Mud Run and tons of Fun!

Our week in room 9 was crazy, busy, loud, and full of fun! I think we all felt like we were in "school" again, and it was back to a tiny bit of normal. I say tiny bit, because it was still crazy, and not necessarily "normal"! :) 

We came back from our Easter break fully relieved and completely happy to be done with the AIMS testing! 

Starting our Rainforest unit was fun, engaging, informative, and a learning experience for all. 
I've learned that because I didn't create the unit, I really had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. Even though it was explained, and we went over the flipchart and the unit background, I was not at all prepared the way I should have been. But, it turned out okay, and I think our twists and turns and added fun will make it "ours", and we will end up just fine! 
We had some minor technology glitches this week which put us a little behind, but part 1 is almost done, and we are ready to move on and start planning our School treehouses in the rainforest! 

We even were able to read some more from our read aloud, "Olivia Brophie and Sky Island". We love Olivia, and are so excited to see how this book ends! 

Here are some pictures from our Rainforest unit so far ....

Thinking maps to organize the layers of the rainforest and what we can find there! 

Our classroom displays of the different layers of the rainforest!! 

Working in our groups to study books, make a circle map, and present what we learned about the rainforest!! 

This week was also Spirit week! We celebrated with some awesome days - sports day, twins day outfits, pajama day, and crazy hair/hat day!! Check out some of our crazy hair!! 

Twin Day, and Terrarium building!!

We started our science observations of terrariums. We gathered some gravel, added soil, and a plant, and we are anxious to see how long they can keep growing in their jars! :) 

Our favorite day this week was FRIDAY! We celebrated the third annual Yaneli's Fun Run! What a great day and event it was too! It was an obstacle course race around our campus with lots of water, mud, sun, and fun! We ended with a slip and slide to the finish! Check out some awesome pictures! I sure had a ton of fun, but am having a hard time moving today! :) 

Here is also a link to watch the Yaneli tribute - Yaneli was a student at Cartwright who wanted to complete the course. She was able to with the help of several volunteers, and we honor her spirit every year, even though she is no longer with us in person. YANELI 

Here is the link to the FOX10 live taping of our kickoff! :) 

Fox10 Mud Run Link 

And here are the pictures .... Enjoy! :) 

Have a great week!!!

~Ms. Niehaus 

Wrapping it all up!

My last blog post was so intense, and honest. I had to get a better one out for the week! :) 

We have spent the past 4 weeks reviewing for AIMS and now taking AIMS. 
I have gone through many emotions, as evident in my last blog post. :)
However, even though we were reviewing, and struggling to stay engaged, we did manage to have a little bit of fun. 

On Monday, we did some Easter fun. I let some of the kiddos take my phone and tweet out pictures, because that's one of their new favorite things to do. 
I have to share screenshots, because they are so funny! :) Follow us on Twitter: @ThirdGradeRoom9 

Here are some more pictures from our Easter Egg fun! :) 

Preparing for AIMS! :)) 

We had lots of fun dying Easter eggs and have a fun day! :) 

Last week, we were able to do some chemistry for our Science day! We observed what happened when we put M&Ms in water, and how the colors crashed but didn't mix together. :) 

We also were able to get some Kidblog action last week, where we typed our posts: Dear Mr. Aguilar about school uniforms. Check out our posts here: http://www.kidblog.org/msniehausthirdgrade

Practicing more fractions with fractions on a number line! :) 

*** After writing our blog posts, both  our principal and assistant principal left comments for us. After reading their comments, we decided we wanted to poll other people about school uniforms. Please answer our 10 question survey. It will only take you 1 minute!!!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1eZcjRzlo_96Qs0VojR1dRBgQpR_EsaRIDowKPLIt_kw/viewform

Have a great Easter weekend!! 

Ms. Niehaus