Hi there. Today we finished up our Metric Olympics. We grabbed a handful of marbles and then had to use a balance scale to find the mass in grams. Some kids have to go tomorrow. But, if your child went today, ask them what they found their mass to be. We will be starting a new unit in science next week.

We continued with fractions today in math. We learned how to make fractional number lines. If your child can show you where 1/4 is on a number line, have THEM draw it in the planner and label it. If done correctly, they will earn $10 tomorrow.

Kids now earn $5 when they are in class on time daily.

A fun thank you to Jaeden who brought us yummy peanut butter treats today for National Kids Love Peanut Butter Day. Kids were able to buy them from her for $10. Great idea Jaeden!

We have two more days to bring in pennies. We are in the lead, but rumor has it some classes are going to give us a run for our money. We GOT THIS!!!!! :0)

Today, we also talked about a former student of mine, DC. He goes to Castle Rock now. He is in a club that encourages kids to pay it forward. He came about a story/cause through him mom recently that stirred his newest project. He wants to collect children's books for kids that are sick in the hospital. His mom had a friend that had a child in the hospital recently. The small child loved hearing stories to take his mind off his illness. But, eventually the stories ran out. DC wants to make sure that never happens again. So, he has come back to his home school Bitterroot, and is asking for any books that your kids don't read anymore. I told the kids I would pay them $5 per book that they bring in. They need to be picture books or small easy chapter books for little kids. You know the ones that your kids are beyond. I know I have a ton at my house just sitting on the shelf. What a great reason to go through them and update our library. Books need to be brought in soon. Kids need to make sure they know how many they have and show me them BEFORE the put them in the hallway box. Awesome Job DC! What a great kid!

We have PE tomorrow. Please help remember those shoes.

Lastly, I leave you with an explanation of the pictures posted today. We finished our biography reports and they are ready for you to see in the hallway. Kids either had Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, or Susan B. Anthony. The skills we worked on were Figurative Language, Sequencing thru a timeline, retelling events in our own words, evaluating by recommending the book to others, visualization, poetry, and story elements (characters, supporting characters, climax, setting, and Author's Purpose. Not bad for one book! The other pictures are of a lesson that our counselor, Mrs. Salazar did with the class. It was extremely powerful. It was called Mr. Blue. Each kid had to walk up to Mr. Blue, say something negative that they have heard before (like mine was "You are a bad mom") about themselves and rip off a piece of Mr. Blue. When all the kids had a piece, Mr. Blue had hardly anything left of him. Then, each kid had to go back up and say sorry to Mr. Blue using good eye contact and ask for forgiveness. They then taped him back together. This is what is happening in the pictures. At the end, they saw that Mr. Blue might be whole again, but he is scarred for life. This was a powerful message for kids to think about the next time they go to say something mean to someone else. Ask your child what they said to Mr. Blue. If they can tell you, write Mr. Blue in the planner for $100 bonus tomorrow. Awesome lesson!

Have a wonderful evening!