October 1, 2016

We can't believe that September is already over!  This was a very busy and eventful week.  We started with the Fourth Great Lesson, the coming of language.  Students learned through different stories about what could have been the first spoken words by early humans and how important communication is for humans.  They also learned about examples of ancient written letters and words and how the alphabet they use today was formed and has changed for thousands of years.
 
This week, many students chose new materials and lessons to practice their math facts, and some even worked together to solve more challenging math equations.  They also finished their first literature circle books, and some have already had a meeting with their group and Ms. Mary to discuss the book and focus on the plot of each one.
 
Highlights of this week were some fun grammar lessons with Mr. Ben about concrete and abstract nouns and painting fall leaves with our art specialist, Ms. Michelle.  Students also enjoyed this week at peace circles having time to talk with other students about things they like and things they feel they are great at.  They got to draw or write down different things on paper and then during dismissal they had to guess who was being described as Mr. Ben read the clues from their papers.
 
Friday's field trip to the UW Planetarium was a lot of fun and exciting.  Another very special thank you to all of the parents that volunteered to drive.  We got to learn more about our solar system and stars with giant, cool graphics in the Planetarium.  After we returned to school and talked about what we liked, many students enjoyed learning more about space and some students even just enjoyed getting to spend time in a car with their friends.