3rd Grade: More Chicks!

This morning two more chicks had hatched and one was about halfway out of the shell.  Two more eggs started hatching by the end of the day.  The students were all very gentle and protective of our babies. :) Here are the students holding their chicks:

3rd Grade Puppet Shows

The 3rd graders made puppets at the Puppetry Arts Institute in April.  Since then, they have written two puppet shows, made props, and been practicing their shows.  Today they performed for the first graders. It took a lot of hard work and practice. Each group did an amazing job performing!

After each performance, they stood to introduce themselves and their puppets.

Chicks!

After 21 days of watching and waiting; we have chicks!  This morning I walked into the room and heard lots of noise from inside the incubator. Not only was there chirping, there was thumping as the chicks ran around!  Six out of the twelve chicks have hatched so far.

The scene inside the incubator before I took the chicks out.  

2nd Grade Trip to the Zoo

We enjoyed a beautiful day looking at the wonderful animals at the KC Zoo.  We got to see the penguins being fed and the sea lion show,  The red pandas and peacock were favorites.

3rd Grade Working in the Secret Garden

The 3rd graders spread mulch around all of the flowers that the 5th graders planted last week.  They also watered all of the new flowers.  The garden is really looking great after all of their hard work!

5th Grade Working in the Secret Garden

The 5th graders wanted to fix up the Secret Garden, so we weeded and planted some flowers this week.  First we figured out what was a weed v. a wanted plant.  Then they worked hard pulling the unwanted weeds.  We all now have a strong dislike for dandelions!  Then the students planted several different shade-loving annuals.  There were also a few areas where students prepared the soil and sowed seeds.  We are excited to see the fruits of our labors over the next few weeks.

5th Grade Creative Problem Solving: Build a Pontoon Boat

The students had to design a pontoon boat using limited materials that would float and hold the most weight (pennies). Each team was successful and we learned that it is pretty cool to see a pontoon boat sink-very dramatic compared to other boats we have made! :)