Building Dams --December 1, 2011 by Earth

What we did in Science was building a dam out of popsicle sticks, a straw, pebbles, dirt, and
toothpicks. If the dam was wrecked we would flood the little town.

October 31 - November 4, 2011 by Nathaniel and Forest

On October 31/Halloween, we had a party in our room. We ate doughnuts off strings, did mummy wrapping, played musical chairs, and felt creepy foods. It was very fun.

On November 1, we started a new unit on number corner. So far all we have seen is a triangle that has moved around. All of them have dots in the middle of them.

So far, fourth grade has been fun!

October 17 - 21, 2011 by Gracie and Terrin

We went to a play called "Junie B Jones in Jingle Bells Batman Smells (P.S. So Does May)". This week we learned a new math segment called base ten pieces. We also had a new book that we are reading called On the Wings of a Hero. So far it is good.We just started science. It is really fun. We've been studying land and water. We've been doing calendar. We have a pattern. Every four days we have a new animal on our calendar. On our Great Wall of Base Ten we have a mat-mat, strip-mat, a mat, a strip, and a unit. A mat-mat is 10,000 square centimeters. The dimensions are 100 centimeters x 100 centimeters. The strip-mat is 1,000 square centimeters. The dimensions are 10 centimeters x 100 centimeters. The strip is 10 square centimeters. The dimensions are 1 cm x10 cm. The mat is 100 square cm. The dimensions are 10 cm x 10 cm. The unit is 1 cm. The dimensions are 1 cm x 1 cm.

October 3 - 7, 2011 by Rory

In October we started a new science unit called Land and Water. On Thursday we did a science experiment, Modeling the Water Cycle. First we mixed up the land (dirt,clay and rocks). Our group pretended we were baking. After that we poured the water in the container. Then we put a plastic thing on top of the container and we used a rubber band to hold the plastic thingy down. Then we put an ice pack on top of the plastic thing and observed. After that we took the ice pack off and tapped the plastic and observed.It was SO FUN!!!

September 19 - 30, 2011 by Amelia & Karsten

We did a lot of math on shapes and sizes. Our class learned a lot about factors, composite numbers, prime numbers, dimension, commutative property and quotient. On Monday we have computer. On Tuesday and Thursday we have P.E.. On Wednesday we have library. And on Friday the spelling test. In P.E. our class played capture the flag Boys VS. Girls. Our class did a computer testing. Now that we are in 4th grade we can check out 4 books in our Maplewood library.

September 5 - 9, 2011

So far fourth grade has been great! We have new erasers that smell like bacon. We use yoga balls as chairs. The supplies that we have will last all year. It was nice that we were able to choose our own folders and notebooks. Our room has air conditioning which has been great since it has been so hot this week. We have a flat screen TV. Last year we were in the school building, and this year we are outside in the portables.

We have been learning a lot of math this week. We have been studying geometry and learning about different shapes, like parallelograms, rectangles, trapezoids, triangles, squares, and hexagons. We used pattern blocks to make posters that included information about each shape. We've also been learning a little bit about the metric system, such as there are 10 cm in a decimeter and 10 decimeters in a meter.

We are learning about our summer vacations through the Brown Bag Speeches.

In Number Corner we have been trying to figure out the pattern of symbols on the calendar.

We have been learning new rules and procedures.

We took a reading test and a math test.

We have begun talking about respect and how to make friends.

Overall, it was a great week!

Ready for Students!

My classroom is ready to greet new students on Tuesday! I'm looking forward to seeing all of their excited faces at 7:50 am on September 6th.

Welcome to the 2011 - 2012 School Year!

The new year begins September 6!

• I am busy getting the classroom ready for my new group of 4th graders.

• Please check back regularly as my students will be updating this site with descriptions and explanations of our adventures as we learn and grow this year.