A twirling, swirling playground dance performance!
In our Bigger Backyard…WHAT’S ABOVE US?!
“Houston…we have lift-off!” Alphas explored our Moon this week. We learned that this amazing satellite inspired myths and legends around the globe, and we got to know a few of them! We learned a hypothesis about how some scientists believe the Moon was formed and how far away it is from Earth. We explored how falling objects might displace matter to see if it could shed some light on those circular pits we see on the face of the Moon. Our table team challenge was to create a Moon Mission. It was hard/fun reaching a consensus, but each team DID. They also created a team name and uniform! We learned how the phases of the moon are made. We also found out that the Moon helps our atmosphere – without the Moon, the tides would slow WAY down. They wouldn’t be able to churn up all the nutrients that feed the phytoplankton, which produce over half of the oxygen on Earth!
Alphas depict the moment of impact between the hypothetical planet “Theia” and Earth, which may have created the MOON!
Alphas CRATERING!!!!
Alphas are Earthlings moon gazing, and Gabe is our Full Moon…
…now it is a Waning Gibbous Moon…
…now it’s a Waning Quarter Moon…
…now it’s in complete shadow, so it is a New Moon…
…now it’s a Waxing Crescent Moon…
Alphas make their Phases of the Moon Charts
In Math…
Ms. Kim’s Mathletes…
When we explore subtraction in Alpha, we start off in a concrete way, by removing things from a group of objects. Next, we move into “part-whole,” where we understand that a group of objects can be separated into groups. Finally, as of this week, we are discovering “differences” between numbers. We also had tons of fun putting together our friends’ 0-99 chart puzzles and playing “Guess My Pattern.”
Ms. Eliza’s Math Wizards…
This week we talked about other forms of measurement and the types of tools we use to measure them. We checked out a thermometer, a scale, the similarities and differences between rulers, yardsticks, and measuring tape . We learned that symbols change numbers into different measurements. Such as “ for inches and ‘ for feet, a little bubble for temperature, # for weight. We measured in units, we measured each other and we created measurement monsters.
In ELA…
Ms. Eliza’s Readers & Writers…
This week, we introduced our pets to one another, and we wrote about what made them special to us. We added TH to our digraph collection. Our leaders are getting more and more confident, and we love reading to partners. We read a collection of picture books by Rosemary Wells about a fun little dog named McDuff. We learned how McDuff found his home, welcomed the new baby, saved the day, and went to doggie school.
Ms. Kim’s Group…
This week, we discussed great strategies for practicing spelling high-frequency words—or any words, for that matter. We worked on our “favorite possession” paragraphs, and we read a story about an amazing possession, called The Red Balloon. While the story is a work of fiction, we explored what true-life experiences a person might have had that could fire up their imagination in such a way that could lead them to write such a great story. Because we have such short lessons on Shipe Park day, we got to watch the film of this story.
Alphas can spell “ir” words – no problem!
When Alphas focus, they can crank out the paragraph!
In Other News…
Ace attempts to see things from Ms. Kim’s perspective…
Alpha parent, Megan, updates Gamma Dog Advocates about adoptions! Way to inspire our community, Megan!
Proud engineers…
COOL MOTOR you made Jack!!!!
“I can eat rocks!” …WHAT!?! Gabe’s incredible rock trick!
All of a sudden…there were dragons hatching everywhere!
