Macaela's Last Day

Our Hands On Nature lesson this week was about the importance of dead wood in a forest and how its importance is often overlooked. We focused our learning on decomposition and its importance to the many functions of the forest ecosystem. We watched a puppet show where we met some inhabitants of standing snags and rotting logs and learned how they contribute to the process of change and decay.  We had a visit from Dr. VanRottinglog and her time machine and witnessed what happens to a snag and log over a period of time.  We then got to go outside to investigate rotting logs and look for evidence of living things - plants, animals and fungi - that live on or in it.  We then recorded our observations in drawings and words in our Hands on Nature Science Journals.  A huge thank you to our Hands On Nature parents for this incredible learning opportunity.
Today was another Mix-It Up Day.  We joined our Middle School friends in their classroom at the end of the day to participate in some fun Red Ribbon Week activities.  It's such a beautiful thing to see first graders and eighth graders building friendships and having fun together!
The homework coming home today is for the next two weeks.  With the Thanksgiving Holiday coming up, I decided to assign some things activities that move beyond academics and might be helpful to parents during the week off.
Today was Macaela's last day at SCS.  She and her family are moving out west over the Thanksgiving Break.  We had a great celebration to wish her well and send her on her way.  Macaela was such a positive force in our classroom, she will be greatly missed by all of us!
I hope everyone has a terrific Holiday Break!
:)Deb

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