Super Worms!

Our latest science investigations involves Super Worms. No, these aren't cape-wearing super-hero type worms, but the larva stage of an insect (this insect will remain secret as I want the kids to discover what it is on their own).

These larva are closely related to mealworms, which I usually use for this investigation. However they are much larger, thus the "super" in their names. Each student has received a larva to take care of and observe as it goes through metamorphosis. Of course the students take this very seriously and the critters have received names (Mr. Wiggles, Daisy, Bob) and special decorated film canister homes.

Fruits and Veggies!

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have fresh fruits and vegetables delivered to our room for snack break. This is the result of a fabulous grant our school received this year. The kids have had the opportunity to try mango and strawberries as well as jicama, kohlrabi, kumquats and grapples. I have been very impressed with the quality and variety of fruits/veggies the kids are experiencing.

Happy Valentines Day

It is Valentines Day in 5th Grade land. We had a fabulous party this afternoon, planned by our class officers and 3 additional committee members. Along with all those wonderful heart shaped cards and candy stuffed into boxes, we had a carnival complete with a ring toss game, pin-the- heart-on-cupid, and bingo.

Stinky, Crawly Science

We are studying invertebrates in 5th grade right now. Each day we talk about a different phylum of invertebrates starting with the simplest of organisms, the sponges.

The last few days we have been learning about the annelids or segmented worms. We spent a day getting up close and personal with leeches and worms. The students designed experiments to test worm and leech behavior. We had worms tied in knots and leeches swimming through mazes.

The next phylum we studied was Mollusca. We talked about snails, slugs, clams, octopi and squid. Today we spent some time dissecting squid. You can buy full squid - guts and all - at the grocery store. The students had a good time checking out their squid's mantle, tentacles and eyes. Then we ripped their poor little heads off to get a close look at the internal organs. The kids even got to write their names with the squid's "pen" using the squid's very own ink sac.

Tomorrow I will make calamari for the class. Yum!

Congratulations Math-letes!!!

Today was our first Math Masters meet. Technically, it was the second, but we missed the first one due to a mix-up with the school van. Anyway, my six team members headed to the Grand Rapids Middle School to compete against other fifth graders from Grand Rapids and Bigfork. I am very proud to say they placed first and took home the traveling trophy for the month of February!

We will be back practicing Monday afternoon for our March and April meets. Wish us luck!

Reif Center Field Trip

Today we took a bus into Grand Rapids for a perfomance at the Reif Center. It was called Joe Chvala and the Flying Foot Forum. It was basically tap dancing and percussion. The four dancers created rhythms with their feet and other objects as they acted out little stories. The students really enjoyed it - especially when three of their classmates got called up on stage to participate in a little rhythm exercise. Of course I spent the rest of the day telling my boys to quit making so much noise (they were doing percussion with their pencils, hands, neighbors, or anything else they could find...)

Let it snow...

Because it isn't snowing outside, we decided to make it snow inside! During the month of January we have been having a snowflake contest. Each group has been making snowflakes and hanging them above their desks. Today we counted the snowflakes and dropped them from the ceiling. It looked like a blizzard! The winning group had over 50 snowflakes hanging above their desks!