Bring on the Bugs!

We began our insect unit in science and that means we were visited by all kinds of creepy crawly creatures last week.  First, came the meal worms (not Mrs. Cushing's favorite little fellows, but sort of fascinating to examine, nonetheless).  We had a chance to look under a strong magnifying glass and see various stages of growth/development:  From tiny worms that were barely visible to the naked eye to rather chubby wiggly worms to worms in the pupa stage.  When the worms hatch, they will be beetles.  Viola!

We talked about the concept of metamorphosis further as we explored painted lady caterpillars, which will eventually turn into butterflies.  Right now we've been having fun examining them, watching them eat (and, boy, can they eat), and recording our observations about how they've changed in our "Caterpillar Diaries."  Since the caterpillars literally change overnight (the growth in them is visible), it has been easy for students to make observations to record.

We also entertained a house full of ladybugs and had a chance to watch them as they feasted on raisins and scurried around.

Continuing with our Kevin Henkes author study, we read Sheila Rae the brave, talked about her character traits, and then made comparisons between her and Lilly with a Venn diagram.  We also did a lot of writing and thinking about Kevin Henkes' characters, using our texts to find and record evidence to support our ideas and answers.  We also introduced the first non-mouse book by Kevin Henkes.  Called All Alone, Kevin Henkes' first children's book is full of understated watercolors and poetic language.  Students wrote about what they feel like and like to do when they are all alone.  This week we will read Wemberly Worried, Chrysanthemum, and Owen.

We wrapped up our latest math unit on mental arithmetic, money, and fractions with a post test and took a pre-test for our up-coming (and last) unit on place value and fractions.  During this unit, we will work on adding and subtracting tens, adding and subtracting 2-digit numbers, and comparing fractions.  Please make sure that your child is practicing addition facts, particularly doubles facts, at home on a regular basis.  We have been having fun having doubles fact races during which I use a stop-watch to time kids to see how fast they can do all doubles facts up to 10.  So far the time to beat is 12 seconds by Andy!

Our Writer's Workshop study of poetry is well underway.  The children have been exploring all kinds of poetic writing conventions like onomatopoeia, alliteration, personification, voice, and rhyme.  We explored concrete poems and went on a hunt around our room to find objects about which to write poems.  We talked about how poetic writing is different from other forms of writing.  I think Jason summed it up best when I asked what poetry was and he said, "It's writing that sounds like a song without the music."

I am still working on DRA reading assessments and hope to be finished by the week's end.  Please make sure that your children continue to read for at least 15 minutes per night and that you ask questions about their reading (Who were the main characters in the story?  Where did it take place?  What was the problem?  How did it get solved?  What were the events in the story in sequence?).  You can also ask your child what the story made them think of or if they had any personal connections they could make with the story or one of its characters.

Happy Mother's Day to all our moms and grandmas!