On Wednesday we visited the Chicago Botanic Gardens to compliment our current science unit about plant reproduction and adaptation.  Click on the video below to catch a glimpse of our day.

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Yesterday we finally arrived in Oregon after a long and treacherous journey.  Luckily there weren’t too many casualties along the way.  Today we celebrated our arrival by enjoying some special activities.

We wrote farewell letters to our fellow wagon train members saying goodbye and good luck on their next adventures.

We played traditional games like Cats Cradle, Jacks and Pick Up Sticks

We made and enjoyed pioneer foods like butter and applesauce.

We planted our vegetable garden so we would have the food necessary for survival.

The west is definitely all we were hoping for but now we are ready to stop traveling and settle into our homesteads.

Bravo!  Bravo!  Congratulations to all students on their amazing performance tonight.  They all worked very hard on their songs, speaking parts, and dances.  It was a great night!  Thank you parents for joining us and especially for dusting off your cowboy boots and joining in on the fun!  Yeehaw!

Today we took an amazing field trip to The Grove.  There, students learned first-hand about pioneer life in The Grove’s circa 1850’s log cabin.  Activities included grinding corn, chopping apples, sweeping out the cabin, ironing the curtains and more.

Afterward, students traveled back in time to a school day in 1856 at The Grove’s reconstructed one room schoolhouse. A costumed schoolmaster led these young “scholars” through geography, history, spelling and math lessons. Activities included reading from McGuffey Readers and writing on slate boards.

See some pictures of these young pioneers.

Today we met with our kindergarten reading buddies to share some of our favorite stories.  It was definitely the highlight of our day!  The kindergarteners just love spending time with their role models.

The year is 1840.  We are pioneers heading west.  We may face problems such as floods, droughts, blocked trails, snakes, Native Americans, and lack of food.  Wish us luck.  We chose our supplies today and will be heading west soon.

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Today, in our south gymnasium, we had closing ceremonies for our Academic Olympics.  At this time, every team was announced and able to come up and be recognized.  Each team member was given a special certificate for excellent participation.  As promised, though, there were three teams who were also given medals based on team scores.

And the medalists are…

Bronze Medalists -Team Mexico!

Silver Medalists -Team Poland!

Gold Medalists -Team Western Samoa!

Congratulations to all teams involved.  It was fun watching all the students do so many mental push-ups!  Your brains are REALLY STRONG!!

We met our reading goal!!!  In the month of February, as a class we were required to read 6,080 minutes.  We exceeded our goal and actually read 14,643 minutes!  Wow!!

Since we met our reading goal we had a reading campout in class.  We read for forty-five minutes in true camping fashion.  We were able to bring flashlights, camp lights, pop-up tents, camp chairs, sleeping bags, yummy camping treats and anything else that would make our camping experience as authentic as possible.  Check out the pictures below of these relaxed campers.

What is our March reading goal, you ask?  In the month of March we need to beat our time of 14,643 minutes.  We need to read, read, read!

Our motto was if we were prepared the Illinois state tests would be a “piece of cake”.  We enjoyed a delicious cake today.

Today our third grade classes participated in our fourth annual Academic Olympics.  This was a great day for students because they had the opportunity to show off all they have learned this school year.  The entire grade was divided into teams (countries) and parent volunteers were team leaders.  Students traveled from station to station practicing skills previously taught.  On Tuesday we will announce the bronze, silver and gold medalist teams.  Great job today everyone!

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