February 2011: El Mes Ocupado

February was a busy and exciting month at school.  All year we've been counting the number of days of school.  I have a lilly pad number line and each day we have a frog that "hops" to the next number.  We also have a countdown on the board to the 100th day of school.  We finally hit that mark in February!   The students walked in to find 100 balloons strung across our room...

Among other activities, we made "Hip, Hip, Hooray for the 100th Day!" hats and strung 100 fruitloops to make a necklace...

A week later it was time to celebrate Dia del Amor y la Amistad, or Valentine's Day.  I was totally spoiled by my kids.  Look how many sweet regalos...

And of course I spoiled them back....

And what Valentine's party would be complete without Funfetti cupcakes?...

We made Valentine mailboxes and exchanged cards.  Each student brought Valentine's from home.  One thing that I love is that they do not sell Valentines in the stores here.  Each one is handmade with love and they are all so creative and cute....

Happy Valentine's Day from first grade!...

February was also Science Fair Month at the school.  Since the lower grades were no longer participating (since the teachers end up doing most of the work at that age), I planned a Messy Science Day for 1st-3rd grade to get them involved.  We got the older students to help run the experiments and supervise groups.  Each group rotated around to 8 different tables.  It was a fun day and hopefully the students learned some science, too! 

We fossilized some bugs...



Exploded Bubble Bombs...

Wrote messages with invisible ink...

Made Snot...

Magnified objects with water...

Learned about color with Ink Blots and Polka Dots...

Got our hands messy and learned how polar bears survive in icy water...

And made colorful, fizzy foam...



It was a hot day so we cooled off with a slice of watermelon...

Big messes were made and great fun was had by all. 

The older students (4th grade and up) got to showcase their experiements in a Science Fair a couple of days later.  I'll leave you with some highlights from the day.

Some of the 4th graders built a neat water-powered rocket.  Watch closely what happens during the demonstration!  Going...

Going...

Gone!...

And more scientists hard at work...

Check back tomorrow.  We're headed to the pool!