Summer Fun!

Hi everybody - Mrs. Bair, here! Boy is it ever hot out there! Even with our crazy weather I hope the heat isn't keeping you glued to your TV or video games. There are still plenty of things that you can do to have some fun.

When it finally cools down, this article from Edutopia contains 6 links to different ideas you can use to have fun outside. I agree that the camera scavenger hunt looks like a really fun idea, Citizen Science always has really interesting projects for which you collect and submit meaningful data, and there are so many trails close to Elizabethtown that it makes many of the exploring projects a simple, low cost activity. Something I didn't see listed but has become one of my favorite things to do is Geocaching. With the development of GPS on Smartphones it is easier than ever to get involved in this treasure hunt, and I'm always excited to find my latest cache. Check out Geocaching.com if you want to learn more.

Another popular topic with kids is always FOOD! This next link from Edutopia has a variety of different topics about exploring and growing your own food. There are several farmers' markets in our area (Marietta has one every Sunday morning. Mount Joy also has one each week, but I'm not sure of the day.) where you and your child can meet our local farmers. And even at this late stage in July there are still fruits and veggies you can plant and harvest to enjoy!

I hope your family is able to find some fun activities through these links. If you have any special request, any ideas you'd like to learn more about please let me know and I'll gladly find some links to share!

Looking for Books?

So your child's teacher said your child was supposed to read every day over the summer. Great. But what are we supposed to read? Earlier in June I shared this post with a couple of different book lists that were good places to start, but this past week I found another amazing book resource!

I follow many different blogs to help me be a better teacher, and the other day I stumbled across this list - the 101 Best Chapter Books to Read (or Hear) Before you Grow Up. I'm going to be honest, if you haven't read some of the books on this list you are probably going to enjoy them even if you ARE a grown up (or least your age says you SHOULD be)! There are books from every genre (type) on this list, and while I haven't read all of them, I've read about half so I'd like to point you to my favorites.

9. Because of Winn-Dixie (realistic fiction)
12. Bridge to Terabithia (realistic fiction)
13. Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery (fantasy)
14. Caddie Woodlawn (historical fiction)
15. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory* (fantasty)
17. Charlotte’s Web (fantasy)
19. The Cricket in Times Square* (fantasy)
28. Freckle Juice (realistic fiction)
30. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Franweiler* (mystery)
35. Harriet the Spy* (realistic fiction)
36. Hatchet (adventure)
37. How to Eat Fried Worms (realistic fiction)
41. Island of the Blue Dolphins (adventure)
51. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles* (fantasy)
54. The Little House on the Prairie series (historical fiction)
57. Magic Tree House (series - historical fiction / fantasy)
62. The Mouse and the Motorcycle (fantasy)
64. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh* (fantasy)
73. Pippi Longstocking (fantasy)
80. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (historical fiction)
82. The Secret Garden (historical fiction)
83. Shiloh*
84. Sideways Stories from Wayside School (fantasy)
85. Strawberry Girl (historical fiction)
94. The Trumpet of the Swan* (fantasy)


I know, I know, that's a lot of favorites! Those titles with the asterisks are the tops of the list, in my opinion. Which of those are my absolute favorites? Hmmmm.... if I had to pick my top five they would probably be....

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Harriet the Spy
The Cricket in Times Square
Shiloh
The Trumpet of the Swan

But honestly, I could read any of the books on this list over and over and over again. I hope my shortened list and the longer one you'll find by following the link will help you and your child find your new favorite book over the summer! Please leave a comment to share which ones you've decided to read!

:)
Mrs. Bair

But What Exactly Can We Do This Summer?

If the last image gave you some good ideas for the summer, but you'd like some more specific links or activities to do with your child then I have the post for you! Resources to Prevent Summer Slide is an article by Edutopia, a great educational resource on any topic, that will give you links for things like virtual field trips (I had to giggle at the Hershey Chocolate Factory field trip - can you do that without getting the free chocolate at the end??), things your child can build, and reading, writing and math resources.

Don't limit yourself to worksheets or flashcards when it comes to learning in the summer. Asking your child what he or she would like to learn about or letting the kids come up with possible solutions for problems around the house are great ways to keep your child actively learning throughout the summer months!

Exercise Your Brain

While it's easy to think about reading and practicing math facts as fun things to do over the summer, there are many other ways to keep your brain in shape! You can click on the image below to see some fun and different ways to keep your brain (and your parents' brains!) working over the summer.

End of Year Fun!

To celebrate the end of an exciting, and all too fast, school year, our team had a day full of learning and fun. We started off this morning with four different learning stations. Each teacher picked a different subject, and the classes spent a half hour learning, creating and cooperating. While there were fun activities in each room, Mrs. Towsen's Sweet Science took the cake. Groups took a look at what happened what you soaked Skittles and M&Ms in water, and we were all shocked!

Can you see the S and the M?

After our morning stations and special classes Team Kit Kat celebrated with a picnic lunch. We enjoyed eating in the classrooms with our friends, and we would like to say a special thank you to the many, many parents who sent in food items and volunteered to help serve our lunch today. We certainly wouldn't have been able to do it without you.

Thankfully the rain took a pause just long enough for us to get out and get some fresh air, and then it was party time! All of the students on the team were divided into 10 groups, and we played Minute to Win It all afternoon. Again we have to say thank you to all of the parents who brought in materials and all of the parents who helped run the stations. We played games that required all sorts of patience and unique skills, and even the teachers AND Mr. Kingsborough and Dr. Spagnolo got in on the fun. See if you can spy our principals in the slideshow! Our Team Kit Kat Picnic and Challenge Party was the perfect was to end the school year. It sure does look like everybody had a great time!

Social Studies Projects

Over the past month, the kids on Team Kit Kat have been working very hard to take our individual state research and create state projects or combine the state research into presentations about the regions of the US. Below are pictures of the posters from Mrs. Bair's and Mrs. Towsen's groups, and you can also view the Midwest group's slideshow.

The Northeast Region poster

The Southeast

As you can see, the climate of the Southeast includes some dangerous weather

The Southeast includes many fun sporting activities.

The Southwest may be our smallest region, but their presentation was big on details!

The West Region includes many unique places and landforms.

Because of the different locations, the West Region has a variety of natural resources and industries.

There are many interesting facts and areas of different climate in the West Region as well!

Summer Reading

It's hard to believe that the school year is almost over! It seems like just yesterday that everybody showed up at Bear Creek for the first time. Now that summer is almost here, we want to use this week to offer some suggestions about what you can do to help your child over the summer.

First of all, we hope you and your family have the opportunity to go exploring these next few months. Whether it's exploring a far-away place or a park or trail close to home, your child will learn amazing things through these experiences.

Second, we hope that you and your child will read together this summer. So often during the school year, despite our best efforts, your children aren't always able to read books on topics of their interest or they begin to equate reading with filling in bubbles and taking tests. Summer is the time to help your child remember that reading is FUN, and reading is also another way to explore places and learn some pretty cool stuff.

There are many different summer reading lists out there, but one of our favorites comes from James Patterson, yes - the James Patterson of adult thriller stories, and his website Read, Kiddo, Read! You can check out his summer reading list here, and you can also look around the website to learn about some other amazing books for kids (and adults) of all reading levels.

If your child is one who likes a little incentive for their work, Barnes and Noble combines their summer reading list that allows your child to earn a free book! You can check out their reading list and how to earn that free book here.

Don't forget - reading is more than picture books and chapter books. Having your child read websites, instruction manuals, the Sunday comics, travel guides... anything!... will help them see how important reading is in our every day lives, and hopefully it will also give them the opportunity to find topics that he or she really loves!

If you are looking for more summer reading ideas, please check out the local libraries in Elizabethtown and Mount Joy. Happy summer reading!

Living History

Today our team had the exciting opportunity to visit the 6th grade students' Living Museum. The 6th grade students have been working very hard to learn about an important individual from ancient history. Today each student had the opportunity to be an exhibit in a very unique museum.

As we walked up into the main hallway, we saw many different kids dressed in costume and standing perfectly still. We were in groups, and each group had 6 tickets. Our groups walked up to the person and put our ticket in their cup. As soon as we did that they person came back to life and told us all about themselves and what life was like when they were alive.

We liked the living museum for a lot of different reasons. Some of us like the kids' costumes. One person thought that the props were really cool, especially when the ancient person acted out something with his or her props. Another person really liked that, unlike a regular museum, these displays came to life and you could actually learn all about them by listening to them instead of just looking at them. Several kids talked about the interesting facts they learned as they listened, and many other kids mentioned how much they liked the costumes. You can see some of what we experienced in the slideshow below.

Our team was VERY impressed by the 6th graders. It was obvious that they worked very hard to learn their about their people and spent a lot of time perfecting their speeches so they could do it for us today. Congratulations to the 6th graders, and thank you for inviting us to come to your museum!

Exercise and Animals

Team Kit Kat has been having a very busy week! We started off on Monday with our first intermediate field day. This day long event, similar to a track meet, is part of the Phys Ed curriculum. Ms. Shenk and Mr. Klose, along with many parent volunteers, work very hard to make this day a success. While it was VERY confusing at first, once we got into the swing of things we were all able to find our events, and many kids on our team earned many different ribbons. You can check out Ms. Shenk's website for a slideshow of our day.

Then on Thursday we took a short walk to the Fairgrounds for a presentation by the high school agriculture students. We visited 10 stations, and the high school kids did a great job teaching us about large and small animals, agricultural businesses, machinery and our environment. We're so lucky to have high school students that care enough about our community that they are willing to do so much extra work to teach us about things they enjoy. Check out the slideshow of our morning at the Fairgrounds!

Our Strategy Group Summary

Another strategy group was reading the book Groundhog Goes Outside by Karen Mockler. This is the summary that Haley, Emma S., Ian, Autumn and Rochelle wrote:

It was winter at Gus's house. Gus kept asking his family where his shadow is. His dad said, "Look outside for your shadow!" Gus walked out of the hut and everybody was waiting for him. Everybody cheered! Gus went back in, and his family asked, "Did you find it?" Gus said, "Find what?" because he forgot about his shadow!

We thought this was a funny book, and we liked reading about Gus!

Strategy Group Summary

In our strategy group, we made a summary of the book All About Kites, by Elizabeth Austin. We took details from the story and put them together to make a summary about the story. This is what we came up with...

Kites are helpful in different ways. The kite was named after a bird. Chinese people used them over 2,000 years ago. Ben Fraklin used a kite to prove his idea that lightning was made of electric current. A fisherman put bate on a kite tail. and the fish grabbed it. Weather kites carried scientific instruments into the sky. Years ago some armies used kites with cameras on them, to spy on enemy troops. There are all different types of kites. Lots of them people just use them for fun. After you make your own kite, you have to follow the kite safety rules. As you can see kites are helpful in all different ways, like jobs, fun and entertainment. But you need to use them safely!

More Wetlands Podcasts

Mrs. Towsen's class continued to work hard today, and we have more podcasts to share with you. The Wetland Helpers hope you enjoy listening and learn a lot about how important wetlands are!

The Wetland Waterbugs are also very excited to share their podcast, too.

We hope that you'll leave us some comments to ask us questions or tell us what you think about our first podcasts!

Wetlands Podcasts

Mrs. Towsen's and Mrs. Bair's class have been learning about wetlands, and to show what we've learned groups are creating podcasts. You can check out Mrs. Bair's podcasts by visiting her class blog, and you can enjoy Mrs. Towsen's first podcast by Matthew, Bryce, Jacob, Dina and Tammy by listening below.

The Science Kids team also finished their podcast about wetlands, and you can listen to it right here:

We hope you enjoy learning about wetlands with us, and we would love to answer any questions you might have. Leave a comment, and we will reply as soon as we can!

Early Dismissal Reminder

Just a reminder that Friday, February 15 will be an early dismissal. Elementary students here at Bear Creek will be dismissed at 12:30.

Western Day

As part of our celebration of National Counselors Week, we had Western Day today. Check out our friends sporting their best western wear!

Field Trip to Harrisburg

As part of our unit on Pennsylvania's History, Team Kit Kat took at trip to Harrisburg, PA, our state capitol, on Friday, February 1. We started the day in the Capitol Building where we learned about the history of the building, visited the House and Senate chambers, and spent some time in the courtroom where the state Supreme Court meets.

After lunch we headed to the State Museum where we visited many different exhibits about the land, people and natural resources of Pennsylvania. Everybody had a great day, and we're very thankful to all of the chaperones who helped us have a really cool learning opportunity.

Please enjoy this slideshow of our trip. Thanks to Devin and Thomas for helping to take some of the photos you see!

Crazy Hat Spirit Day

I don't know about all of us, but many of us were very happy to be back to school after our long holiday break. We jumped right back into the swing of things with lots of different activities in every subject.

To celebrate a successful mini-week back to school, Bear Creek had our first school spirit day of 2013 with Crazy Winter Hat Day! Lots of kids on Team Kit Kat got into the spirit of the day, and you can check out their crazy hats in the slideshow below.

Holiday Fun

The week before Christmas we had a great time here at Team Kit Kat! The teachers kicked off the fun with an Ugly Sweater / Outfit celebration on Wednesday. They sure did look crazy!

On Thursday, Mrs. Bair's and Miss Conrad's math class started counting the links they earned to create their December chain. Students earned links by correctly answering questions, taking risks, and showing great problem solving skills in class. The final chain stretched almost all the way around the room! As a matter of fact, it was so long we didn't have time to count the entire chain!

After math class, we got together with the rest of 4th grade and some of our 5th grade friend for the Bear Creek Carol Sing. The orchestra, band, and 6th grade chorus lead us as we sang holiday songs, and even the teachers joined in the fun!

Finally on Friday our team had a great time during our holiday parties. You can see all of the fun we had in the slideshow below. We hope everybody had a wonderful break, and we are looking forward to exciting things to come in 2013!