The new member of our class

Thanks to one of my students, we now have a new member in our classroom. "Stripes" the caterpillar is now living in the room. We are going to observe the changes that come along with his transformation into a butterfly. I told them we could keep the pet this time, as long as I don't get anymore random insects/animals in my room the rest of the year haha.

First Week of School

Here is a little peak at what we have been up to the first couple days of school so far! 

We have spent out first couple of days getting to know each other. I know most of the kids have been going to school with each other forever, but there are few new faces... Including mine! There are a couple of pictures of activities we have done the last few days.

First, Each student wrote a letter to themselves that they will read again on the last day of school. This letter was from themselves right now to their "future self". They included information such as favorite song, movie, food, sport, etc. They also shared, as of the first day of school, what they wanted to be when they were older. The collage below shows what each child chose as their future career! 

The students also competed in an activity called "The Marshmallow Challenge." In this challenge, students were randomly assigned to a group of 4. Each group was given the same supplies: 20 uncooked spaghetti noodles, a yard of tape, and also a yard of string. The goal was to create the tallest structure they could that would also hold a big marshmallow in under 18 minutes. Right away, students thought this seemed impossible. As they started messing around with the supplies and doing some trial and error, they found ways to get the marshmallow in the air. The kids really enjoyed this activity, and asked to do it again if we had time later. There are a few photos from this activity as well. Our tallest structure measured to be 25.5 inches tall! 

The rest of this week we will be handing out books for each subject and talking a look at what we will be covering this year. We are also going to start diving right into the materials and get going on the first lesson or two for each subject. I'm really looking forward to getting into our daily routine! 

Welcome!

Welcome to our classroom blog! My name is Fletcher Nelson, I am the new 5th and 6th grade teacher at Pingree- Buchanan Elementary School. I graduated this past spring with a degree in Elementary Education from Valley City State University, and also a degree in Human Development and Family Science from NDSU. This is my first year teaching and I couldn't be more excited! 

Our blog will be a place to check out how we are spending our days. I will do my best to keep the blog updated with weekly lesson plans, homework assignments, and some photos of activities we will be doing this school year. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at Fletcher.Nelson@sendit.nodak.edu. I'm looking forward to a great school year!