Christmas gifts for the class too! You are, by no means, obligated to get a gift, but if you planned on it, feel free to check out our class wishlist for ideas. So, hopefully this list was helpful to you. If you have a specific area you are wanting to help your child develop and are looking for a gift to help, let me know and I'll see what I can find.
I hope you all had a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving and are enjoying a last few days of rest before we head back on Monday. I had a great Thanksgiving and am getting a lot of the Christmas jobs done around the house before the whirlwind of December hits!
Math
ScienceIn science, we are working on learning how the different parts of a plant help it to grow and survive. We started by looking at the plant as a whole and will move on to examine some of the special parts of plants next week. We'll start with the stem, then the roots, leaves, and flowers. It it always a lot of fun! Social StudiesWe had a lot of fun in social studies over the last 2 weeks. The students have been working hard to learn about the Native Americans of Michigan. They have been focusing on where they lived and what their lives were like before the explorers came. Each student chose one of the 6 main tribes and spent some time researching. They used this research and our Maker Space to create a village scene to teach us about their tribe. They came out really cute and are on display in the hallways (Thank you, Mr. Erickson for giving us the boxes!) One of the highlights of our Native Americans unit each year is our "feast". It has never fallen so close to Thanksgiving before, so it was really fun how it worked out! For the feast, the students mixed up some chicken and wild rice soup in my crock pot first thing in the morning. I also brought smoked fish, jerky, popcorn, and cranberries (fresh and dried). Before the students are allowed to eat, they have to figure out what each item has to do with the Native Americans. They are so clever, they had no trouble figuring it out! There was also an added element to our feast; part of the feast was locked up! The kids split into 6 groups and had to follow the clues to unlock some the goodies for our feast! It was so fun and the students solved all the clues and unlocked the last box in just over 45 minutes. Looking Ahead
In social studies today, we were reading about the Native Americans of Michigan. I found these neat videos that I shared with the kids and thought I'd post them in case they wanted to rewatch them. They're both from Canada, but apply to the tribes in our area as well.
Classroom Updates
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AuthorHi! I'm Mrs. Erickson and I am the 3rd grade teacher at St. Francis de Sales. To learn more about me, click here. Archive
February 2017
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