What Is A Cell?Fourth Grade Visits Middle School

Our seventh grade students spent weeks researching plant and animal cells. These middle school students were very impressive with their knowledge of cells. Collaborative learning has many benefits. It develops higher level thinking, oral communication, self-management, and leadership skills. Promotion of lower to middle school student interaction, is something we pride ourselves in at St. James.

Most cells are so small they can’t be seen by the naked eye. Therefore, scientists must use microscopes to study cells. Our fourth graders looked through a microscope to view a plant and animal cell.

Seventh graders presented their own models of plant and animal cells. Fourth grade was very impressed!

Now it is time to create our very own cells. WOW! There are many parts to a cell! Can you guess what part of the cell is the eyeball?

Carla Irvin
Matter is Tasty!

Matter is everywhere! As part of our science curriculum, students learn and identify the states of matter. The last few weeks we have studied the three states of matter and its physical properties. Students explored the room and classified different objects as a solid, liquid, or gas. They also had to find the properties of matter for each object. Our last day of our matter unit was super fun!

Did you know Root Beer Floats have three states of matter?

  1. solid-ice cream

  2. liquid-root beer

  3. gas-The ice cream and root beer mix creating bubbles. The bubbles are trapped gas.

Matter changes states; a liquid can become solid when it freezes, a solid becomes liquid when it melts, etc. and all these changes can happen in a root beer float.

Students observed and wrote down their predictions! Now it is time to ENJOY!

Carla Irvin
Mommy Spa!

We celebrated Mother’s Day with our annual Mommy Spa Day. We pampered our mommies with relaxing massages, cool hair styles, fancy nails, and beautiful makeup designs! Our moms felt so special and had the best time! 💕

Carla Irvin
The Tooth fairy came to visit us this morning!

Dental health is very important. Good dental hygiene starts with when we are young. Can you believe the tooth fairy came to visit us today? She brought along her friend, a dental hygienist. They explained the importance of brushing and flossing our teeth. Edie, was our dentist for the morning. She was super excited to look inside the patient’s mouth with her special tools. Our friends also learned about healthy and unhealthy foods to eat. Brushing our teeth is one of the most important things we can do to take care of our bodies. Thank you Tooth Fairy! 🦷🪥

Dr. Edie enjoyed using her special tools to look for cavities.

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Carla Irvin
show and tell

Show and Tell is always a fun day for kindergarten. Our friends bring something from home they want to share with the class. Show and Tell activities help teach kids the importance of communication, good listening, and mutual respect.

Wow! Look at that MEDAL!

A COMPASS

Charlie brought an old compass to share! Learning directions is very important in kindergarten! 😊.

Carla Irvin
100 Days of school Hooray!

The 100th day of school is an exciting milestone to reach in kindergarten. It’s a special time for students to reflect on their hard work and celebrate all the progress they’ve made. We had the best day dressing up as 100 year olds and exploring different centers. We are definitely 100 Days Smarter!

Good Old Charlie is ready for 100’s Day!

Good Ole Charlie is ready for 100’s Day!

Building a structure with 100 marshmallows is fun!

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GRANNY CARLA AND SARAH ARE WORN OUT!

Carla Irvin
Cold days call for Hot cocoa!

Who doesn’t like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold winters day? We whipped of some hot cocoa today using several ingredients. We discussed how much of each ingredient we would need for our cocoa. Each student had the chance to pour in an ingredient. We worked through all the steps of a recipe using transition words like first, then, next, and last. Demonstrating the actual procedure, brought our cocoa lesson to life and allows students to make connections to the procedural process!

Carla Irvin
We are Thankful!

Kindergarten celebrated our Thanksgiving holiday with many fun activities. We wore our Pilgrim hats, made a Native American corn craft, and ate a lot of yummy food! We were so thankful our family could attend our Friendsgiving and help celebrate this very special day with us.

Native American Corn Craft!

Gobble, Gobble!

Carla Irvin
DixI-Maze Farms

Kindergarten traveled to the Dixie Maze Farms to complete our All About Pumpkins Unit. We had a FUN filled day traveling around the farm on a hayride. We churned our own butter, rode the Cow Train, jumped on a giant inflatable pillow, and watched pigs race. Kindergarten had the BEST DAY EVER!

Carla Irvin
Pumpkins make us happy!

Kindergarten loves pumpkins! This past week was all about pumpkins. We started the week off, learning the parts of a pumpkin. We learned that all pumpkins start with a pumpkin seed. Our little friends tasted a pumpkin seed, sorted, and grouped seeds during math. We read Pumpkin Jack and carved a pumpkin. We finished our day with Pumpkin Pie Parfaits! Yum!! 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

PumPkin Math!

Thumbs Up for Pumpkin Seeds!

Pumpkin Carving!

Pumpkin Pie Parfaits!

Carla Irvin
Stem Friday!

“What can you make with a dot?” This question was asked to our kindergarteners during Friday’s STEM building activity. We read the book the Dot, and gave students DOT Candies and toothpicks. They had to brainstorm and create an object using only these two materials with their partners. Students worked cooperatively in groups to come up with their own creation. Our sweet friends, used important problem solving skills in order to create different structures. I was super proud of their hard work! Team building is such an important skill to learn in kindergarten.

Carla Irvin
Apple Sorting!

Kindergarten had a fun Friday tasting and graphing their favorite apples. Each student had a chance to taste a red, green, and yellow apple. Then, they placed their favorite apple color on our Kindergarten Apple Graph. Taste-testing apples is a great way to integrate meaningful learning. Children get to use all their senses exploring apples, which jump starts so much learning! 😊

Apples Everywhere!

Cooking With Apples!🍎🍏🍎🍏

Carla Irvin
We Love School!

All Smiles in KindeRGaRten!

Mrs. Carla’s Kinders are super excited to be back at St. James. We have been busy meeting new friends, exploring centers, and learning all about our names. We have had the BEST two weeks of learning! Their smiles say it all….Kindergarten Rocks!

Chicka CHICKA BOOM BOOM! 🌴🌴🌴

A classic piece of literature in kindergarten, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is written in rhyme through chant. It teaches the importance of the alphabet to our young learners.

Students work in centers finding the letters in their names.

Exploring Centers!

Centers are a class favorite. They help students learn different skills in a creative hands-on way. Centers allow children to grow in their social skills and help them engage in age appropriate activities that aid in their cognitive, social, and emotional development.

Carla Irvin
Mommy SPA is the Best!

We sure do love our moms, aunts, and grandmas at St. James! We celebrated Mother’s Day and our special ladies with kindergarten’s traditional Mommy Spa Day. Memories made on this day will be cherished forever. Happy Mother’s Day!❤️

Hair Station

Nail Station

Interview Station and photo bootH

MAssage and MakeUp

More Fun PhoTos ❤️

Carla Irvin
Fair Fun!

Our kinder kiddos took a trip to the Four States Fair. Their day started off watching a rodeo with bucking bulls and horses. They had so much fun rooting these cowboys on for their eight second rides. They also participated in several stations, including a lesson on how we get milk from a cow and how we turn cotton into everyday items we use. Our friends loved the homemade ice cream and all the fair treats. It was definitely a fun day of learning about the importance of agricultural and our beloved farmers. ❤️🚜

All Ready for the Rodeo!

Station Visits and Fun Photos!

Carla Irvin
Leprechaun Math

Today we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with many fun and engaging activities. Shamrocks and Leprechauns were the theme of the day. Graphing with Lucky Charms cereal was a BIG hit! My kinders counted, sorted, and graphed their cereal. These are important math skills for kindergarten. They were so excited to compare their graphs with their classmates. We ended the day with cookies and lucky leprechaun juice! 🍀🍀🍀🍀

Carla Irvin
Read aCross AMERICA Week

We celebrated Read Across America week in kindergarten. March 2nd was Dr. Seuss’s birthday and we had fun learning about the famous author Theodor Seuss Geisel, AKA Dr. Seuss. Kindergarten had a FUNtastic day on Friday stacking cups for our STEM project. STEM activities are a fun way to engage students to work on their problem solving skills. Group learning fosters learning and comprehension.

To help us celebrate Read Across America Week, Nancy Clark, a professional story teller, visited our kinder classes. She acted out folk tales and had the students help her by using character props and sounds. She definitely kept our little friends engaged with her mesmerizing stories. Thank you Mrs. Clark!

Carla Irvin