Teamwork

Most of us worked on our ShowMe presentations on patriotic symbols and famous Americans with a partner. Because we have an odd number of students, a few students did choose to work on their own rather than in a group of three. Even then, I saw those students helping each other gather facts and information. I loved watching them all dig right in and get to work locating resources, finding facts, choosing photos and writing their scripts. They worked hard and they also worked very well with each other. They are learning some of those beginning collaboration, communication and critical thinking skills that they will use throughout their lives.

Homework ~ Read a good book or two. Check out a Bedtime Math story.

Read Across America Day
Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday and so to celebrate schools across the country participate in Read Across America Day. We had some special guests come and read to us. They were 8th graders from Mesa Middle School. They were all alumni of Renaissance and it was great to see them. I must admit that I got a little tear in my eye when they walked in.

Observing, Comparing and Sorting

Last week we read a book called, The Button Box and took a close look at the buttons in our button box. We looked closely at some of them to notice the special things about them, we compared them to other buttons and we sorted them into different groups. The buttons in our box are fascinating and all of the crew enjoys observing, comparing and sorting them. We also use them in our Wonder and Explore station. We use muffin tins to sort and hold the different groups we make. We learned lots of things about buttons that day. Ask your child to tell you all about the buttons in our button box.

Important Dates
8/28 Fieldwork to Ms. Zina's garden ~ permission slips due today
9/7 Labor Day ~ No School
9/22-9/23 ~ Fall Voyage
9/24 Day of Rest for 1st grade
9/25 No School ~ Professional Development Day for Teachers
10/2 Boot Camp
10/3-10/18 Fall Break
10/19 No School ~ Teacher Work Day

Sharing

You may remember that I mentioned our passionate learners in an earlier post. I have tried to remember to get more pictures of this but I usually miss the moment because they occur at random times and I don't have my camera ready. Below are a few of the moments that I did manage to capture.

Lilliana reads her story about a scared little pig to the crew. Lorena holds the microphone for her.

The crew loved the story and liked being able to ask the author questions.

Russell shares one of his Titanic models with the crew.

He is actually very excited about this -- he just looks relaxed and laid back.

Pointing out the features of the ship.

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 10.7 More Number-Grid Puzzles

Library
All library books are due tomorrow. We had our last library visit on Tuesday when a representative of the Douglas County Public Library came to speak to us about summer reading.

Wonder and Explore Stations

We added two new stations to our rotation recently one is the Snap Circuit Electricity set that I mentioned in an earlier post and the other was a large bucket of uncooked beans. We had used the beans for a lesson on volume/capacity and the crew really wanted more time with those beans so we added them to a station. Both stations have been big hits and inspire lots of creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. (Thanks to Ms. Michelle for a donation of AA batteries to keep the circuit station up and running!)

Below is a short, 10 second video of Russell and Brianna sending the fan up into the air using the circuit set (yes, that was supposed to happen). If you get this post by email, you will need to go directly to the blog to view the video.

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Pack your daypack for tomorrow's Voyage including a sack lunch, a water bottle, 2 snacks, light jacket and other small, lightweight personal items if desired like chapstick, tissues, sunglasses, hat.

Be sure your child brings his or her carseat or booster seat tomorrow!