Last Week of School

Here are some pictures from this past week. We had a lot of fun wrapping up the school year. Teaching your kids has been such a blessing. They will always hold a very special place in my heart and I pray that they will always remember how much Jesus loves them. 

We spent time on Monday designing a boat for Sphero to transport lego people safely across the pool. 

The 5th grade egg drop

On the first day of school, the kids made time capsules where they wrote about their favorite things. During the last week of school, I returned the time capsules to the kids and they got to see how much they changed during 2nd grade. 

Testing out the boats! Almost everyone built a successful boat!

In math, the kids went on a measuring scavenger hunt. 

Building puzzles together as part of morning work on Wednesday. 

Jackson Pollock day was a blast!

5/14-5/18

Important Information for Our Last Week of School!
-We will not have any memory work or spelling words next week. We will be finishing up our 5 paragraph writing from last week and will be spending our time reviewing things we've learned this year through lots of fun activities.

-No hot lunches will be served next week. However, there will be several a la carte items that can be purchased.

-Reminder to fill out your child's church and Sunday school attendance log. I will be recording this information on their 4th quarter grade cards on Monday.

-Monday will be a fairly normal day. We will be doing a STEM coding challenge with Sphero and Mrs. Helmkamp in the morning. PTL will also sponsor a Kona Ice truck during lunch recess for all of the kids. We will watch the 5th grade egg drop in the afternoon.
-Tuesday- Is the last day to take AR tests. For those who have reached their goal, we will be having a party to celebrate their success!
Wednesday-  The morning will be spent cleaning our desks and our classroom. Please send a large bag (garbage bags work well) along with a backpack so your child can take home their things.   The afternoon is Jackson Pollock Day! 

Please send a bag of old clothes to change into for the afternoon. Your child will also probably want an old pair of shoes (some use gym shoes since your child will most likely grow into a new size over the summer, or they can use their regular shoes and plan to use the gym shoes to replace the painted old tennis shoes). Students will have paint on their clothes but I will try to allow enough time for the paint to dry. You might want to throw an old beach towel or trash bag on your car seat before you pick them up. More than likely you will want to just throw their clothes away, so please send something old that can be discarded.

-Thursday- We will be in the classroom for a few minutes before heading to closing chapel. This is a no backpack day. Dismissal is at 10am.

This week during science, we talked about animal adaptations and how God has given animals certain adaptations that help them to survive in their habitats. On Monday, the kids worked in groups to read a Scholastic News article about an interesting animal. Their job was to figure out what adaptations this animal had that allowed it to survive in its habitat.  This group learned about glass frogs. Glass frogs have eggs with camouflage to help them stay safe from predators. 

This group learned about elephant seals. Elephant seals have blubber to help them to stay warm. 

This group learned about caterpillars. Some caterpillars have poisonous hairs to protect them from their enemies. 

The class worked on researching an animal of their choice. While they were researching, I pulled small groups back to see how blubber works. The kids were amazed to find out that blubber is actually really warm!

Congratulations to our spelling bee champion!!!

In math this week, we reviewed many skills with various activities at math centers. On Thursday, we brainstormed ice-cream flavors and toppings that we wanted for our AR party next week. The kids then made a graph of the results and wrote their own mathematic questions about the graph. They asked their classmates to answer their graph questions. 

5/7-5/11

Looking Ahead to Next Week:
Memory: This is our last memory verse this year!
For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. Psalm 96:4
Spelling: This is our last spelling test this year!
High Frequency Word List #4: try, kind, hand, picture, again, change, off, play, spell, air, away, animals, house, point, page, letters, mother, answer, found, study, still, learn, should, America, world

Grammar: Contractions and Sentences Review
Reading: Tall Tales
Math: We are going to be reviewing many of the skills we have learned this year. There will not be any math homework or math tests for the remainder of the school year.
Science: We will be learning about animal adaptations as we seek to answer the question, How has God made animals able to to survive in their habitats?
Writing: 5 paragraph writing

Important News and Information:
-2nd-4th Grade spelling bee is at 2:00 on Tuesday in the gym

-Library Books need to be turned into the school library as soon as possible so the librarians can complete their inventory.

-On Friday, May 18th, students in grades 1-8 will participate in a “Faith Family Field Day”.  We will eat a picnic lunch, play games, and have one last fun time with our Faith Families!  Zion will be providing cheese pizza from Domino's, goldfish and water for the picnic lunch.  If your child does not want that lunch or is unable to eat that lunch due to allergies, please have your child bring a cold lunch on Friday, May 18th.  Your child will also be spending the afternoon out in the sun, so please apply sunscreen in the morning before your child comes to school.  This will also be a SPECIAL SPIRIT DAY your child may wear a Zion/LHS t-shirt and non uniform bottoms!  Thanks!

-The last day to take AR tests for the quarter is Tuesday, May 22. An AR report was sent home in Homework Folders on Friday. 

-As a cumulating activity for our year long coding activities with Mrs. Helmkamp, our class will participate in a Sphero challenge during the last week of school. The challenge will be to design a boat that can hold both sphero and lego people, that can be maneuvered across a small pool to get the lego people to safety. For this challenge, we are in need of the foam trays (well cleaned!) that come with meat and vegetables at the grocery stores. Thank you! 

This week in science, we learned about the 6 different animal groups. Before we learned about the groups, the kids sorted pictures of animals into their animal group and wrote why that animal belonged in that group. We came back to this activity on Friday and made corrections to what we had done on Monday. The kids were proud of how much they had learned!

Wayne Trinklein came into our classroom to show us his amazing tree sculptures. 

He then taught the class how to make their own trees. 

On Friday, we designed a circus inspired by Alexander Calder. 

4/30-5/4

Looking Ahead to Next Week:
Memory: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

Spelling: aught/ew:

caught, taught, daughter, jewel, chewable, newer, fewest, interview, nephew, newsletter

Phonics: vowel teams
Grammar: Possessive Nouns
Reading: Sequencing
Math: We will have a math test on Wednesday.
Science: Animals
Writing: Persuasive Writing

Important News and Information:
-We will welcome artist and sculptor Wayne Trinklein into our classroom on Wednesday. He will help the kids design their own tree sculpture.

-Library Books need to be turned into the school library as soon as possible so the librarians can complete their inventory.

-There will be a Spelling Bee for grades 2-4 on Tuesday, May 15th. Each class will have two kids participate. We will have an in class spelling bee for those who wish to participate early next week. The two winners will represent our class in the school spelling bee. I will let you know if this is your child.

-Books Orders are due on Wednesday, May 9th.

-The last day to take AR tests for the quarter is Tuesday, May 22.

-On Friday, May 18th, students in grades 1-8 will participate in a “Faith Family Field Day”.  We will eat a picnic lunch, play games, and have one last fun time with our Faith Families!  Zion will be providing cheese pizza from Domino's, goldfish and water for the picnic lunch.  If your child does not want that lunch or is unable to eat that lunch due to allergies, please have your child bring a cold lunch on Friday, May 18th.  Your child will also be spending the afternoon out in the sun, so please apply sunscreen in the morning before your child comes to school.  This will also be a SPECIAL SPIRIT DAY your child may wear a Zion/LHS t-shirt and non uniform bottoms!  Thanks!

On Wednesday, we got together with our Faith Families to write thank you cards to the many people who help Zion church and school run smoothly. 

In Social Studies, we learned about 4 different people who made a difference in their community. To begin our study, the kids were give pictures of problems and brainstormed possible solutions to them. 

In grammar, we practiced using quotation marks by reading comics, then converting the words said in speech bubbles to sentences using commas, quotation marks, and end marks. Afterwards, the kids got to act out their comic for the class using the dialogue that they had written.  

In art, we learned about pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and his use of onomatopoeia in his art work. 

Our field trip to the History Museum was really cool

The kids worked in groups to examine historical artifacts and made observations using their 5 senses

4/23-4/27

Looking Ahead to Next Week:
Memory: For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:20
Spelling: ee and double consonant: agree, between, career, deeper, eighteen, middle, anniversary, opportunity, different, support
Grammar: Onomatopoeia and Quotation Marks Review
Reading: We will be finishing up our poetry unit this coming week
Math: We have been really slowing down in math this past week, and will continue to do so as our lessons are getting more complex. We will only have a 100 subtraction fact test next week.
Social Studies: Ch.11 Solving Problems in a Community
Writing: Poetry


Important News and Information:
-The 1st-3rd grade musical is next week. Here is some important information:

1)  We will have a dress rehearsal at 2:00 p.m on Friday, May 4th in the church sanctuary for Zion students and any family members that want to attend.

2) The musical will take place at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 4th.  Please bring your child to the church basement at 5:45 p.m.  Teachers will arrive at 5:45 p.m. so please do not send your child down any earlier.

3)  Dress for that Friday: red Zion t-shirt and khaki bottoms (shorts, pants, or skirts)

4) Teachers are anticipating that students are at both performances.  Please let your child's teacher know if your child will not be attending both performances.  

-Our field trip to the Missouri History Museum is also next Friday, May 4th. Your child will need to bring a packed cold lunch (peanut free) to eat in our classroom when we return. Reminder to turn in the signed permission slip by Monday, 4/30

A magnet creation made during indoor recess on Monday

This week for poetry, we learned about similes. The kids got to eat ice-cream as they wrote a simile poem about their delicious treat. 

We combined each of our favorite similes into a class ice-cream poem. 

In math, to practice with perimeter and area, the kids made a design on grid paper first. Then, they used what they knew about their design's area to help them make a large version of their design out of sticky notes. 

On Thursday, Mr. Smith came to teach us about electrical safety. 

4/16-4/20

Looking Ahead to Next Week:
Memory: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  Ephesians 4:29
Spelling: ea/ai: least, appear, really, cereal, repeat, detail, waist, praise, afraid, again
Phonics: Review of Vowel Teams
Reading: Similes and Metaphors
Math: We will not have a test next week. We are going to learn the x2 facts, and do a STEAM activity with perimeter and area
Science: We will be learning about electricity. We will have a test over the 4 types of energy (heat, sound, light, and electricity) on Friday. A study guide will go home on Monday.
Writing: We are continuing to write poetry.

Important News and Information:
-We are going on a field trip to the St. Louis History Museum on Friday, May 4th. The permission slip went home in homework folders on Friday. Please sign and return these by Monday, April 30th.

-The 1st-3rd Grade Musical, Once Upon a Parable, will take place at 6pm on Friday, May 4th. We will begin practicing for the musical next week. For the musical, we are asking the kids to wear their red Zion t-shirts and khaki bottoms.

Mrs. McCoy from First Community Credit Union came and taught our class about money and the importance of saving

We learned how to look up words in a dictionary this week

In science, we made instruments to demonstrate our knowledge of sound energy

We then played our instruments for the class

We learned about how rhythm is used in poetry. The kids used their instruments to show the rhythm in various poems

On Wednesday, we played a kickball game with Mrs. Smith's class to celebrate Athletic Day and Week of the Young Child

In Science, we used prisms to show us how light bends. 

With the sun shining on the prisms, we saw rainbows!