It is week three now and the Blue Bay classroom is getting used to our routines, and habits of work. Great things to reinforce at home: responsibility, respect, and perseverance. Students studied hard last week and everyone did quite well on our first spelling test. Thanks for your support at home with both spelling and math. We have begun using our weekly planners, so do check in on the happenings for the week.

In Math, we have been exploring real world applications and physical ways to understand and visualize multiplication. On Tuesday, we went on a virtual field trip to the USS Midway in San Diego along with a school from Utah and California; the theme was “Math on the Midway”. 6th and 7th graders have their first geometry test underway. In Humanities, we are continuing our study of prehistoric humans and focusing on the first peoples of the Americas, the Clovis people.

We are really diving into our math and literacy first concepts. In math we are working on 10 friends and identifying positions using words like left and right, above and below.  In literacy we are working on identifying individual phonemes. Some are working on vowel sounds while others are working on identifying how many are in a word.

⇒ Games and activities to try at home
Math – find 10 friends around you
Literacy- see if students can tell you what a phoneme is, and if they can tell you how many are in words around you like in; mom (3), book (3), pan (3), messy (4), she (2).

We are working to learn lessons from literature that will enable us to create a class crest that we can all agree to, and use to help us to remember, what is the purpose of school and what we can do to get the most out of our educational experiences.

Green Ridge has been evaluating, analyzing and identifying three-digit numbers and were introduced to arrays (hip hip array!) In literacy, they are sorting out closed syllables and writing a triangle story on the tale “The Emerald Lizard”. Students will also begin diagnostic testing in both subjects this week.

In art literacy, both classes have wrapped up their cooperative frogs/toads and will start a face drawing composition which will lean into the short-lived French movement known as Fauvism.

We are off and running with school this year. We had a great first field trip last Friday to Lavalands and Lava River Cave. The students did a great job following safety instructions and engaging with the outdoor learning. We have been enjoying some fabulous weather this week with lots of fun fort building, 4 square, and swing time at recess.

In Field Study class we began our Springs Studies on Monday with a visit to the Head of the Metolius. We will be visiting several local springs in the coming weeks. Next up is a visit to the Head of Jack Creek on Friday and then a trip to House on Metolius on Monday. 

In P.E. class we have continued with team building games and some simple ball sports to practice throwing and catching. I plan to start with soccer next week.