This week we took some time to send some advice to our new president.  There was a lot of great advice.  One common theme... no one was quite sure of the color of his hair!

Upcoming Field Trips

We have a few upcoming field trips for your calendar. 

There is something for everyone!

Thursday, January 15

The U of M's Physic Force

Northrop Auditorium

Wednesday, February 4
Rollerskating

Saints North in Maplewood

Friday, February 27

Art Adventure Tour

Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Fall Harvest

We spent some time in the garden today with Mrs. Gross.  She reminded the fourth graders that as third graders they planted a single packet of squash seeds back in the spring.  They got to see how those seeds have grown into beautiful plants with lots of squash.   

They students got to examine the leaves, flowers, tendrils, and fruit of the plant.  And then they got to pick!  They harvested 25 ripe squash that will be used to make soup for the Soup Luncheon next month.  The biggest squash was 5 pounds!

Field Trip to Target Field

We had a great time on our field trip to Target Field earlier in the month.  We got to see...

• the Champions Club
  
• the Legends Club
  
• the visitors' locker room
  
• the dugout
  
• where the organ player plays
  
• some of the "behind the scenes" passageways
  

Each fourth grader got to take a turn in the batting cage and everyone got a hit!  We had loads of fun learning about the science behind baseball bats and balls and all about reaction times.  Thank you to our chaperones who were able to join us!

Upcoming Field Trips

We have three field trips in the near future.  Please mark them on your calendar.

The Works

Friday, January 24

Bring a bag lunch.

Out of uniform.

One chaperone spot still available.

Rollerskating at Saints North

Tuesday, January 28

Regular lunch period.

Out of uniform.

Cost is $7 for bus and skate rental.

You may send up to $5 for snacks.

Parents are welcome to meet us there.

Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Thursday, February 6

Regular lunch period.

In uniform.

Looking for chaperones.

Peep Dioramas

We also took some time out from our studies to create Peep dioramas.  Check out the cozy living room, the Christmas tree shopping, and the blizzard.

Christmas Card Art

Last December each fourth grader chose an old Christmas card and expanded the picture from the front of the card.  Take a look at how clever our students are!

PS - If you have old cards to donate for next year please bring them in.

Time in the Garden

Mrs. Gross had our class in the school garden this afternoon.  They reviewed what they planted in their Three Sisters garden last year as third graders (corn, beans, and squash), and they examined the massive squash plants that grew over the summer.

After a little learning, each student helped harvest squash and carrots and helped Mrs. Gross clean out one of the gardens.  The pictures show the students hard at work as well as showing off the fruits of their labor.lants that grew over the summer.

After a little learning, each student helped harvest squash and carrots and helped Mrs. Gross clean out one of the gardens. 

Matter - Solid or Liquid?

This week in science we started our unit on Matter.  We mixed 125g of cornstarch with 100 mL of water to see what we would come up with.  The students had a lot of fun trying to decide if it was a liquid or a solid.  The students discovered that the mixture behaved like a liquid or a solid depending on how much pressure was applied.  The mixture is one of a few substances that has properties of both a liquid and a solid and is classified as a non-Newtonian fluid.  Cornstarch and water is probably the most commonly found example of this.  (It also is the inspiration for the Dr. Seuss book titled, Bartholomew and the Oobleck.)

Target Field

We had a great time at Target Field on Wednesday.  In addition to touring a bunch of really awesome places in the stadium, the 4th graders also took math and science classes.  The should be able to answer the following questions:

• How is a strike zone measured?
• What geometric shape is home plate?
• What materials are used to make a baseball?
• What is the name of the spot on a bat where vibrations are NOT felt?
  
• What happens to a baseball when it meets the bat?

The pictures show us hitting a ball in the warm-up batting cage, taking our math class, and sitting in the press box.

Welcome Back!

We've had a great start to the year!  More to come on some of the specifics. I wanted to start by publishing some dates for your calendars.

Tuesday, Sept. 17: Book Orders Due

Wednesday, Sept. 18: Target Field Tour and Meet the Teacher Night

Wednesday, September 25: Fourth Grade Family Mass

Thursday, September 26: Picture Day

Friday, October 4: Marathon

State Reports

We are mid-way through our state report projects.  Each student in 4th grade is researching a different state.  The research phase is over and we are working on typing up our information for our websites.  

Next week Mrs. Atlas will introduce the students to the actual websites that they will be using, and she will show them how to transform their hard work into webpages.  

The sample website that can be used as a guide is http://minnesota1858.weebly.com/

Electricity

We have been very busy since our last post!  One of the things we are just finishing up is our unit on electricity in Science.  The highlight for the students was our work with Snap Circuits.  Students worked in groups of two or three students to create simple circuits and parallel circuits.  They made light bulbs, fans, and speakers work in different types of creations.  It brings a whole new meaning to, "All my fourth graders want to do is work on their electronics!"

March Field Trips

We have two field trips coming up in March.  The first trip is to the History Center on Wednesday, March 6.  The second trip is to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum for their Maple Syrup Time program on Tuesday, March 19.

Our trip to the History Center includes an hour long class called, "They Chose Minnesota."  It focuses on why different groups immigrated to Minnesota and how they traveled, packed, and got settled.  We are also scheduled for a time at Grainland, one of the fourth graders favorite activities at the museum!  Much of the rest of the time will be used to explore the museum.  I'm especially excited about the exhibits that they will have when we visit. Then, Now, Wow is an exhibit designed for school-aged children about Minnesota History.  Minnesota's Greatest Generation, Open House: If These Walls Could Talk, Weather Permitting, Grainland, and the US-Dakota War of 1812 are ongoing exhibits.  I am especially excited because a special new exhibit, Minnesota and the Civil War, will have opened about a week before our trip.  I attended the educator's preview and it looks like an interesting exhibit for those interested in that part of our country's history.

When we go to the arboretum we will split our time between three different sections.  In one section we learn about the history of maple syrup and maple sugar, the tools that have been used throughout history, and how to identify a maple tree when there are no leaves on the trees.  Another section shows us how they actually turn the sap into syrup and sugar.  (There is a taste test!)  The third section takes us into the woods to find a tree and tap it.  It's a lot of fun!

Happy New Year!

We had a very busy December!  Look over the last couple posts to see pictures of our Jesse Tree and Christmas program performance.  We also worked hard on multiplication, wrote some poetry, read some Christmas stories, studied the Northeast region, and got a taste of our new science topic.  And we still had some time for fun!  We made winter themed Peep dioramas and drew pictures that extended a Christmas card.  Can you find the cards in the posted pictures?  The fourth graders did an excellent job working them into their drawings.

As fun as December was, I'm looking forward to a quiet January to get some good learning done!

Our Jesse Tree

Just a quick picture of our Jesse Tree.  The students really enjoyed digging into the Bible and learning a story and sharing it with the class.  The ornaments they created were darling!  We saw everything from duck tape to glitter.  It was so nice to have a daily devotional to remind us what Advent and Christmas are really all about.  

Dude, You Hear What I Hear?

The Fourth Graders were stars of the show with their performance in the Christmas Program.  They were a traveling band of gypsies who sang and played their recorders and orff instruments.  They had a lot to do but they managed to make it look easy.  Many thanks to Ms. Romportl for teaching the fourth graders to sing and play so beautifully!

Jesse Tree

This Advent season, our class will be preparing for Christmas by making a Jesse Tree.  A Jesse Tree is a small tree decorated with symbols portraying the spiritual heritage of Jesus.  It is a kind of family tree that was suggested by Isaiah's prophecy:  "A root shall come out from the stump of Jesse" (Isaiah 11:1).

Each day during Advent we will listen to a Bible story and hang a symbol for that story on a branch of our tree.  As a class we will discuss the importance of each story and how it is part of the spiritual heritage of Jesus.  

This is one of my favorite traditions of the year.  My fourth grade class has been doing this for 12 years now, and I love that we get to hear one or two stories each day of Advent.  I also love seeing the creative ornaments each child brings to school.  The picture above is a picture of a Jesse Tree from years past.  I can't wait to see what this year's tree looks like!

Halloween Dioramas

Yes, it's true.  Halloween was nearly one month ago, but it would be a crime not to post a few photos of our Peep dioramas.  Each 4th grader let their creative juices flow and turned their marshmallow ghosts, cats, and pumpkins into a ghoulish scene.

Seventy-Six Trombones Led the Big Parade....

Well...  We may not have quite 76 trombones, but our class does have four trombone players, three saxophone players, a clarinetist, and a flautist attending band lessons each week.  They are joined by a handful of  students from Mrs. Diffatte's fourth grade class as well as quite a few students from the upper grades.  Every Monday our hallway looks like a display at a music store!  We love that so many students are taking advantage of the band lessons offered at school, so we work hard to catch them up and give a little more time to get work done.  We can't wait to hear their first concert in a few months!