OLD GROWTH REDWOOD FOREST

This is our journey to the old growth forest.  We learned how the redwoods have adapted to make survival possible.  Did you know that the tannin in their bark acts as an insect repellant?  Or that their bark is as thick as twelve inches and resists fire?  Or that they have very shallow roots BUT can send their roots out to twine with other trees?  This enables them to remain standing in some fierce winds.  

We played "Little Professor" in the redwoods and taught each other about different organisms that live in this very special forest.  Keisha makes a spectacular Marbled Murrelet, don't you think?  

Field Study with Ranger Alex

Ranger Alex and his study group are looking at the prairie ecosystem.  They sure did learn a ton and have fun too!  

Wolf Creek

Here we are on our way to Wolf Creek.  We stopped at the Redwood National and State Parks Visitor Center then walked over to the picnic area to have our lunch.  Are we excited or what?

This Friday we had great fun with math.  We did a Codecrackers activity that we call ABC Math.  Each letter of the alphabet is given a value, A is 1, B is 2, etc. The challenge Friday morning was to find the highest score for a word.  The kids worked together and used a dictionary to search.  No names or abbreviations were allowed and you could only use a word if you knew its meaning.  What fun was had!

Casey's word was skeetshooter.  Do you know why?

Have you checked out the new questions yet?  Will you be a scholar today?  Mrs. B

EXPLORATION DAY

Exploration day was a huge success! I was absolutely thrilled to see all of our students asking questions and trying out new activities. The rain did not slow them down one bit! Personally, I spent the day in Room 7 making pasta with Mrs. C. YUM! It was a great day for me. Amazingly enough the rain stopped and the Coast Guard helicopter landed. What a thrill.

I noticed many parents exploring with their children. That was so nice to see. All of our presenters were absolutely wonderful and every student that I saw was excited about the many things they learned. A HUGE thank you to the two hard working teachers who made it all happen. Kudos to you!. Also, the fifth grade helpers were greatly appreciated.

All in all, a perfect day!