So, I wanted to share some things that we have been doing in school lately. It’s been awhile and, while I am sure you have been hearing lots and lots about school at home (especially about my evil twin brother, Bob), I thought I would share some things with you. But don’t think that this is just for the parents. Au contraire, mon frere! Gather the kids and check it out!

In Language Arts, we have been doing a author study on the really cool and very interesting author, Chris Van Allsberg. He writes these fascinating books that are fantasy based. As part of this, we have been learning that fantasy books have three characteristics: they are usually based in the present, they take place in normal places but strange things happen and they have an element of magic in them like animals that talk. We have read a number of his books in class and have also talked about theme where the author writes a book to share a main idea. This is a tougher concept for the students to grasp as it is not very easily discerned. However, the books are a lot of fun with just enough of a twist to them to keep the kids interested. After the Thanksgiving break we will be starting our Home Reading program.

In Science, as you probably know, our class is doing a unit on Animal Habitats and Communities. As part of this unit, students are going to be assembling terrariums. The terrariums are homes for various plants and animals that typically live in or on the forest floor. Observing what happens in the terrariums gives students a chance to learn about the habitats and adaptations of animals that live in this type of environment as well as gain knowledge about the role these plants and animals play in the larger ecosystem.

We need your help in making this the best learning experience possible. Your child will need a variety of supplies in order to build their terrariums. The supplies they will need are inexpensive but I wanted to give you a heads up so you will have time to collect the items to send with your child. As you collect the items, you can send them with your child so they are ready to go once we begin to build the terrariums.

For Tuesday, Oct. 15th

Your child will need:

• A small trowel
• Boots
• A small plant
• Small amount of grass seed or birdseed
• 1 small plant such as strawberry plant, sweet alyssum, violets or other small garden plants which you can get fairly cheaply at Home depot, Walmart, Rona or a garden place.

We started today looking at the soil that your child brought in. We found some very cool things in the soil which were unexpected. We will talking more about soil and the importance of soil in the food chain, setting up an experiment with soil and starting our Terrarium habitats on Tuesday.

Here are some pictures from our look at soil:

Speaking of habitats, we have learned a lot about habitats and I found this cool video that I thought everyone would enjoy!

Finally, I found this awesome video on Science experiments you can do at home…and it has Oobleck in it!!! I don’t think you are ever too old for Sesame Street, especially when it’s done this way!