Pirates Invade the Lily Pad!

Greetings from the Lily Pad!

The Jolly Roger adorned the Lily pad.

On Thursday, we had an invasion of pirates! Our schedule was different (pirate themed), our math time was different (using grids to find a buried treasure) and even our writing time was different with students writing pirate poems.  A good time was had by all.  Even the teachers got into the spirit of the day.  Fortunately, all returned back to normal on Friday!

Pirates in Training

Where are the teachers!

Pirate Poetry: A recipe for a pirate

Pirate Acrostic Poem

We continue to add new elements to our literacy block.  Students have practiced being independent readers and writers.  This week we added Reading to Someone and Listening to reading.  Pairs sat Elbow-Elbow-Knee-Knee and practiced their reading and listening skills.  This will help with reading fluency.

We began a few simple chemistry explorations this week focusing on surface tension and the polarity of liquid molecules.  Students conducted trials to see how many drops of water fit on top of a penny.  The results were shocking and much different than initial predictions.

Our next experiment explored how dish soap disrupted the molecular bonds of water by using milk (which has a high water content), food coloring and dish soap.  Students were amazed with the color explosions and had some interesting explanations about why the colors melded together.

During math block, we continued exploring and using some of the manipulatives will will use throughout the year.  Students had fun exploring with pattern blocks creating designs with one or more lines of symmetry.

Wow, how many lines of symmetry do you see?

As you can tell, a lot of learning and a lot of fun was had by the Lily Pad this week.  No wonder we are all tired by Friday!  Enjoy your weekend and if you can help us out for our pancake breakfast, let me know!

Upcoming Events

• MAPS testing - Monday, Sept 23, Wednesday, Sept 25 and Monday Oct 2
• Friday, September 27 - the pancake breakfast - We need Volunteers!
• Monday, September 30 - School Picture Day and book orders are due
• Wednesday, October 9 - field trip to the Farmer's Market
• October 10 - stone soup
• October 17 - Trip to the Overture Center to see Dr. Kaboom!
• October 18 - Marquette Mile (1:30)
• October 20 - PTG Packers and Pumpkins
• October 24, 25 - No School for Students