zoo field trip and art project

We lucked out with beautiful weather for our field trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Here are a few photos from the day. If any parent chaperones have pictures to share, please email me (foyleolu@gmail.com), and I will gladly add them to this blog. Thank you!

Posing with the lion statue

the hogs

lots of birds- and some fascinating facts to read

How tall are you compared to a polar bear?

On Friday, we enjoyed some extra time in art to work on a special project for our moms...

We reviewed mixing colors too!

We hope you enjoy your frames with your children's pictures!

Finished product - they came out great!

Happy Mothers' Day!

Reminder - Permission Slips

Reminder:

Please send in your child's Field Trip permission slip and $3 for the Zoo trip on May 8th.

Thank you!


On another note, the students have really enjoyed watching the "Liberty's Kids" videos to help us learn about the American Revolution. I own the DVDs, but if they want to watch the videos at home, you can find most of the episodes on YouTube.

"The First Fourth of July" (The Declaration of Independence)

Aquarium Photos

Don't forget to ask your children about today's field trip to the Shedd Aquarium. We had a wonderful time! There were so many animals to see. We even watched a 4D movie and a Dolphin Show!

Please see some photos below:

"Look! The turtle is following my hand!"

Sting rays

The students were able to pet the fish.

Students waiting to pet the fish

Ready for the 4D movie

Waiting for the 4D movie

Ready for the Dolphin Show!

Please check your children's Thursday folders. There was a note about how to prepare for Terra Nova tests. Here are the main points from the letter:

1.    Go to bed early every night.

This may mean turning off video games or the TV earlier than usual. It is important that they are well-rested so that they can focus. I will send home less homework than usual as well.

2.    Eat breakfast every morning.

Food helps the body and the brain function at their best.

3.    Be prepared.

Help your child arrive to school on time every day (7:45am). Please make sure he or she has pencils and healthy snacks in his or her backpack.

4.    Stay calm. 

      Please make sure your child understands that the results will not affect his or her grades and that he or she may not know every answer. The important thing is to keep breathing, follow ALL directions, and try his or her best.

Field Trip Fun

Ask your child about the field trip to Wagner Farm! Even though it was a brutally cold day, we stayed warm inside while learning about how farmers milk cows and gather eggs. The students asked some really interesting questions.

Here are a few photos from the day. Please pardon the quality- I did not use a flash, as I did not want to distract the presenters.

Miss Andrea talking to the students about the cow - Buttercup

Everyone that wanted to pet the cow was allowed to do so!

Where do cream and milk come from?

How does a chicken hatch?

"Shopping" at the General Store

Our next field trip will be to the Aquarium at the end of February. More information to come...

Field Trip Reminder

Thank you to all families who have turned in permission slip forms for the field trip to Wagner Farm. (Please send those in as soon as possible if you have not done so.) Thank you also for offering to chaperone the trip. I will send a note home with students whose parents volunteered to confirm the time to arrive at school.

Our field trip is next Thursday, January 23rd. Students should wear their gym uniforms. We look forward to sharing some stories and pictures here on the blog with you.

Positive Attitudes

We can't control the weather, and we wanted to keep the students safe, so the Kindergarten and First Grade teachers and I cancelled the field trip to the zoo. We know the students were disappointed (and we were too), so we tried to do our best to bring the zoo to our classroom.

We made brought in stuffed animals and made our own animal masks...

We watched a movie about animals and ate animal crackers...

Our secretary even treated us to pizza!

Overall, we had a pretty good day. The rain couldn't stop us from learning... or from having fun!

Thank you for being understanding. I returned the money to your children, so be sure to ask for it!

Library Field Trip

Today's field trip was a lot of fun! We ventured downtown to the Harold Washington Library. (I wish I had taken some pictures!)

The students explored the Children's floor, listened to a couple of books about the library, and checked out some books.

*Please note the students' books are due back to the library by May 15th. You can either return them to any of the public library branches (http://www.chipublib.org/), or you can send the books to school, and I will return them to the library.

This class loves reading. Please keep encouraging them to read at home. Remember with their library cards they can go and check out more books. This will be especially helpful in the summer when they do not have daily access to our classroom library.

Field Trip Photos - Children's Museum

The students had a blast at our field trip on Thursday! Ask your child about his or her favorite parts.

Enjoy some photos from the trip:

Dressing up like fire fighters - these girls are ready!

The fire truck is on its way!

We took the "Super Power Challenge" and we were super-charged when we filled up the card. So fun!

Miss Foyle's group getting super-charged!

Miss Longton at work in the tool shop with students

Digging for bones- just like paleontologists!

Standing still to see if butterflies would land on their heads!

The beautiful atrium with plants and fountains where we ate lunch.

Water Waves - they got a little wet

Climbing up and around...

If any parents have pictures from the trip, please email me (foyleolu@gmail.com), and I will post those pictures too!

Field Trip

The First and Second Graders went on a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry today. Please ask your child about what s/he learned and saw.

Our visit included watching the movie "Born to Be Wild" about elephants and orangutans. The kids loved it! We also had a chance to walk around and view a variety of exhibits. We saw cars, trains, baby chickens, tractors, tornadoes, and so much more! I think everyone was exhausted when we loaded the bus to head back to school, including our wonderful parent chaperones.

Unfortunately, I lost my camera at the museum today, so I do not have any photos from the trip. If anyone has any photos that they would like to see posted on this blog, please email me (foyleolu@gmail.com), and I will happily add them. (Thank you!)

Here are some pictures (courtesy of one of our chaperones- thank you to Claudia's mom!):

inside a tornado

electricity

group shot

looking at the baby chickens