Physical Training with a US Marine

This morning we had the rigorous pleasure of a modified Marine Corps physical training with my son, Niall, who is home on leave until Saturday.  He worked with both fourth grades at different times putting them through some warm-up exercises on the Eaton playground.

We also did a KIM exercise (Keep in Memory) where the students viewed 8 objects for 60 seconds and then had to recall the number of objects, the name of the objects and any details they remembered.  They accomplished the recall part of the exercise four hours later.   This exercise was devised by no other than Rudyard Kipling!  We used Ms. Clark's class as our control group.  They viewed the objects before they exercised and our class viewed the objects after exercise.  My hypothesis was that the CotiSweets would have greater recall after exercise due to the oxygenation of our brains.  Well, this did prove to be true since we had a much greater recall than the other class.  I am not going to claim victory, though, since this was a one-time experiment with only two classes.  Still!  I do believe that exercise is a dominant factor in how well our brains perform.

Enjoy the photos and please keep Niall in your thoughts and prayers as he deploys to Afghanistan for his first tour of duty in a couple of weeks.  THANK YOU!!!

Homework:

Vocabulary Workshop
Ms. Houston's Math
Ms. Coti's Reading:  Finish "Callo's Necklace."

Homework -- Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Vocabulary WS:  Page 105
Coti Math:  Two-sided handout

Homework and More

Homework:

Monday, March 5, 2012
Vocabulary Workshop, pages 100-101
Coti Math:  Finish graph of class sit-ups
Election 2012 essay due.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Write a sentence for each vocabulary word
Coti Math:  ten problems in packet - mark with a star or ?

We spent part of the morning at Beauvoir School to plant some lettuce, spinach and Spring onions.
The students were partnered with a class of second graders and were split into two groups.  One
group went to the science lab, learned about the project and viewed a powerpoint on growing seeds.
The science teacher was very impressed with our students who knew how to tell the difference between tap roots and fibrous roots from our Veggie U studies.  They then went into the garden to set about planting the seeds.

While half the class planted seeds, the other half did a tour of the school to view their "museum" of North America.  The students visited the Mississippi Delta, New Orleans, Hawaii and Mexico among other regions.
After the tour, they traded places with the first group and went to the lab and the garden while the first group went on a tour.  At the end, the students ran around the playground and had a lot of fun trying out the equipment, including a great big tunnel slide with lots of twists and turns.  I even had a ride, and it was BIG fun!

I've enclosed some photos for your pleasure.  Enjoy!

We're preparing for the PIA this week and also getting in our Veggie U studies with the other fourth grade.  We will plant our sets this Friday and place them under a grow light to help facilitate their growth for transplanting into our garden this spring.  Once we harvest our lettuce, we will make a huge salad to enjoy together with Chipotle food from the Tenleytown branch.  I'll let you know the date as soon as the lettuce starts to grow.  I'm thinking probably about a month after planting.

A citywide STEM fair is in our future along with a John Eaton science fair.  Information on both will be sent out before spring break.

Enjoy this beautiful spring,

Susan

Homework--Feb. 28, 2012

Math handouts for Ms. Coti and Ms. Houston on probability
Vocabulary Workshop
Ms. Adem's reading

Field trip next Tuesday to Beauvoir for spring planting!
Neighborhood walk -- no permission slip necessary.

Have a great evening!

More Photos! Today's Science Lesson and artwork from a Black History Month exercise we completed last week.

Homework and News

We started the ReSET Program today.  ReSET stands for Retired Scientists, Engineers and Technicians.  Mr. Bill Lake, a retired mechanical engineer came to our classroom for the first of six lessons on electricity and magnetism.   He said he would also like to get into solar energy which is right up our alley, so I'm pleased we
were placed with Mr. Lake!  He introduced early scientists including Galileo and had the students make paper helicopters.  He also reviewed the scientific method.  I've attached a few photos for your enjoyment.

Tomorrow is the ski trip, and almost half the class will be absent.  I plan to teach a lesson on renewable and nonrenewable energy sources and get a team together to do an energy audit of the school.  Ms. Adem and I will also teach a lesson on probability that the students on the field trip will have to make up.

It's hard to believe that spring is right around the corner if not sitting on our laps already!  Later this month, before spring break, we will create beautiful eggs using the ancient method of Pysanka.  If any parents would like to come in to help out and make an egg, please feel welcome.  I'll let you know the exact date in the next couple of weeks.

Lots of great poetry projects entered the classroom recently and social studies projects are in progress.  The students are also working on stories loosely based on "Snow White" called "Mahogany Melissa."  What an interesting mix of endings the students are creating!

I'd like to introduce a program on teamwork and communication called "Talking with T.J."  We've had a few instances of behaviors that beg for instruction on how to express feelings in a positive way.  Stay tuned for more information.

Homework -- Monday, February 27, 2012

Vocabulary Workshop:  Pages 90 and 91.  Write each word in a sentence.
 Coti Math:   Two handouts.
Houston Math:  Study Links 8.6 and 8.7

Ms. Adem's reading:  Finish point of view worksheet.