In this photo, they are learning about geometric movements called transformations. The girls here are practicing translation (sliding). Ask what the other two movements are. Geometry is definitely a hands-on topic.

Since we group students differently than our regular classroom groups for math, some kids in my class have not gotten to geometry as of this writing.

Kids in Mr. Brown’s math class had a fun day today finding the linear measurement of everything in sight with either rulers or  yard sticks. They found the lengths or widths of pencils, lockers, books and even the hallway(everyone’s favorite).

Next we’ll move on to standard measurement of mass, capacity and temperature. Then it’s on to the metric system.

You can work with your fourth grader on measurement at home. Try having them estimate lengths, widths, weights, and temperatures. Then use measurement tools to find the actual answer.

After a fascinating safety demonstration in the gym, we went outside for a dramatic pole climbing demonstration and a quick tour of their cherry picker truck. Both Mrs. Surface and Mr. Brown got into the cherry picker bucket and were lifted 40 feet above the parking lot to ecstatic cheers.

After discussing how authors describe things by using what they learn from their five senses, the class spent about a half hour exploring the NSS with their senses and recording it with their nice, sharp pencils. Some of the treasures they found included, a butterfly that landed on a child’s pencil as she wrote, a little tree covered with  juicy plums, a bubbling fountain and a bird’s nest. If you have a young author in this class, you might like to ask them what their favorite part of the Nature Study Site was. One girl said she wished she could live there.

During the first week of school, 4B kids brought one of their favorite things to school. They wrote a paragraph explaining why their choice was a favorite. They colored their name and glued it onto the paragraph and also glued a photo of them and their favorite thing. Some students brought stuffed animals or toys. One brought an alligator head! This was a fun, getting-to-know-you activity and also gave their teacher a first impression of their writing and spelling strengths and needs. These writing/art projects are on display in the hall in front of the classroom. I hope parents will have a chance to see them when they visit the school. They will still be there on Back To School Night on August 24.

Pictured are our three students who are new to Lecompton Elementary this year. They are all welcome additions and are already fitting in and making friends. This looks like a good group of fourth graders and this year promises to be a good one full of learning and fun.