Growing in God's Love: October, the Month of Mary

I hope everyone has had a fun and relaxing 3 day weekend, and I hope that your child is able to articulate why we don't have school today! The students were really into our study of Christopher Columbus and enjoyed using the globe to trace his expedition across the Atlantic Ocean. We learned what the word "explorer" means, why Columbus called Native Americans "Indians", what the names of his three ships were, and which ocean he sailed across. We'll reinforce our learning next week when the students complete various activities about Columbus at our Social Studies center.

During the month of October we will be learning the virtue of compassion. We know that God is the ultimate example of compassion and mercy. He has shown us the greatest compassion, and He is the example we should follow in showing compassion to all. We learned that St. Francis of Assisi had great compassion for God's creation, all animals, and especially his sick and poor brothers and sisters in Christ. Here are some beautiful scripture references to pray on:

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,

just as in Christ God forgave you. ~ Ephesians 4:32

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness;

His mercies begin afresh each morning. ~ Lamentations 3:22-23

We also begin our study of the rosary, learning the main prayers of Hail Mary, Our Father, and Glory Be. We'll complete many activities to master our rosary prayers, including a special Mass Mates gathering where we'll bead our very own rosaries with our 7th graders helping us! I encourage you to pray the rosary together at home. This is one of my favorite websites for step by step instructions on praying the rosary and learning the mysteries of the rosary. In May, your first grader will dive deeper into the rosary, learning additional prayers as well as the mysteries, completing a Rosary Lapbook that will go home as a family prayer tool.

This week our new class pet arrived: a robo hamster! The class voted to name her Peanut, and they are smitten with her. :) We'll have a great time learning about her species and how they've adapted to life in the desert when we study our science unit on animal adaptations. In the meantime, we will rotate taking care of her and feeding her. Learn more about this adorable animal here!

Friday was our second classroom store where students cashed in their hard-earned golden tickets to purchase store items. This time they had to count their tickets, write that amount with cents and dollars/cents, show that amount using pennies and nickels, then write about what they bought. The Firsties also used calculators, both to add the total cost for their store items as well as to subtract the difference to calculate change. They were so invested in this process! Soon we introduce dimes; thank you to all parents who sent in dimes for last week's homework. We have enough to use within the classroom for our math activities.

Your children did a fantastic job completing and presenting their timelines! These are hanging outside in the hallway, and students of all ages are enjoying reading them. We've titled our wall "THEN AND NOW: OUR PERSONAL HISTORY TIMELINES"(Each child has a photo below!)

*** Remember, inventions packets and models are due this Friday. For invention inspiration we read the book The Most Magnificent Thing (Find it here), and learned about Benjamin Franklin and his many inventions. This week we will read Rosie Revere, Engineer, and continue with our study of inventors and inventions: Alexander Graham Bell and the telephone; Thomas Edison and the telephone; The Wright Brothers and the airplane; Garrett Morgan and the stoplight; and George Washington Carver's plant discoveries. Carver ties in nicely with our science study of plants. (We wrapped up apples last week and this week we begin our study of pumpkins.) We'll culminate our invention unit next Monday, October 15th with an assembly line project that teaches us about Henry Ford and the Model T.

Get ready to show your SMS Bison spirit for HOCO week! Tomorrow is Pajama day (no shorts after October 1st), and slippers are definitely an option. ;) Here is the complete flyer with all of this week's activities. Enjoy the photos below!

I Can Show Respect: Bucket Fillers