Our classroom has started off September with a much-anticipated activity! On September 1st , students “set up shop” and displayed the products that they created for our Economics “Market”. They marketed their products with posters, and acted as both producers (shopkeepers) and consumers (customers) as they sold their wares and purchased other students’ products. Using the pattern statement, “The choices we make can lead to positive or negative outcomes, “ students determined what to price their product in order to make a profit, and whether or not their product created a high or low demand. Connor’s “Thing-a-ma-jig” gets the prize for most create name!
We have brand new Science textbooks this year, with many additional resources (such as a great collection of science booklets on a variety of science subjects) for each classroom. On Tuesday we will begin our new Science unit on Rocks and Minerals. Our main focus in this unit will be identifying and describing the three main types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. We will also be learning about fossils, soil, and how weather shapes our land. Students will be getting a “Pet Rock” and keeping a Pet Rock Journal, which will be due on September 27th (details to follow.)
The students have begun unit 2 in Math, where they will have varied opportunities to add and subtract whole numbers and solve number stories.
In Bible, we enjoyed going outside and measuring the far parking lot in order to get an idea of just how big Noah’s Ark really was (150 yardsticks long!). We were amazed at the size of it! In Bible Unit 2, the students will be learning about Abraham and Isaac.
Our Fruit of the Spirit for September is Goodness, and we have been talking about what it means to “do good”. We will be memorizing this year’s school verse picked by the 8th graders, Col. 3:15.
In Writing, we continue to explore the “Ideas” trait, and students are learning how to focus and then develop an idea, using “juicy details” that enhance the story by describing what things might smell, taste, look, sound or feel like.
We will begin our new Reading Comprehension skill “Summarization” on Tuesday, and students will be making “Summary Balloons” to help them determine how to summarize the essential events in a story.
Amanda Lako’s mother, Lisa, surprised us all in costume as our first Mystery Reader with a dramatic reading as “Veronica Grace Smithers” from the book, Marty McGuire. Students each had a prop, and Mrs. Lako’s flare for the dramatic made it a very exciting afternoon! Thank you, Mrs. Lako!
We thank Lisa Lako and Sherry Morgan, our Room Parents this year, for doing a fantastic job creating a booklet of important information for parents, and for helping organize volunteers at Scoop Night.
Thanks also to the parents who have given such wonderful gifts to our classroom from our class Wish List!
Leslie and I feel blessed to have such precious children in our class this year, and can’t wait to watch them grow in so many ways!
In Him,
Lucia Johnson and Leslie Ayres
School theme verse: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Col. 3:15