Science Fun!

    Oh my goodness!  I can't believe I haven't put up a blog in a month.  We have been having so much fun.  I will have to go back and add some pictures of October activities.  Today was too much fun not to blog about.  We practiced creating the moon phases.  This is an important cycle that we must understand as fourth graders.  Of course we had to make it fun, so we used Oreo cookies for our moon phases.  Thanks to the parents who sent in cookies.  It was a great activity and tasty!
    Next we tried out virtual reality with Merge Cubes.  We were able to hold the entire solar system in our hands and watch as the planets orbited the sun.  We could even see the moons for every planet.  Touching the planets gave us information pop up boxes.  We really learned a lot.  The kids were super excited about this activity.  I appreciate the parents who sent a device with the app downloaded on it.  Our Ipads are changing here at school and all of the apps are gone right now.  I don't know what I would do without such devoted parents.  You guys are the best.

Class Pet

     Allow me to introduce you to our new class pets.  We have to glow fish named Adam and Lizzie.  We also have a black racer snail name Mrs. Bryce.  We named our pets after characters from our book.  We had radishes and wheat grass growing on top.  We had to harvest it all because it grew so fast.  The portable rabbits enjoyed a feast.

Friday Fun!

      I am a bit behind in my blogging!  Last Friday we dressed in our new Birkes spirit shirts as well as our older ones.  This week we all wore Astros clothing to show our team spirit.   Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the Astros clothes.  The kids looked great,
and our room was so festive.  Fire drills and library time caught us a bit off guard today.  It is always fun in fourth grade.  Stay tuned for pictures of our new class pet.

Going Gold for Childhood Cancer Awareness

     I am so excited to share with you the kids who went all out to support children with cancer!  Our school went Gold to raise awareness for this cause.  I am so proud of these kids.  I love their big hearts and sweet personalities.  It is a great day in fourth grade!

Science and Technology! Oh My!

     

    We have had an exciting week.  We are still learning about matter in science class.  We worked on identifying mixtures and solutions.  We used Lucky Charms and Tang juice mix for practice.  Who knew science could be so tasty?  The children had a wonderful time in the lab and enjoyed eating the experiment. 
      We have also gotten all of the kinks worked out for our passwords, and we used our Chrome books to get on Classflow for math class.  The kids really enjoyed collaborating on the problems and working together.  I love this group of children.  It's a great day in four grade.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

     I cannot thank you all enough for the great wish list items you keep sending in. I appreciate all of the support.  We are having an outstanding start to the school year.  I hope to see you all at Curriculum night tomorrow, September 11 at 6:00.  Please contact me if you need anything.  Thank you again for all your support and encouragement!

Measuring Mass and More

 Science Science Science
     Yesterday we had a great time measuring the mass of different objects.  We used a triple beam balance and a pan balance.  The kids did an outstanding job of working together in their groups.  I am so proud of this group of kids. 
     Today we measured temperature.  I forgot to take pictures!  Our current study is on physical properties.  We are measuring the properties that we cannot just observe.  Next week it will be all about volume!  I can't wait.

Reading
     We have read more great books this week.  Ask your student and Each Kindness.  This is a wonderful book that will bring up great discussion with all kids.  We also read The Memory String.  I love this book and I think the students really enjoyed it as well.  We are having wonderful discussions about our reading. 
It's a great day in fourth grade!

First Week of School

     We are back and ready for a great school year!  Mrs. Curington's class had a fabulous first week.  We saved Fred when his boat tipped over.  We weren't sure we could do it, but in the end he was saved.  We made roller coasters out of paper towel tubes, tape, toothpicks, and more.  I loved seeing my class working as a team.  I love to see them encourage each other in their groups.
     We also read some great books.  We discovered the author Dan Santat.  He might be a new favorite in the class.  We decided that the book, After the Fall might be the most brilliant book ever written.  As a class, we noticed the details that can be found in the pictures of a book.  Sometimes the story is not told in the words.  We plan to be more observant in the future.  I have some more wonderful books to share with the class.  Our library day is Friday.  I noticed some great choices in the library.
     In math class we worked on place value to the hundred billions place.  We also practiced ordering numbers.  Ask your students to explain the secret pirate code.  In science class we reflected on science safety rules.  Social studies and science class overlapped this week with digital citizenship.  This is a skill we will practice all year. 

     I know it is going to be an outstanding year.  Here's to fourth grade in 2018-2019!