March 23th-31st Spring Break: No School
Pioneer Day at the AT Smith House
Level 2 students are encouraged to dress up as their Oregon Trail character for pioneer day. Please note: dressing up is optional, but it's so much fun! If your kiddo is looking for an easy project to do around the house during spring break vacation, they are welcome to start putting together an outfit!
Some pioneer costume ideas that you may be able to find around your house:
long skirts, button-up shirts, vests, suspenders, aprons, hats, boots and bandanas.
Here are some easy sewing projects you might enjoy working on at home with your family: Please know that there is no need to go out and buy anything. You can get creative by re-using items that you have at home already!
Looking for another fun (and optional) Pioneer Project for your Puffin?
Puffins can make their own covered wagon model:
- Learn about the Wagons
- Printable Directions for Constructing a Covered Wagon
- Build a Popsicle-Stick Wagon
Stay At Home Activity Care Package
Level 2 Home Learning Suggestions
Reading
- Read for 20 minutes or more everyday.
- Complete a reading response book packet worksheet each day.
- Use the “Book Club Stems” handout to discuss your reading with a family member.
Writing
- Try logging into your Google classroom account.
- Find the Oregon Trail prompt and add your response.
- Try drafting and editing your response on paper first before typing!
Math
- DreamBox or Kahn Academy for 20 minutes each day.
- Directions: press “Create a new account”.
- Enter your date of birth, then sign up using Google, your school email, or by creating a username. Please include your student's first name in their username.
- Enter your grade and course (Math). Now you’re ready to start learning!
3rd graders topic: Intro to Multiplication & Multiplying 1 Digit
- Work on math packet pages or math games for 10 minutes each day. Practice skip counting by 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Brain Boost
Make sure to have fun and get some physical activity every day!
- GoNoodle
- Brainboost Website
- Play some music and have a dance party in your living room!
Wellness/Self Care
- Take one minute to list three things you are grateful for. Gratitude is the ability to recognize and acknowledge the good things, people, and places in our lives. You can be grateful for big things, like having supportive parents, or small things, like being grateful for a bright, sunny day.
- Choose a quiet time activity (drawing, building, play dough, sewing, origami) to do by yourself for 15 minutes.
- Do an act of kindness by saying something positive to someone else.
Online Resources
Literacy Resources:
Google classroom Log-in information was sent home.
Please email teachers if you did not receive your student’s email and password.
To check out digital books from your local library go to:
Washington County Library Services
LIBBY app for e-books and audio books
Math Resources:
DreamBox - Khan Academy
Math/Strategy Games. - Games with Playing Cards
Math/Strategy Games and Activities. - Math Before Bed
Other Resources:
GoNoodle - Hour of Code - Mystery Science - Oregon Trail Game
Stop Motion Studio app
What’s been happening in the Puffin Nest?
The Oregon Trail: Our Unit Overview
Using a strategy called Storypath, students form family groups and join a wagon train, which helps them build an understanding of the journey across the U.S. in the 1840s.
Students learn why emigrants formed wagon trains and moved west. They confront difficulties such as illness, food shortages, and broken wagons. Encounters with American Indians set the scene for examining the views of the period as well as the ethical issues surrounding westward expansion. The culminating activities involve a celebration and presenting plans for their new life in Oregon. Students will dress up and travel to the AT Smith house for a pioneer field day.
In class, we completed Storypath Episode 1: The People Traveling West
● Students discussed reasons behind westward movement in America in the 1840s.
● Students were grouped into families who will travel together along the Oregon Trail.
● Students created a character with a name, age and occupation. They considered why their family would be making the journey and what qualities they posses that would make them a good member of the Wagon Train.
Out & About
To kick off our study about the Oregon Trail, we walked a mile on the B Street Trail.
We needed to get an idea about all the walking that wagon train families had to do everyday. Before setting out on our walk, students made predictions about how long it would take to walk a mile and how many miles wagon families walked in one day. At the trailhead, we imagined ourselves leaving Independence, MO, and as we started walking we pictured ourselves traveling through the plains. We kept track of time and distance and discovered that it took about 20 minutes to walk a mile. After our walk, we compared our predictions with the timed results and talked about similarities and differences between our walk and the walking wagon families had to do. After some discussion, we learned to appreciate the challenge of walking 15-20 miles everyday for 5-6 months!
Science in the Puffin Nest
Our current unit of study: The Human Machine.
This introductory human body unit takes the perspective that we can think about our bodies as being like a machine. We have parts for moving around, sensors, and a built-in computer. Students explore their senses and consider how the information we process helps us understand and react to our environment.
This week's focus: Structure and Function of Eyes
Our guiding question : “How can some animals see in the dark?"
This week we delved further into how our eyes work, exploring the function of the iris and pupil. Your child added a part to their eye model (the one they created last week) and experimented to see how the pupil affects vision.
One thing you can do to support your child's curiosity is to sit down together and look at pictures of animals’ eyes. If you have a pet at home, like a cat or dog, use the flash of a camera to snap a photo, and see if you can spot the pet’s colorful green layer at the back of the eye. This layer helps these animals to see better at night. Invite your child to share with you what they’ve learned about this!