Friday, Oct. 8

Love this weather and so do the children!  
BUTTERFLIES - Our butterfly larvae showed up on Wednesday afternoon.  The class was very excited to check out their larva.  Each student has a cup of their own with one in it and there is a class cup with 4 or 5 in it.  We did some initial observations about size, shape, color, etc.  Then the students described their larva and drew a picture of it.  I had them all do predictions as to when they think they will turn into a butterfly.  Our predictions ranged from 2 minutes to 8 months.  We will see if anyone is close to the date that the first one changes.  Today they were amazed to see how much they grew.  Below are a few of their observations:
The larva grew overnight almost double.
They are moving more.
Eat a lot of food because there is less food in the cup.
They like to hang from the lid.
We will be finishing up our subtraction chapter next week and plan on the test next Thursday.  We will review on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Today the students shared their animal reports with the class.  Their reports and dioramas will be on display in the media center during conferences.  They did a very nice job on these.  We will be studying insects on Monday and Tuesday.  We will review animals on Wednesday and then take a test on Thursday.  I know it seems like a lot of tests on Thursday but there is no school on Friday.
Mrs. Faircloth will finish her teaching next Thursday.  I will be taking over the morning work next week while she finishes up her units in the afternoons.  The last week she will spend some time observing some of the other classrooms in our building.  She has done a nice job.  You should find a homework assignment in your child's Friday folder.  Please have this brought back by next Thursday.  The students should give them to me, not Mrs. Faircloth.  If your child does not have one, it is because they will be working on it here. 
Reminders:
Book orders are due back on Mon., Oct. 18th.
No school next Friday.
Please return conference slips next week in case we need to make any changes.
Have a great weekend!