Today Graycn did a review lesson on the three phases of matter. She completed a worksheet where she had pictures of solids, liquids, and gases and and had to glue them under the correct category. For a hands-on demonstration she made a Root Beer Float. She identified the ice cream as the solid, the root beer as the liquid, and when they were combined she saw the gas come up in the form of bubbles. She also took the end of chapter test and scored 100%!! Great job, Gracyn!!!

We started off class with stretches on the mat. We then did 2 rounds of Sun Salutation and reviewed our handout. I asked Gracyn to select a challenging pose from the book, and she picked peacock. This pose strengthens the wrists and arms. We practiced the beginning of peacock. We ended class with balancing poses on the yoga blocks: tree, airplane and crane.

Today, we worked on how to break apart a number to solve a subtraction problem. Gracyn completed problems using 10 frames, first subtracting to get a ten and then subtracting the remaining amount. This concept is challenging but allows for the ability to more easily solve subtraction problems using mental math. Gracyn then watched a video on BrainPop Jr. about adding and subtracting 10's. She completed an online word problem quiz that correlated with the video. Finally, Gracyn used her white board to solve subtraction by 10 problems using numbers up to 100.

Gracyn and I reviewed for a Quiz next week. She completed several worksheets covering goods and services, currency, citizenship, needs and wants, and jobs. We finished making her pioneer covered wagon and discussed pilgrims. We watched a BrainPop video about the first Thanksgiving.

Gracyn's lesson today continued with the concept of making a ten to help subtract. She used 2 different color counters and ten frames to help her solve subtraction sentences. Using the counters, Gracyn was able to count up to find the difference. Together, we played a game of spiral subtraction. We each had our own game board and took turns rolling a die. We would move forward the amount rolled and have to solve the given subtraction sentence. If answered correctly, the game piece would stay or go back if incorrect.

Gracyn had a wonderful arts and crafts session. Today, she chose between blue, purple, and pink beads to make a bracelet. Deciding on all blues and a few pink accents, Gracyn creatively made a pattern with the beads. Patiently, she strung the beads onto stretchy cord using her fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. She was very excited with her finished bracelet and immediately put it on.

We completed our read aloud of "The Velveteen Rabbit" and discussed the theme of the story. Gracyn read "A Pet for Dragon" independently again today. We are working on building her independent reading stamina. Word work included l-blends and word wall review. She wrote a note for Ms. Judie about tonight's World Series final. We started "The Giving Tree" for our shared reading.

This morning we focused on the sight word all. Gracyn wrote it and practiced reading it in a poem called All About Spiders, which shared some interesting facts about spiders. Next, we completed an election themed worksheet entitled Vote for Vowels. In this activity, we identified which of the pictured items in the row contained the target short vowel. We focused on sounding out the words and listening to the vowel sound. She then added the missing vowel to three CVC words (ex. h_t for hat). We read chapter 5, “Gold in the Grass” in our Magic Tree House book. In this chapter, Annie and Jack encounter a Triceratops and they find a gold medallion in the grass. Gracyn answered comprehension follow-up questions and we worked on writing in complete sentences while sounding out the words. Finally, we had a few minutes left for ZAP! sight word practice. Gracyn’s tricky words today were came and new.

Today Gracyn made Pumpkin Pie Bites. We started by greasing and flouring our mini-muffin pan. Next we floured our cutting board so we could roll out our pie crust. We cut the pie crust to fit our mini muffin tins. Next, Gracyn combined the ingredients into the Kitchen Aid mixer for the pumpkin pie filling. She mixed it till it was the perfect consistency. We then filled the muffin tin and placed it into oven. Once the Pumpkin Pie Bites were cooled we added some whipped cream and cinnamon.

Gracyn was a bit tired today from trick or treating last night. We spent the majority of our time working on balance beam. We continued to play the ball game she invented and continues to enjoy. She chooses a skill and must catch the ball as soon as she completes it, without falling off!