Fantastic Friday!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share news from our first week back after vacation!

We had some amazing people from Change Is Simple visit our classroom this week. Change is Simple is an organization that is dedicated to saving the environment by teaching students how important it is to recycle and respect natural resources, like trees. This organization is funded by the Cummings Charitable Foundation.

First, the wonderful people from Change Is Simple taught the kids about the importance of trees and how trees provide homes for animals as well as clean the air we breathe. They even brought in a nest to show the kids.

After a whole-class introduction, the kids were separated into two groups. While one groups became tree experts, the other group learned about recycled paper is made. Here's the first step. Recycled paper is broken into small pieces and soaked in water. The kids rip up some paper and stir it into this delightful mixture:

The mixture is green because there was green paper.

After the mixing, the kids could pick up the mixture with their hands or use the ladle. They then placed the mixture on this screen.

Then the kids used a sponge to press the water out:

After this, the "new" paper was pushed out of the screen, and we left it on a desk to dry. It's dry now, and we'll be writing on it next week. I'll post pictures of the finished product later.

If you want to learn more about Change Is Simple, check out this web site at:

http://www.changeissimple.org/

We have been very busy learning about the water cycle. We even made a 3D model of the water cycle that I got on TPT. Here's a picture of how the craft looked when it was complete:

Water Cycle Craft: {3-D Water Cycle Craftivity}

I had the kids label each picture with the part of the water cycle that was being represented. This was a fun project. If you want, you can check it out here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Water-Cycle-Craft-3-D-Water-Cycle-Craftivity-354453

We thoroughly enjoyed reading Hen Hears Gossip by Megan McDonald:

After reading this amusing and colorful story, we had a lively discussion about gossip and its harmful consequences. Of course, all the students admitted to how much they LOVE to listen to their parents' conversations. Hmmmmm.......

I would absolutely recommend this book because it teaches a timeless and important lesson. Like my father always used to tell me: "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."

We are loving Kidblog. It's so much fun. I'm encouraging the kids to try to go on at home and pick an avatar. I have approved and posted one blog comment so far. I'm hoping to read LOTS MORE comments soon. You can check it out here:

http://kidblog.org/MrsKsClass-20/

When we read What Do Authors Do in our Reading books, there was a fun activity in which you follow directions to draw a pig. After drawing, the kids wrote a story to go along with their pig drawing. We've been sharing our stories on the rug, and I've been hanging them up on the bulletin board. I just need to remember to take a picture.