What a beautiful day for a visit to Camp Swampy! We lucked out. We started out by sitting and reflecting individually about what has changed in the forest since the last time we were there. After sharing our ideas, we learned some good strategies for identifying trees. We discussed the barkm the shape, and of course the leaves. Then each "den" went out to their adopted tree to see what they could come up with. Finally, they got a chance to build on to their forts and just have some fun in the woods. We will go again in 2 weeks, and we can't wait! 

We ended our day with candy maps -- another fun activity! The students made their map bases out of Rice Krispies Treats, then put Snow Caps, Laffy Taffy, and Blue Laces on the show the rivers, the lake, and the mountains. They may have eaten a Snow Cap or 2, but the map is coming home to be eaten at your discretion! I am impressed with how much they have learned about Vermont's geography!

We have finished our narrative writing unit, and we will have a small celebration on Monday before moving on to our next unit, informational writing. In the narrative unit, students learned how to add setting, dialogue, a problem, a plot, and lots of action to their stories. They did a wonderful  job!

We are almost finished with our multiplication and division unit (more in the spring.) Students are working hard to understand how to multiply by 10 and how to use that simple strategy to multiply and divide larger numbers. They still aren't completely used to this and it isn't their go-to strategy yet. But we are getting there!

We have started a "Shades of Meaning" wall with vocabulary words from our read-aloud (Gregor the Overlander.) It is really helpful if you can use the words at home, around the dinner table, in the car, etc. The more the words are heard in context, the more likely the kids are to learn them. This week's words are hostile and arrogant. Enjoy putting those to use!

Here are some things to ask your kids about this weekend:

What's the 10th multiple? (of ANY number)

Who are Gregor and Boots?

Who is Glassman?

What is meant by foreshadowing?

What happened to the tiger?

What is a conifer and a deciduous tree?

That's all for this week. Enjoy the weekend, and Happy Halloween to all who celebrate!