Math Investigations

Working on a graph of types of marshmellows in Lucky Charms cereal. We are going to miss you, Julianna!
Kendale definately knows how to graph his shapes!

David enjoys any activity involving coloring! He is a great artist!

Joseph did a really good job graphing his different shapes. And then he did a really good job of eating them!

Brooklyn helped Vishal work on his graph.

Ty loves to stay busy learning!

Conner made a flower using pattern blocks. Nice work!

Also, in the background, look at the great pictures we made with pattern block stamps!

Joseph made an awesome cat with the pattern blocks.

What did you make, Kendale?

Crystina made a picture using pattern blocks on the computer program, SHAPES. Everyone loves printing the pictures they created on the computer.

Sarah made many different shapes using the Playdough: a trapezoid, square, hexagon, rhombus and a triangle. Excellent!

Cultural Arts Day

J.J. the Jaguar went up in the hot air balloon first to celebrate all the students

who have read at least 21 books so far this year!

Then he came and said, "Hello!" to all the smart students at Beauclerc!

Mrs. Beaver got to go up in the hot air balloon, too! I've always wanted to do that!

Whee!

I hope everyone gets to go up ina balloon in their life! It was alot of fun!



The Busy Beavers

We went to the Young Rembrant's drawing school. We drew an excited kid's face.

Crystina's mom, Ms. Crystal, got to come and stay with us for most of the day!

We really had to listen carefully to learn how to draw the picture.

Isn't that a silly picture?

David Ferman, the World Junior Juggling Finalist, put on an awesome show!

Many of the students voted this as their favorite activity on Cultural Arts Day.

David enjoyed watching the other David, the juggler.

We ate our lunches outside, picnic-style.

There was a D.J. playing music for us to listen to while we ate.

After we finished eating, we got up and danced to the music! We did a train dance,

the Hokey Pokey, and even some break dancing!

Brooklyn left her hair up the whole day!

Vishal LOVES pizza! And his friend, David!

Zachary's brother, Ethan, got to come and see what goes on in Kindergarten.

Mrs. Brandon got to come, too!

Crystina and her mom really look a lot alike!

The story teller was a great show, too. He told a story, did some magic, and made us laugh!

Thanks, PTA, for the BEST Cultural Arts Day ever!!!!

UNF Wildlife Sanctuary Field Trip

We began the field trip talking with our park rangers about the rules of the park and types of plants and animals we might see on our hike. Next, each student was given a clipboard, a list (with pictures) of things to look for and half of a crayon. Then we were off...

First we saw some poison ivy growing on a tree. "Leaves of three, let them be." That means stay away from plants with three leaves! Or you might get itchy all over.

The first evidence of animals living in the sanctuary was found under the cover of a gazebo: mud-dobber nests and spiderwebs. The wasps (mud dobbers) lay their eggs in these nests they make with water and dirt. They come back to feed the larvae. Spiders also like to feed on the larvae.

All of the students really enjoyed looking at their lists and checking off any plants or animals they had seen. They were also GREAT listeners, learning so much about the native habitats in Florida.

We looked across Lake Oneida at the island and imagined all of the animals in the water that we couldn't see...yet.

Lia

Grace

Walking on the Red Maple Boardwalk to get to the swamp area.

The scenery was so peaceful and beautiful.

In the Buckhead Branch Swamp, our ranger pointed out a fallen tree. She told us that they leave fallen trees in the sanctuary because they are great homes for many different animals.

Ms. Beaver loves the beauty and calmness of the swamp. And we were lucky that the bugs did not bother us at all.

A leaf with holes was one of the items on our Checklists. Who ate the holes in this leaf?

A cypress tree has a wide trunk at the ground, but gets skinnier as it grows taller. It also has a vast root system.

Some knee knots of the cypress trees. These are part of the root system of the cypress trees. They spread out far away from the tree itself. The root system of the cypress is still a mystery to scientists.

Busy Beavers are good listeners!

A carnivorous plant. Insects climb into the tubes of these plants where there is digestive juice that destroys and breaks down the insects for nutrients for the plants.

Another view of Lake Oneida.

A Sweet-Gum Tree has leaves with 5 points.

A Sweet-Gum tree also appears to have stripes on the trunk. These are actually a lot of holes side by side made by woodpeckers that love to eat the insects covered in the "sweet" sap of the tree. Its like eating dessert with your meat!

The bridge connecting the mainland to the island was a great place to see the wildlife. We saw 6 turtles and many, many fish! We even got to feed the turtles with bread that Ms. Watson's class shared with us!

Many plants also live in the water. They provide shelter and food for the aquatic animals.

Sarah and Vishal enjoyed seeing the turtles.

Turtle!

Fish!

Waiting patiently...

More good listeners!

Palmetto leaves are very sharp, so most animals do not eat them.

Pine trees are so tall and difficult to climb, that their leaves do not need very much protection. They are long, thin needles.

The Busy Beavers now have full tummies!

We ALL had a GREAT time learning about nature!

Good-bye, turtles. We'll come back and see you another day!