We have come into a very busy time of year as we move into the final six weeks of school. My intent is to stick to the regular routine as much as possible. We already have a couple of performances scheduled- an African music performance at Harwood on Tuesday, May 17th, and a performance by Kid on the Block at our school on Tuesday, May 24th. In addition I am just beginning end of the year assessments which are time consuming and can cause minor disruptions in our routine.

Today we spent time in the computer lab continuing our animal reports/ slide shows. Many children finished or are very close to being done. They have done fantastic work and I can't wait to share the final products. These have fallen under the umbrella of our study of living versus nonliving things. We have also been exploring plants through this lens. Much of our discussion has focused on the needs of living things: water, food, air, light and space. A couple of weekends ago we accidentally discovered what happens to sunflower plants without enough water! We replaced these with radishes, which sprout very quickly, and will be exploring the effects of varying amounts of light on some of these plants. We also have one pot that is filled with radish sprouts and one student noted that space might become an issue for these plants, so we will be watching this pot with space in mind.

During the month of May a lot of important work is taking place in our district around curriculum and report cards. I have been asked to spend a couple of days collaborating with other teachers from the district in these areas. While I hate to miss days in the classroom, I do think it is important to have input from teachers across schools and grade levels.