The Week of March 24th

Taffy on Snow!

Maple Snow
Sap time, sap time, coming around....
That's one of our songs we're learning by Steve Schuch. We've been talking about how maple syrup is made.
On Thursday Mrs. Damour and her daughter made us a special treat. They boiled the syrup to 236 degrees and then poured it over the snow. Sophia, Sydney and Abigail wrote about their experience:

"Hey Guys! We are going to learn about Taffy on Snow. Here is what we needed. We needed to boil maple syrup. Then we dropped the maple syrup on snow. Then we took a popsicle stick and spun it around. Then we ate it. Yum! Mmmmm!



Red Sox Opening Day
Red Sox Opening day at Fenway Park is on Friday, April 4th, but the season starter is Monday, March 31st! Wear your Red Sox or sports attire on Monday and we'll spend the day celebrating baseball and warmer weather. We'll be playing math baseball, spitting sunflower seeds and measuring the distance and having fun with other baseball themed activities.

The Week of March 17th



This blog was written in teams. Each team had the choice to write a narrative or informative paper. We hope you enjoy our blog this week!

Leprechauns By: Cole, Sydney, Cassidy, Will & Joey
On St. Patrick's Day we set traps to trap a leprechaun. They were fun to make. That night a leprechaun came.
He trashed our classroom. The leprechaun even wrote on the world wall! He left footprints everywhere (even the door)! He knocked the books off the bookshelf! It spilled our paint (green of course)!
That naughty leprechaun. He should be sorry.





Binoculars & Birds By: Paige & Brianna, Malcolm & Cody
On Wednesday Mrs Chapman came into our classroom to teach us about birds. 
First, Mrs. Chapman showed us a game. It was a matching game. We had to match a bird picture to its bird name. 
Next, she put us into groups. One group learned how to use binoculars. The other group was working on their bird guides. When you use binoculars you first put the strap around your neck. Then you hold them up to your eyes. If there is black on the lens, you need to hold on tighter. If it's blurry, you twist the knob on the top. 
Binoculars are good for watching birds. We liked using them. We are going to use them to see what kinds of birds come to our feeders. We hope we see birds.

On Wednesday we also had a mischievous squirrel eating our bird food! We tried to scare it away, but it wouldn't go away. So...Malcolm knocked on the window, but it still kept eating. The squirrel was staring right at Paige. Paige thought that the squirrel was in love with her. 



Celebrating Spring By: Nolan
The snow is melting... Birds are coming our way.... WHAT'S HAPPENING!!!?

"Spring is coming."

"Who? I've never heard of him. Let's go find him!"

"Spring is not a person. It's a season."

We know Spring is coming when snow melts, grass grows, weather is warmer, and we can see the buds on trees and plants. More birds come like robins, ducks, and red-winged blackbirds. Daylight is longer. It's light out until 7:00 p.m. Bears come out and other animals like chipmunks and skunks. Flowers like daffodils, tulips and crocus pop out of the ground. 

Spring is a fun season because the snow goes away and we can actually run around. Spring sounds a lot better too. Birds chirp, mourning doves coo and if you're an athlete you can mountain bike easier. I hope you get the chance to enjoy the spring.



How to Make a Flower Pencil By: Sophia & Abigail
1. Get white paper.
2. Color the front and back.
3. Make sure that you have no white spaces.
4. Fold the paper.
5. Cut half way up to the fold.
6. Tape the paper to a pencil.
7. If you want to curl the paper, you have to take another pencil and curl it up and hold it for 7 seconds.

Making flower pencils are fun. At the end they look really cool. We hope you have time to make one.



The Week of March 10th


This blog was written by 4 teams of writers. Each team was given a choice to write a narrative or informative story. We hope you enjoy our blog this week!


Cinderella Caterpillar By: Nolan, Sydney, Cassidy & Paige

On Friday we went on a field trip to St. Paul's school to see Cinderella Caterpillar! It was fun! First, we got on the bus. We were put into partners. Next, we watched the show. It was about following your dreams and being kind to people. The show was sooooo funny, especially when the cockroach ran around with bags on its head. We liked the whole entire play. Then when the play was over, we got to high-five the characters. Finally, we got back on the bus and went back to school.








Park Ranger Presentation By: Travis, Abigail & Brianna

On Wednesday, March 12th we went to Mrs. Pepper's room. The Elm Brook Park Rangers told us about animals and what they do in winter. They also brought mounted animals to show us. Here are some things we learned. They told us about coyotes. They have guard hair which keeps them dry. Underneath, they have insulating hair that keeps them warm.
We saw an otter. They eat fish and they can slide on snow. They live in tunnels in the side of riverbanks.
We saw an owl. Owls have really good hearing and good eyesight. They have sharp talons just like an osprey. The osprey can live in Hopkinton, but in the winter they might migrate to warm places like Florida. They also eat a lot of fish.
The bear mount they brought in was named Lulu. It died from a car crash. Bears can hibernate underground or in caves in winter. At the end, we got to touch all of the animals. We were excited. It was very fun.







Bird Feeders By: Will, Cole, Malcolm & Joey

On Thursday Mrs. Chapman came into the classroom to talk about birds and what they eat. First, we played a True or False game. She would say a sentence about birds and if we thought it was true we jumped up into the air. If we thought it was false we laid down on the floor. We learned that not all birds can fly, but all birds do have wings and feathers. 
Next, we split into 2 groups. One of the groups made a pine cone bird feeder. We spread peanut butter on the pine cone and rolled it in birdseed. The other group made a bird guide. We colored the birds the right colors. Some of the birds were a mourning dove, a black-capped chickadee, a blue jay and a cardinal. Then the groups switched so everyone got to do the same thing. 
Finally, we got to make one more feeder. We put peanuts in a slinky to see if anymore birds would come to our feeders. We liked making the bird feeders. It was fun doing these projects. We hope these bird feeders will finally attract the birds to our class feeder.





Snowshoeing By: Jake, Cody, Sophia & Joey

The class went snowshoeing on Thursday. First, we went to the MPR. We put on the snowshoes. It was hard to put them on. It was cold outside. You have to pull as hard as you can so the straps get tight so your foot doesn't slip out. Some of our feet slipped out!
Next, we walked beside the school and hung up the pine cone bird feeders on some trees and outside our classroom window. Then we walked back to the MPR.
Finally, we took the snowshoes off and put them back where they belong. It was time for lunch, we were so hungry and our faces were freezing. It felt like we had icicles hanging from our noses.
Even though putting on the snowshoes was hard we still had fun. Hopefully next time we can go out in the woods, stay longer and look for tracks.