We started a unit on trees and leaves. We learned that deciduous trees lose their leaves and coniferous trees do not. We have collected leaves and saw that different trees have different shaped leaves. We also talked about the seeds of different leaves. We will be learning why leaves change color tomorrow and Friday.

Mrs. Sheldon told the children about squirrels. They heard a couple stories about people who raised orphan squirrels. The children learned what kind of food squirrels like and where their summer and winter homes are.

I will be sending another book order home on Monday.

I hope everyone had fun at the carnival. The weather was perfect and I saw many children there.

Just a quick note to let you know that we have scheduled our trip to Howell's pumpkin patch on Thursday, October 15th. There is a sign-up sheet posted outside the room if you would like to drive.

The class learned about Johnny Appleseed at the beginning of the week. We will begin studying trees and leaves on Thursday.

This week we have been learning about apples. We tasted different kinds of apples and learned that bees are important in an apple orchard. We saw the different parts of an apple and today we are making applesauce. We also have learned a little rhyme:
Way up high in the apple tree, two little apples smiled at me.
I shook that tree as hard as I could. Down came the apples, mmmm were they good!
We will learn about Johnny Appleseed next week and begin a unit on trees.

All our butterflies emerged from the chrysalis. We are letting the last one go today.

We hope to see you at the school carnival next Tuesday from 5-7.

We are finishing our unit on insects. We learned about grasshoppers, dragonflies, bees and ants. Next week we will start a unit on apples. The children especially like to taste test. We had our first Spanish class on Wednesday with Senora Mendoza. We will start music next week with Mrs. Ward.

Thank you for your book orders. It will take about a week to receive the books.

Natalie Becker and her family welcomed a new baby boy this week.

We had a great week of normal hours last week. It is nice to be able to get into a routine. We talked about the importance of the sun -- which included herbivores and carnivores. We also began to learn about insects. Insects have six legs and two antennae. We counted spider legs and learned that it is not an insect. We also learned about ladybugs and butterflies. We will learn more next week. We have 5 painted lady caterpillars that may have made chrysalis over the weekend. I was also able to find a large monarch caterpillar that I hope will stay a caterpillar until Tuesday morning.

We put some activities in our courtyard area which the children are able to use in the afternoons. They enjoyed their time there.