Can you tell we are happy that testing is over? Wednesday we finished our final portion of ARMT testing so the rest of the day was game day. When we have game day we bring in the Wii and play dance games. Others bring in their DS, iPod, or board games. The kids love having a little time to unwind after the stress of testing. I must say that I'm the dancing queen. I took 13 years of dance growing up and normally win most of the time. Some of the kids have been practicing since our last game day around Christmas. I still beat most of them and I told them that was a shame because I'm an old lady.
Here is a picture of Caleb showing off his Continental Math League award. We have monthly competitions and he was one of the highest scores in 5th grade. Congratulations Caleb!
We also found some time to work in a science experiment to wrap up our chemistry unit. The kids were experimenting with density. We used crayons in water and stirred in salt, spoon by spoon. The kids kept a log to see how many scoops of salt it took for each color to float.
Different groups got different results. So I encouraged them to share why they thought that happened. There were several good ideas like maybe the crayons were different brands and that made a difference, or maybe the beaker was contaminated with some salt dried in it before beginning the experiment.
My birthday is Friday, April 20, and I always take off for my birthday. My mom always told me I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to on my birthday. So tomorrow I plan on sleeping in because I hate getting up early. My friends joke me because they love going on trips with me. They say they never have to fight me for the bathroom to get ready in the morning. My husband says all I do it grunt at him in the mornings. But I'm the early teacher at school. I'm normally one of the first ones there around 6:20 am!
Since my students knew I wouldn't be there Friday they surprised me with a Jar of Joy and a birthday card. I was really surprised and very grateful. I have a wonderful group of parents and students!
STUDENTS: Tell me about your birthday tradition. Do you do something special on your birthday every year? If not what do you want to do for your next birthday? Or what did you do on your last birthday?
