It's Snake Season!

Minnesota snakes love these warm fall days. The gravel roads and highways are filled with garter and red belly snakes soaking up those last rays of sunshine. Unfortunately, there are cars on these roads as well. I have seen so many flattened snakes the last few days.

Today I brought in a tiny little garter snake and a red belly snake for the kids to explore. Almost every one of my 5th and 6th graders were brave enough to hold a snake. After spending the day in my classroom, I released them right where I found them - on the gravel road by my house (but I let them go in the ditch).

I am sure the poor little guys were scared to death being held hostage by 36 loud and boisterous kids. But I guess it beats the alternative of being flattened on the road!

Observational Drawing

Our art program got cut a year ago, and so this is the second year I have had to teach art. This week we are working on observational drawing, a skill the students will use in science as they document the plants and animals they study this year.

Today the kids selected an interesting rock and spent some time observing with magnifying lens before they started to draw. The goal was to mix colors using their colored pencils to try to match the colors and patterns just right.

I sure have some talented artists in this class - most of them are way better than I am!

Books, Books, Books

These are the shelves in our classroom. I am a little embarrassed to say that I own most of these books. I just can't resist buying the latest titles. Now I will admit that most of these books were purchased at garage sales and used book sales. A few I get from our monthly book order with bonus points. But many of these I bought just because the book looked good to me.

During the school year I mostly read 5th grade books. My adult novels sit at the bottom of the stack, collecting dust until summer vacation rolls around again. The only way I can truly recommend a book to a student is if I have read it myself, and so I find myself deeply engrossed in a 5th grade novel every night.

These books all contain my name in black sharpie. So if you find a book lying around with MAGNER scrawled in it, please see that it gets back to these shelves. I really appreciate it!

Tree Identification

The fifth graders have been busy with their adopt-a-tree projects. Each student has selected a tree out in the school forest and has been busy getting to know it better. We measure it, we do bark and leaf rubbings, we make close observations of the area around each tree, and we keep checking back to see if it is changing colors yet.

We also identify each tree and learn its scientific name. Today we looked at six common tree species in detail. The kids did a quick sketch and explored whether the branches were alternate or opposite and the structure of the leaves and bark. My goal is that they can identify these trees on their own - maybe in their yard or on their route to school.

All Star Students

The first All Star list of the year came out today. This is my was of keeping track of each student's work. The kids work hard to get stars across the list and when they do, they are welcomed into the All Star group. If their work isn't done by next Tuesday, they will have to spend some time finishing assignments during recess. I am happy to report that almost the whole class became an All Star today. It's going to be a great year!

Yes, this is real!

Today we were out in the school forest starting our Adopt-A-Tree project. While measuring and observing our trees, we found this guy on an ash tree. It is a fawn sphinx moth caterpillar and is one of the prettiest caterpillars out there. The bright green color and the iridescent blue and black speckled horn make it seem like a fake toy. At first the caterpillar didn't move a whole lot, but he soon was crawling around across everyone's hands. We all got a good look at this amazing creature before we let him go where we found him.

Hopes and Dreams

Today was our Hopes and Dreams Celebration. We have spent the last few days thinking about what we are good at and where we need to improve. Today the kids set some goals for the year and published them on brightly colored stars. We had a fun (and very loud) time sharing these hopes and dreams with each other during our celebration. They are now on a bulletin board, displayed for all to see. Each quarter we will look back at these goals and change them if need be.

SCIENCE!!!

Today was the first day of school. We spent the day talking about bathroom breaks and pencil holders and lots of important stuff like that. I don't usually get into subject matter until the second week of school, but today we did science all afternoon.

The monarch caterpillars are finishing up their Minnesota life cycle. They will soon all be butterflies on their long flight to Mexico. If we don't act now, it will be too late! I have spent the last week searching the ditches for caterpillars for our first science lesson. Today we took a close look at them and the milkweed plant that they eat and live on. Soon (maybe even tomorrow) they will all be chrysalises transforming into butterflies.

Here we go again!

Well, here we go again! Another year of 5th grade is about to begin. This is my 17th year of sharpening new pencils, typing up new class lists and planning that hectic first day. When I think back to my first years of teaching, I was a nervous wreck right before school. It has become so much easier and, even though I still get a little nervous, I've finally got it all figured out. At least I think I do... I guess I will know tomorrow!