Courage. Love. Alaska. These have been the three topics that have dominated our classroom recently.
First, courage – that was learning about the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr., Ruby Bridges, and Rosa Parks. And about Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. And also about the lives of 26 other important and courageous woman leaders, from an alphabet book called Amelia to Zora. These stories naturally led into conversations about our own lives and times when we each needed to be brave in particular situations. Drawings and writings followed. We’ve also learned two poems on courage, which we will present at the soon-to-be rescheduled-because-of-weather Courage Assembly!

And then love – Valentine’s Day! We had fun making valentines for families and for our fifth-grade peer readers. Thanks to all who sent in goodies for the party! We learned that the Magic Valentine Potato (from a story by Daniel Pinkwater)  is real! And he (she? it?) brought potato chips for us to share with our fifth-grade friends – how nice!

Then we celebrated Alaska Day – so much fun! Starting with photos of my own trip to Alaska last summer (which I LOVED) included sharing the photo of me doing a polar plunge in 38 degree water (which took all of my COURAGE), the day moved easily between outdoor and indoor activities, all related to Alaska and/or winter. Ms. Doherty and Ms. Heddinger treated us to a delicious blueberry pancake lunch (blueberries being one of the fruits that grows well up there). It was a terrific day!

And then it was The 100thDay of School! Truly, the fun has not stopped all January and February!

 

And our amaryllis bloomed! We painted it!

      

Regular work continued, also, in between all of these special events. Each child is making their own alphabet book, and each has now completed a Venn diagram using colored pasta. These culminating projects hang on our wall. As a group, the class did wonderfully well sorting by one and two attributes. Some even challenged themselves, sorting by three attributes, with great success!

 

More classroom fun. Enjoy the photos!