Daily Message: March 6

The children have been working very hard on the subtraction facts, so today I told them that we would have some "calculator fun" in math class. And, fun, it was! First we reviewed a sheet from earlier in the year where the children practiced entering data. Then they used the repeat factor (the equals key) to count by 2's, 3's, 4's, 30's and 200's. This is a great way to practice this skill, as it's self-correcting. Children who practice this skill will find learning the multiplication facts a piece of cake. Finally we used the calculators to "write" words. The children loved this activity. I suggested they might see how many other words they could write on the calculator this evening. If your child works on this activity, please remind her to bring the paper with the words to school tomorrow. Who knew that learning to use a math tool could be so much fun!

Today in science/health class we used our 'rainbow filters' to make a flower.  Next I introduced the class to the food guide pyramid, MyPyramid.gov, explaining why the pyramid is set up as it is.  We began a discussion about grains.  During this unit it is helpful to talk with your kids about the foods they eat and the various food groups they are a part of.  Tomorrow I will ask the kids to collect 3-4 different food labels from some of their most often eaten foods and bring them to school on Monday.

We learned that Amelia Earhart achieved many "firsts" in the field of aviation.

Barb