10/14

SCIENCE:
Cora was our leader today. She opened our class with a beautiful prayer. We read a devotional about the slow beautiful work the earth does to create caves and how it resembles the slow beautiful work God continues to do on our hearts and lives and talked about the work of God's faithfulness already in our lives. We watched a quick video about how caves are formed then reviewed our reading for the week and filled out a Speleothem worksheet. Then we created our own cave! Each student crinkled a paper bag to look like the calcite deposit formations found in caves. Then they put them under the table or on the floor depending on whether I gave them "stalactite" or "stalagmite". It was a really fun way to sink that vocabulary in our minds! We read a book about a young Inuit girl hunting mussels in a sea cave for the first time called Very Last First Time and noted the stalactite in the illustrations. Finally, we watched a video that showed the top 10 caves around the world. If your student did the experiment at home this week, once they are done with their observations, they can keep the worksheet in their Science binder behind the "Experiments" tab.

GEOGRAPHY:

Cora led us in the flag salute and chose a clue card that led us to Japan using a fun facts few students knew. We played a four-corners type game (in this case, 5 oceans) to review what we learned last week about oceans. Then, the students began to fill out their KWL for continents (the "Know" and "Want to know" columns) while I stamped their passports Oceans page. We flipped through a few slides to learn some unique features about each continent and then put together 7 puzzles (one for each continent) to review what we had learned. Finally, we filled out the "Learned" column for our KWL. We had a visit from ASB to explain the wreath fundraiser that kicks off today and we are pumped to provide our friends, neighbors and family an opportunity to bring a little Christmas magic in their home while supporting a good cause. Each student was sent home with an envelope to get them started - please check it out. Our hope is that each student can sell 10 wreaths. If you have questions on the fundraiser, check out the Branches website.

IEW:

We started our IEW time with our memory verse song. Then I gave time for students to share their memorization. Lily R. had all three memorized and earned an extra punch! Well done! Cora offered a sweet leadership message to the class and Brendan brought his compass with Joshua 1:9 engraved to show the class. The students turned in their final drafts for Belling the Cat and were SOOO proud of them that we HAD to make time to read a few extras in class today. I can't wait to read them all! We we going to review adjectives using this video but the internet was fickle, so feel free to use it this week! We finished off the day reviewing vocab first with a charades activity and then with a team competition - it was a close one! And luckily there are no classes next door on Thursdays because we got loud! I love that about our class. The students are ALWAYS invested in the content and each other. In fact I took a picture (above) of the students after I had asked for a volunteer. I wanted to capture the fact every single hand goes up nearly every time. What a joy it is to teach these kids! Three of our students filled their punch cards earning a trip to the treasure chest today and I'm sure there will be more next week! I passed out the crossword puzzles for homework on their way out the door.

We missed you Bryson!

Hope you have a wonderful week! Feel free to reach out with any questions.