I wish we had S'MORE time together!

Today was the last day of school. It's always bittersweet. Everyone is excited for summer and what the next year will bring, but we're also sad to leave each other- the family we've had for the past 10 months.

We enjoyed one last treat this afternoon- indoor s'mores. All they need is to be zapped in the microwave for 10 seconds or less. You have to stay nearby and watch as the marshmallow grows bigger and bigger and then stop it, before it's TOO BIG! They were delicious!

Have a fabulous summer everyone!

Advice for future 3rd graders

Follow our advice and you'll do great in 3rd grade!

• Have a good time on the field trips. They're fun. -Jasmine
• Pay attention and try your hardest everyday because the hard work pays off! -Dontrell
• Read everyday. If you're stuck on a word, sound it out, and you'll get it. -Jordan and Alanna
• Try your best to stay on blue, but green is also a "happy face" so if you get on green, don't be mad. -Hannah and Christopher
• Listen to the STAR expectations. -Madrek
• You should work on elapsed time, because it is hard. -Sabrina
• If somebody says a bad word you should ignore them or tell the teacher. -Jordan
• You should listen and follow directions, and have a good attitude every day. -Alanna
• If you're mad you should take a deep breath and sit by yourself for a little bit. -Niya
• If someone is bothering you, tell an adult or the teacher right away. -Summer
• Try to be the best that you can be. -Renee
• If somebody is bothering you ask them to leave you alone. -Deontay
• Put effort into your work. -Madrek
• You should practice multiplication, because it might not be that easy for you. -Dontrell
• Do your homework and don't fake it. -Kameren
• Good luck on the FCAT. -Niya
• If you study and read for 20 minutes each night, you'll read better. -Jasmine
• Study your spelling words, so you can get a good grade. -Sabrina
• Don't skip pages when you read. Read the whole book. -Jordan
• Do what you're told and listen to the teacher. -Alanna

End of Year Activities

Last Tuesday, was bubble gum day. We practiced blowing bubbles and graphed how many of were able to (15 out of 17). Then we wrote the steps to blowing bubbles, don't forget to take off the wrapper first! We also made collage self-portraits of our bubble blowing. Check out the pictures!

Last Thursday, was NO SHOES day! Inside our classroom we kicked off our shoes and wore only new, fun socks. It was fun to be shoe-less, but you had to be careful in the back of the room on the tile- it was slippery!

Last Friday, was The Lorax day. We read the book (again, we read it for Dr. Seuss's birthday as well). Then we watched the original movie and compared the two in a Venn diagram. There were a lot of differences! We also played a fun Lorax dice game and made truffula trees! If you were the Lorax, what would you speak for?

End of Year Slideshow

What a great year it's been! Have a happy summer and remember to READ!

How to be Honest

This month's STAR skill is honesty! Here is what we think it means to be honest.

Field Trip to the Thomas Center

On Tuesday, we visited the Historic Thomas Center to learn more about the history of Gainesville. Construction began on the Thomas Center in 1906 and was completed in 1910. It was named "Sunkist Villa" and Major Thomas and his family moved in on February 9, 1910. On that day the youngest of the five Thomas children, Margaret, was born in an upstairs bedroom.

The Thomas family made Sunkist Villa their home for 15 years. The large estate had 21 rooms and 12 fireplaces all made from terra cotta. We saw five of the fireplaces while we were there. In the 1920s Major Thomas decided to convert the home into a hotel. They added on another building, creating 94 guest rooms, three dining rooms, and four lounges for guests to enjoy.

The Thomas family sold the property in 1968, and its new owners leased it to Santa Fe Community College for seven years. The city of Gainesville purchased it in 1974 and it now houses art galleries, and government offices.

When we toured the Thomas Center the docent told us the stories that Margaret Thomas had told her about growing up there. We saw an example of a 1920s parlor, and got to hear a record play on an Edison phonograph. We saw a replica, or a copy, of Major Thomas's bedroom. We had to be careful walking around the Thomas Center because it had many antiques, such as an old telephone, typewriter, camera, binoculars, and a piano.

To help us play the role of early 1900s boys and girls, the boys got to try on collars, bow ties, and arm bands, and the girls enjoyed fanning themselves, wearing necklaces, and clutching hand bags.

We also went on a walking tour (or rather a scavenger hunt) of the historic neighborhood that surrounds the Thomas Center. Many of the homes on our tour were even older than the Thomas Center, built in the late 1800s. We saw and read about different examples of Victorian architecture, pillars, cross-gabled roofs, and colonial architecture. It was hot, but it was interesting!

After reading about our field trip comment with your answers to the following questions:

(Remember to go back and reread parts of the story to search for answers.)

1. What was the original name of the Thomas Center?

2. When was Margaret Thomas born?

3. How did the Thomas home change when it became a hotel?

4. What happened AFTER the Thomas Center was a hotel, but BEFORE it became a building with art galleries and government offices?

5. Why did we have to be careful while walking around the Thomas Center?

Hope you enjoyed the field trip and learning more about historic Gainesville!

Our Fraction Films

We have been working hard on comparing fractions, finding equivalent fractions, and ordering fractions from least to greatest and greatest to least. Watch as students play "fraction war" and have mathematic discussions to determine who has the greater fraction.

Kirby Smith Field Trip

On Tuesday, we journeyed back in time 112 years ago to the one room school house of Schoolmarm Smith. Schoolmarm Smith taught us to sit up straight in our desks and to write with quills and ink. So, really we just traveled by bus to the History Room at the Kirby Smith center. The History Room is a 112-year-old classroom, with some slight modifications (like lights with lightbulbs instead of lanterns with candles). After learning about being a student at the turn of the century, the class acted as detectives in the hall to do some sleuthing for clues. The bulletin boards in the hallway are full of photographs and information about Gainesville in the late 1800s and early 1900s. We had a great time.

Comment with your answers to the following:
1. What was your favorite part of the trip?
2. What was different about life 112 years ago?
3. What was similar about life 112 years ago?

Our Elf, Ben

For the past two weeks we have had an Elf on the Shelf watching over our classroom. In the afternoon when we all go home for the day our elf, Ben, travels to the North Pole to report to Santa on our behavior. So far all reports have been good!

Every morning when we come back to school Ben is hiding in a new spot. Some mornings we find that he has been mischievous, like the time he moved our behavior magnets into a smiley face and another time he switched everyone's STAR cards, which created some confusion. A few times he left us treats like candy canes and gelt (chocolate Hanukkah coins). He even gave us a dreidel to play with. Here are pictures of Ben around our classroom.

Can you find Ben in this picture of our classroom library?

Hint: He's in a very red area of the photograph.

In four more days when we go home for winter break Ben will return to the North Pole to live with Santa until next year. We'll miss Ben!

Reflex Math

Hey Lipsky Team!

Here's a fun website that will help you improve your math fluency. Fluency, just like in reading, means doing something with ease. So in math it means that you can add and subtract numbers easily, without using your fingers, drawing pictures, or really having to think about it. Just like when you were little and learned to walk, now you don't even have to think about how to put one foot in front of the other!

Go to Reflex Math and click on the launch button in the upper right corner. Type in the username: lipsky and then click on your name. Everyone's password is abc123. Here's an example of when it is teaching you about addition and subtraction fact families.

Practice at home to get faster at adding and subtracting. Later in the year we'll practice our multiplication facts.

What are you thankful for?

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we should reflect on what we are thankful for in our lives. I am very grateful for my family who have always supported and loved me. What are you thankful for and why?

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your families and friends. Get some rest, do some reading, and come back next week ready to work. :)

Life Science

Hello Scientists!

We've been studying life science since school started. Soon, we'll begin Earth Science, but before that let's review the science topics we've learned about so far. Click on a topic to watch the Brain POP Jr. video. Then come back here and comment with something important that we all need to remember about life science!

username: alachuacounty

password: brainpop

Parts of a Plant

Classifying Animals

Frogs

Hibernation

Migration

Making Observations

Fall

Amber Brown is Not a Crayon

We began reading "Amber Brown is Not a Crayon" last week. Amber is a third grader (just like us!) who lives in New Jersey. Her best friend is Justin Daniels. She is very messy, do you see her messy desk on the cover?

Click here to play a matching game with the vocabulary words from the book.

Help people and practice your multiplication!

Lipsky Team, did you know that there are people in this world that do not have enough food to eat? These people are always hungry. You can help them and help yourself practice multiplication!

Click here to practice your multiplication facts. For every correct answer 10 grains of rice are donated to people in need. The more problems you solve correctly the more rice you donate to starving people. Go get practicing! Let us know how many grains of rice you donate!

Vertebrates and Invertebrates

Watch the BrainPOP on classifying animals. Then take the online quiz. Come back to the blog and let us know if you learned anything new!

Username: alachuacounty

password: brainpop

Classification

Scientists classify organisms based on characteristics that they can see. We read about classification of vertebrates in science class. The different classifications are: mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird, and fish.

Suppose you were walking on the field at PE and found an organism on the ground. Being curious you wondered what it was. You noticed it had no fur and no legs. What prediction could you make? Why? What other information would you need to know exactly what the organism was?

World's Smallest Monkey

The Pygmy Marmoset or Dwarf Monkey is a native to the rainforests of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia. It is one of the smallest primates, and the smallest true monkey, with its body length ranging from 14 to 16 centimeters (not including the tail that can be 15 to 20 centimeters). Males weigh around 140 grams, and females only 120 grams.

Answer Question by leaving a comment: Is this animal a vertebrate or invertebrate? Explain how you know.

Question of the Week

Dear third graders,
We are going to start a new tradition on our blog called "Question of the Week." Each week I'll post a question that's just for fun. When you have free time at home or if you come in early you can answer the question.

This week I am wondering, do you have any pets?

Right now I don't. When I was little I had two cats, Pepsi and Smokey. Then we had a rabbit, named Cassidy. Now my parents have a dog, Rowdy who I love to visit in Jacksonville.

What does it mean to be respectful?

This month Stephen Foster STARs are learning about Respect. We watched this video as a class last week.


Directions: Watch the video again. Choose ONE of the questions below. Then comment with your answer. If there's extra time you can answer another question. Be a STAR!





Questions:
1. What does it mean to be respectful?
2. How can you show respect at school?
3. How can you show respect outside of school?

Happy Summer!

Hey there almost 4th graders!

How's your summer going? Mine has been good. I just got back from a vacation to Boulder, Colorado. Boulder is 1,700 miles away, so it was a good thing I flew! I went out there with my family for a friend's wedding. We also got to hike and visit the Rocky Mountains! It was beautiful. What fun things have you done during your time off of school?

Here's my family on our way up Trail Ridge Road in the Rocky Mountains. Do you see Rowdy? He loved it!

I hope you are reading some everyday. I stayed up really late last night, because I was enjoying my book so much. I'm going to the library today to get a new one.

I'll be teaching 3rd grade again, so you all know where to find me. Come say, "hi," on August 19th at Meet the Teacher (after you meet your new teacher of course!)

Miss you all. Be safe. Have fun. Keep reading!

Ms. Lipsky