Fill A Bucket Day!

Today was "Fill A Bucket" Day at UMS!!  Everyone received a bucket and we wrote meaningful compliments to many of our friends!  Make sure you read the slips in your child's bucket, they are so heart warming! We had a wonderful day and everyone felt so happy when they left!  Here are a few pictures from our day! 

 

We are busy writing compliments to our friends!

 

We are making sure our compliments are heartfelt and thoughtful!

 

Here we are with our buckets!

Hat Day

Today was hat day at UMS! We all had a great time wearing our hats! Here is a few pictures of us having some fun!

Alaska - Part II

Miss Yates came back today to teach us about animal adaptations in the cold Arctic climates.  She did a great experiment showing the children how blubber and fur keep Arctic animals warm in harsh storms and subzero windchills.  For the first experiment, the children wore gloves and then stuck their hand in a bag full of Crisco, which acted as our "blubber".  The children then put their blubber hand into a cold bath of ice water.  The blubber insulated their hands so they didn't feel the chill. 

 

Jemima is putting her "blubber coated" hand into the ice bath.  She noticed that her hand couldn't feel the cold water at all!

Here's the ice bath!

 



 

Everyone is patiently waiting their turn to try the ice bath!

 

 

In the second experiment, Miss Yates had each child put their arm in front of a blowing fan, which simulated a raging winter storm. They could each feel the wind when their arm wasn't protected.  Then she wrapped their arm in fake fur and put their arms back in front of the fan.  They couldn't feel the wind at all because the fur insulated their skin!

 

Ryan is putting his bare arm in front of the fan with no protection.

 

Andre has fake fur wrapped around his arm to protect it from the wind!

 

 

The students loved these hands-on activities and really started to understand how blubber and fur can keep an animal warm.

Spirit Week

Next week, April 15-19th, is Spirit Week at UMS!  We will have a low key theme each day!  Your child is not required to participate, but it is fun!

 

Monday - Hat Day

Tuesday - Favorite T-Shirt Day

Wednesday - School Colors Day (green and blue)

Thursday - Fill A Bucket Day (there is nothing to bring for this, just give a compliment)

Friday - Pajama Day (just make sure pj's are appropriate for school/weather)

 

School will be closed for April vacation from April 22, 2013 - April 26, 2013.  School will reopen on Monday, April 29th.  Enjoy vacation!

Alaska

We started learning about Alaska a few weeks ago when the Iditarod dog sled race started.  We are now delving deeper into Alaska and how animals and people survive there.  Miss Yates came to school today and read a book entitled Animals In The Arctic.  After they read a portion of the book, they held a "scientists meeting" where they talked about various animals that live in Alaska as well as the adaptations that they have to survive.  Here are some photos from our discussion.

Here is the beginning of our scientists meeting! 

 

 

Miss Yates brought in a piece of fake fur to show the kids how thick fur can keep an animal warm during harsh winters.

 

 

 

We are attentively listening to the book Animals In The Arctic.

Four Winds - Owls

Today was one of the best Four Winds programs of the year (as many students exclaimed at the end)!  Jenn Kerner came in and taught the children all about owls,  Some of the things she talked about were their eating habits, that they are nocturnal, that their wings are big and silent when they fly, and how their eyes help them to hunt at night.  The big hit was when children were invited to take apart an owl pellet (a handout went home on these today).  Here are some pictures from our adventures!

Flynn Theater

Today we traveled to the Flynn Theater to see If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.  It was an amazing performance and everyone loved it! Here are just a few pictures of us getting ready. (We weren't allowed to take pictures during the performance) 

 We were excited and ready to leave UMS!

 

 



 Everyone was super happy to be sitting in comfortable cushioned seats that bounced up and down!  We were one of the first schools there so we were checking things out by looking all around!

Not only were we one of the first schools to arrive, we were also seated in the balcony!  Everyone had a great time!