Field Trips!

   This month we have had 2 special opportunities to take our studies off campus to learn from experts in each field of study.
    Last week we visited the Heart of Jesus Retreat Center in Santa Ana for our 1st ever 3rd grade retreat! We had a great time learning about faith, dignity, strength, Baptism, and sanctifying grace from the Sacred Heart Sisters. We learned new songs, created prayer wheels, and celebrated Mass during our retreat.

Hearing about our faith from the Sisters.

 We also learned about the examples of great Catholics, like Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. 

Learning about symbols of Baptism

Our beautiful prayer wheels

This week we traveled to Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park to learn more about Native Americans on the Indian Trails Tour! We saw many examples of typical Native American homes, saw a Navajo Indian dance in traditional clothing, we visited the Mystery Lodge, made a bracelet to remember a Chumash story, and saw authentic totem poles. It was a very busy day, jammed packed with lots of learning and new experiences!

Our class with the Navajo Indian dancer in his eagle dance clothing

We made a quick stop to the wild west museum where we saw authentic Cheyenne Indian clothing.

We got to go inside a tipi to see more artifacts and to learn about plains indians.

Learning about where different tribes of Native Americans lived

Examining an authentic totem pole which tells a legend about raven.

Tests Sept 12-13 MODIFIED

Thursday
NO Tests

Friday 
1.** Religion / Family Life Unit 1 Test (moved from Thursday to Friday because we didn't have time to go over the study guide together in class today (9/11)**
2. Spelling Test week 2 words
3. Reading Inferencing Assessment
4. Math Ch 1 Lesson 1 Quiz

Extra! Extra! Canned Food Drive!

This Wednesday, September 11th, bring in canned food to donate to the H.O.P.E. Office to help others on a day of solemn remembrance. We are only hosting the canned food drive for 1 day, so plan ahead! Any canned food donations to help the H.O.P.E. Office will be greatly appreciated.

Getting to Know Mrs. Quijada

Pigometry!

Do you love geometry? Do you love Charlotte's Web? Room 14's students love both, so we created Pigometry Art-o-facts today!

Each student was given a ruler, construction paper, and directions from Catherine Jones Kuhns' wonderful book called Mathematical Art-o-Facts. The class loved measuring and constructing our pigs almost as much as we loved reading Charlotte's Web over the last several weeks. We hope you enjoy these pictures of our piggies and the yummy snacks we enjoyed yesterday while we watched Charlotte's Web!

Have a great Easter and we'll see everyone in a week!

Our snacks: Pigs in a blanket & spider web chocolate!

California Indians Project

    As many of you know the 3rd grade students have been working together in tribes for the past several weeks on their California Indians Projects. Many students have finished their power point presentations in class and just have their artifacts left to complete for our  "Indian Museum" which will be on display next weekend at Open House on January 27 from 1-3 PM. We will have 2 more 1 hour work periods in class this week on Tuesday & Thursday afternoon, so any students who have completed their power points are welcome to bring in their materials and work on their artifacts in class.

    As we have been discussing in class, each student must complete an artifact that represents a tool, clothing item, jewelry, dwelling, or other artifact to represent things their tribe used or would have needed from their environment. Tribal groups should have a variety of artifacts to fill our museum, so please coordinate what you'll be making and bringing in with your other tribe members. We wouldn't want to have 30 spears and no baskets to represent all of our California Indian Tribes!

   Below are some pictures, links with directions, and other project ideas for any students who are looking for inspiration. All artifacts are due on Thursday January 24th so that we can organize our museum in time for our big Open House reveal on Sunday.

Remember, the key is to MAKE something that is related to YOUR TRIBE :o)

Happy Crafting!

Homemade Arrows made with felt, twine, and twigs



How to make a Mini Bow and Arrow with some household items...



Woven Indian Basket made from paper grocery bags


Directions on how to make a "buffalo hide" can be found at the following website: http://confessionsofateachingjunkie.blogspot.com/2012/10/smart-art.html
Here is a sample picture of the hides...

What's cookin' in 3rd Grade?

   S'mores of course! Today we took our solar ovens (built by the 3rd graders themselves!) to the blacktop & cooked s'mores as an end of the year celebration of our studies in 3rd grade Science. As you can see, we had a blast this year.
   Whether you're testing theories at home by designing experiments, exploring God's gift of creation in the outdoors, or taking yet another trip to the Discovery Science Center, I hope each of you will use your God-given talents & curiosity this summer to learn more about the world we live in!

3rd Graders from Miss H's class show off their own special solar cooker design

3rd Graders from Mrs Q's room show their version of Scott's Solar Cooker

Miss H's 3rd Graders enjoy their S'mores with their design teammates.

Mmmm! Those look tasty!