More water cycle fun!!!

 I found this really fun activity on Pinterest and I couldn't wait to do it with the kiddos! We took clear cups and filled them about half full of water. This was our "collection" part of the water cycle. Next we discussed how the collected water is warmed by the sun and turns to vapor (evaporation). That vapor then forms clouds (condensation), our clouds were made of shaving cream. Finally when the clouds get too full it rains (precipitation), we added a few drops of blue food coloring to the top of the clouds.
The kids really enjoyed this activity even with my slip up of making the clouds too fluffy at first (whoops).

We even got into a discussion about the different shades of blue that our water turned and deciding that the lighter shades meant the rain must have been a quick shower instead of a down pour.

 

This was a really fun way to spend our time after this morning's test. I really like having the kids do fun activities after having to sit for so long during the tests. The kids have been doing a terrific job with all the testing even though it is stressful for us all. I am so proud of how hard they are working. Tomorrow we'll be doing the Bible test and then we are finished!! I can't wait to have this behind us and get back to our normal schedule and engaging lessons. Until then we will keep leaning on Him to hold us up and carry us on.

 

HELLO SUNSHINE!!!

Last week the sun finally came out to play!!! We were so excited!

We went outside for a little "nature walk" in our courtyard area, while we were out there we looked for some things to add to our soda bottle terrariums. We had everything from rocks and sticks to little mini plants growing  at the edge of the trees. 

 

Last week we were learning about weather and we talked a lot about the water cycle, the terrariums worked perfectly with our discussions too. 

We are still working on subtraction in Math, last week we learned a new game called Subtraction Bridge it works exactly like "London Bridge" but we keep track of how many students we start and end each round with.

It was also nice to finally get back outside for recess. I think I enjoyed it as much as the kids did.

 

Now that I'm all caught up on last week here's what's new this week!

We have some more readers getting excited about reading to the class.

Jace, Jasa, and Timothy all read to us on Monday! It is so exciting to see them picking new, more challenging books to read. 

Today was the first day of our Standardized testing, we took on the hardest one first Reading and Language Arts. The kids were a little unsure about the whole testing process but they did an incredible job! I am so proud of them!!

 Tomorrow we tackle Mathematics and I know they are going to knock it out of the park again. They are hard workers and super smarties!

Keep praying for us this week as we finish our testing we know that He will guide us and give us everything we need to succeed this week. We can do nothing without Him.

 We are going to do some fun science projects this week too. It's been nice being able to spend more time on Science activities since we aren't doing our regular Math and Phonics curriculum this week.

Stay tuned for Sciencey stuff later this week!

Classroom Song of the week:

Song of the week for the teacher:

 

 

 

Seders, balloons, and Easter parties...OH MY!!!

 We started our morning off with a special Passover Seder. It was very interesting to see the kids reactions to the food. (Spoiler alert: they will not be asking for these at home)

Then it was time to get our crazy day started! Because of all the special things happening we only really had time for our Bible lesson and what a lesson it was!! Ascension day!!! We started out writing notes to people we love in Heaven 

these were going to be attached to our...

 unfortunately I am a terrible planner (remember when I said I planned on posting every day last week? ooooops) and our notes were too heavy for our balloons and we just had to "think" it in our hearts as we let go of our balloons.

 As we watched the balloons float up into the clouds we discussed Jesus' ascension to Heaven and remembered that one day He will come back again.

In spite of the cold and the fact that we couldn't stay out for very long we had a great discussion.

After specials it was time for the big finale.

EASTER PARTY!!!!!

We had so much fun! Games, crafts, yummy treats galore!! Big thanks to our terrific parents for all the planning and help during the festivities. 

I hope everyone is enjoying spring break, I certainly enjoyed my extra 3 hours of sleep this morning. 

See you next week!!!