Pictures and Updates

Greetings from Room 10,
       I am attaching some photos from both the Wax Museum and Nature's Classroom.  I wanted to post them sooner, but 5th grade gets a little crazy this time of year.  I have to say, however, that this has been one of my best years EVER as a teacher because your children are so wonderful!!!  I know I have said that many times before, but as it gets closer to the end, I am beginning to already feel a sense of loss!  They are incredible human beings!!
      Next week we will resume spelling.  It's been on hiatus since before Nature's Classroom.  However, we have a full, fairly uninterrupted week this week.  Yay, spelling!  Has your child told you about our experimentation in science.  We have begun our final science unit called "Mixtures and Solutions."  It is our chemistry unit.  Next week our focus will be saturation.  It's totally hands-on and lots of fun.
       I am in the process of scheduling our final party of the year; "What Slingerlands Means to Me" It will be our end of year celebration.  I will be sending out the date and time in the very near future.
       Persuasive writing is our final writing unit.  The children have already been pre-tested in this area, have picked a topic and began researching.  We will be conducting additional research and drafting this week.  Adding voice, statistics, data and a surveys will be completed within the next couple of weeks.
       As always, if you have a question or concern, email me at lbetor@bcsd.neric.org.

Day 3 Nature's Classroom Update

Greetings!
        Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous...sunny all day with temperatures in the high seventies/low eighties. The children enjoyed all of their outdoor activities, including a three-hour hike and picnic.  Last night's activity, "Back to Basics," proved to be very fun and exciting.  And s'mores by an open fire was a great way to end a perfect day.
        Today is equally as amazing weather-wise; another glorious, picture-perfect day!  As I write this, the children are out in their field groups playing predator and prey.  As you might imagine, they have enjoyed this trip immensely.
        Everything is going as scheduled today, so at this moment, it looks like we will be arriving at our expected time of 1:30pm.  If there is a problem or change in our arrival time, I expect that a notification will be sent.
        See you all at 1:30pm in front of school!                       Lester B. and class
 

Greetings from Nature's Classroom!

Greetings from beautiful Camp Chimney Corners in Becket, Massachusetts!  First and foremost, all of the children are having an absolutely amazing time.  No homesickness thus far.  Last night, all of the children, boys and girls alike settled down by 10:30pm, but unfortunately the boys in my cabin began to stir at 4:30am.  Needless to say, I wasn’t quite prepared to get up and begin my day, so I made them remain in their beds for about another hour.  I gave in just before 6:00am when many of them began to play cards.  By 6:45 they were outside playing Ga Ga; a game many of us were just introduced to.

Yesterday, the children enjoyed their first field group activity and their first class (some of which included a fetal pig dissection, assembling a geo-dome and making a bat house).  The campers are excited by everything the Nature’s Classroom staff offers, including the meals!  Last night the kids experienced their first nighttime activity; Quest.  During Quest, the children rotated through seven stations.  It was fun to watch them work as a team to complete a task.

As I write this, the children have already packed a picnic lunch and are headed out for a three-hour field group adventure.  They were so stoked to get out into the woods.  When they return we are planning a full fifth grade class kickball game where I will be the permanent pitcher.  Tonight we will be participating in a nighttime activity that will be new to all of us; Back to Basics.  It sounds really interesting.

I will be unable to post any pictures while I am here.  It’s a new Nature’s Classroom policy.  So I will be sure to include photos when I update the blog over the weekend. 

We are enjoying the glorious sun and the warm afternoon.  I hope you are experiencing the same weather we are.                                                                          Lester B. and class