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.