March 22nd Update

This is the first week that the ENTIRE CLASS is helping me write this blog!  Here's what we have to say:

This week in literacy we practiced contractions using the word "not."  For example, do + not = don't.  This week we also read our first play and are writing our own plays!  We're excited to read more plays after Easter.

In math, we are learning about money!  Money is fun.  So far we have practiced counting quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies.  Next week we are going to practice using our money skills in a "store" in our classroom!

We just finished learning about Ireland in Social Studies.  Mrs. Klitzke came in and talked to us about her home country!  She brought us Irish Brown Soda Bread.  It was so yummy!  Here is the recipe she sent me:

Irish Soda Bread

1 cup whole wheat flour

½ cup self raising flour (any white flour will do) plus extra for rolling out dough

1 level teaspoon baking soda

½ stick butter

½ cup sugar

1 egg (beaten)

¼ cup of  milk (warmed up cream will yield softer bread )

Mix flour & baking soda.

Add in sugar & mix

Mix in butter to breadcrumb consistency

Mix in beaten egg and add enough milk (or cream) to make soft doughy consistency

Roll out to ¼ inch height (approx) cut out scones or use cookie cutter to cut out

Bake at 425 for approx 10 mins – just a very light golden brown.

This yields approx 15 cookie size “scones":

We also used some new skills on the website prezi.com to create a presentation about Ireland.  I already put up the url, but here it is again as a link:  Ireland Prezi  We can finally find it if we search!  We found that it just took a few days, and some patience.

Speaking of patience, we are finishing up our unit in religion class on the Fruit of the Spirit!  We are completing this unit by making collages of all the fruits.  We are finding pictures in magazines that show examples of the different fruits.

AND speaking of fruits, in Spanish we are working with food words!  We have been playing "vaya a la pesca" (Go Fish) and our favorite game, matamoscas (Kill Flies - the Flyswatter game).  Soon we will be putting together our own menus using the words we have learned.

Just like every spring in Wisconsin, the weather has been CRAZY!  It is the perfect time to study weather in science class!  We enjoyed making kites to observe the wind, and learning about the water cycle.  We also made a cloud in a jar!

We loved flying our kites!

It was a beautiful afternoon to be outside!

Ireland Prezi!

Our class has been using a new website called prezi.com.  They are really excited!  We can use it to make presentations.  We made one together in social studies about Ireland.  Soon I'd like us all to be able to use the program.  It's amazing how many steps they can remember to help me make it!  Here is a link to the one we made about Ireland:

http://prezi.com/zhs_p_gzprtj/ireland/

I'm sorry if you have problems connecting to it.  I'm having trouble finding it while searching, but I'm working on that right now.  The kids are so excited for all of you to see it, though, so I wanted to get it out here in case it worked!