This is Tommy!   He is our current student of the week!   Tommy's favorite color is BLUE!   He has been to the Air Zoo and would love to visit again someday!   The best thing about Tommy is the fact that he can draw boats very well.  His favorite television program is Dreamwork Dragon.  When Tommy grows up, he would like to be a boat builder.  He has a pet rabbit at home.  His favorite book is called "Jack at Sea".  Tommy's favorite sport is Hamilton Hawkeye football!  His favorite food is bacon (and he does not care if it is crisp or soft - it's just 'delicious'!)   The best thing about Tommy is that he can speak and write Chinese!

Bus Safety visit

This week is bus safety week, so today we welcomed two wonderful Hamilton bus drivers to our classroom for a visit!   All 60+ first graders had a discussion about bus safety, then watched a video together.  Then, each child had the opportunity to go out and practice what they learned by crossing in the safe zone to the bus and then getting off the bus safely.   Ask your child about what they learned today about bus safety!   And a big thank you to our bus drivers in Hamilton for keeping our children safe on the way to and from school!

We learn about bus safety from one of our very
own Hamilton bus drivers!

Time for questions and discussions about bus safety.

We cross the road in front of the bus, five steps in front of the bus
after the driver shows us the safe sign!

When we get off the bus, we take three giant steps away from the bus,
then five steps forward before crossing in front of the bus.  We
wait for the safe sign and stop to look both ways all the way across
the street while we cross.

A big thank you to our wonderful Hamilton bus drivers for the
great job you do every single day!

Abby

This is Abby!  She is the student of the week this week.  Abby's favorite food is pizza.  She LOVES to play softball and is really good at it.  Her favorite book is called My Lucky Day.  She has a fish named Goldie and FIVE dogs!  Her sister also has a fish.  When she grows up, Abby would like to coach basketball for Hamilton High School.  Her favorite television show is Disney's "Shake It Up".  Someday Abby would like to visit The Big House to watch the Michigan Wolverines play football.  Her favorite colors are pink and brown.  Abby says she is special because God loves her!

Outdoor Discovery Center visits Hamilton El.!

Today we were fortunate to have Mrs. Ruth Cronk from the Outdoor Discovery Center visit our classroom.   She started out reading us a book called, "The Looking Book", in which two boys are sent outside by their mother with special glasses to really see the world outside!   The boys discovered many wonderful things in nature in their own backyards that they never noticed before!  The end of the story is neat because the boys tell their mother that they really do not need the special glasses anymore to see nature, and plan to go out again for more discovery the next day!

Next, Mrs. Ruth took us outside to collect leaf litter and soil samples.  When we came back inside, the children were each given a hand lens to observe the samples up close.  She explained a LOT of neat things about leaves - how and why they change colors, types of trees they came from, terms like 'serrated edges', the veins of leaves and the job veins have, leaf clusters, and much more.  From the soil samples, we discovered an ant, a worm, we felt and smelled the soil, discussed how worms eat soil and fertilize it.

Then, Mrs. Ruth recorded our observations on a chart paper for both the leaf litter and the soil samples. A lot of neat vocabulary words came up and were explained to the children, such as habitat, characteristics, decay, minerals, and more.  We even learned that animal poop is actually called "scat"!  (If you did not know, anytime kids are allowed to discuss poop in the classroom, it becomes even more interesting!)

Finally, we recorded our observations on a paper that came home today.   It was very neat to see the detailed drawings of the children.  Look for those in your child's mail today!   Enjoy our pictures and a special thank you goes out to Mrs. Cronk and the Outdoor Discovery Center for the visit and lesson!  We look forward to another visit in December!

Mrs. Ruth introduces herself to us before reading the story "The Looking Book."
After reading to book, she introduced many new vocabulary words to us.

We go outside to collect leaf litter and soil samples.

Mrs. Ruth explains different things to observe with the leaf litter and soil samples.
She then talks about how to use a hand lens properly.

Observing the samples.

More observing.

Mrs. Ruth shows Josie and Keegan about serrated edges on a leaf.

Mrs. Ruth shows Jordyn and Koltin and Carter something interesting from their sample.

Mrs. Ruth records our observations on chart paper.

The children record their observations on a paper to take home today.

Olivia and Brandon record their findings.

Josie spent a lot of time on her leaves with serrated edges!

Tommy and Vera add creative touches to their observations.

Evan

This is Evan.  He is our student of the week for this week!  Evan loves the color RED.  He would love to visit California someday.  The best thing about Evan is that he loves playing.  His favorite television program is Avengers.  When Evan grows up, he would like to be a spy!  He has a pet dog named Aspen.  Evan's favorite book is called Justice League.  His favorite sport is karate and his favorite food is pizza!   The BEST thing about Evan is that he loves his mom!

Butterfly release!

This week our one and only healthy Monarch completed the life cycle!   We watched as a caterpillar ate milkweed leaves, crawled up the side of the net, and made a chrysalis.  Then, we were patient for about 10 days.   This week, our patience was rewarded!   Our Monarch butterfly emerged from the chrysalis!

We let our butterfly rest for one day, and on Tuesday, we went outside in the warm afternoon and released it!   We opened the net container and within ten seconds, our butterfly was off!   Thank you to Brandon for bringing in our ONLY healthy specimen!   

Later in the week, we began Chapter 2 for math.  We learned an easy game to start off the chapter, which came home the day we played it in class.   They learned to use a pencil and a paper clip as a spinner.  First, they spun to find out if they would have to add/subtract '1 more/less' or '2 more/less'.  Then, they spun a number.  It was quite interesting to see if they knew what to do once they spun.  They used a chip to cover a bed with the correct answer on it.  It was VERY quiet while they were thinking at first.  Many caught on quickly to the game, and then some cool math language began!  Many were speaking out loud to help them figure the answers out.  Some used their number line on their name tags to help them, others could use mental math.  Hopefully all of them came home and showed you how to play or even played against you!

Finally, maybe you have been hearing about some cool math games the kids have been introduced to for RtI Math switches!   We have been learning some neat games on the Cool Math 4 Kids website.  We learned "Feed Fribbit Colors", "Color World" and "Marble Lines" so far.  These games are in the Shapes/Colors section of the website.  Later, there are the same games, but using addition and subtraction problems incorporated.   If you allow your child on the computer at home, have him/her show you the cool math games they have learned!   You can also explore more games with them.  Beware, some of the games are very addicting (but also very educational!).   You can click on the link right off this blog, or if you have Ms. Baker's website bookmarked at home, the kids can navigate her website and show you Cool Math 4 Kids!    

Enjoy your weekend everyone!   Thanks for checking in again this week!

Josie

This is Josie!   She is the Student of the Week this week.  Josie has two favorite colors - pink and brown!   She would love to visit her grandpa and grandma's farm in Iowa.  The BEST thing about Josie is her smile.  Her favorite television program is The Cat in the Hat.  Someday when Josie grows up, she would like to be a hair stylist.  Her favorite book is called Fancy Nancy.   Josie's favorite sport is soccer and her favorite food is pizza!   Josie is special because God loves her!