Author: dgeyer

We hopped on the bus and headed out to Enoshima Aquarium last week! The weather was warm and we had a super trip. Students learned about marine animals, ecosystems, and of course penguins! 🐧

…and a moment of zen.

Generally, I’m a big meanie and do not allow children to throw things in the classroom. However, I make an exception for the game Snowball! Between rounds of problem solving in math, grammar, or other areas, students get to crumple up their papers and throw “snowballs” in the classroom until the music stops. Then, everyone picks up a snowball, unwraps it, and completes another round of the worksheet activity. When finished, we ball up the paper again and have another snowball fight! ❄︎

The latest Fun Day had a messy theme – slime! Students created slime buddy characters, wrote stories about them, made Gloop or Oobleck, watched a funny movie, and of course, played with slime.

In addition to working in our Math in Focus textbooks, we do many math activities outside of the books, too. For example, we create interactive notebooks, collaborate in small groups with manipulatives, or play games with partners.

Boy did we have fun at Christmas time! I posted about some of the Christmas activities before the New Year, but there were also pics that didn’t make it up on the blog before the Great Blog Meltdown of 2023. 😆

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Outdoor Snacktime

It is nice to change things up sometimes. We had a little outdoor snacktime on the Plaza Playground.

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Judy “Bloom”

Over the Winter Break our classroom Christmas cactus, Judy Bloom, bloomed! She is named after the beloved children’s book author Judy Blume. This year our class read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume and it quickly became one of our favorite books.

One of 3G’s student hero jobs is to be the botanist. Each week our botanist cares for Judy Bloom, our tall cactus Reggie (short for Reginald Merriweather), and our aloe plant Kyle and his little brother Kevin.

The Elementary School Student Council (ESSC) is selling candy-grams for Valentine’s Day to raise money for UNICEF and Yokohama Children’s Hospice. These special notes can be purchased for ¥50 each from now through February 9th. Students can write a message to a friend, teacher, or staff member. Then the ESSC will add a little candy and deliver the candy-grams on February 14th. 💝

I apologize for the lack of updates on our blog. I maxed out the storage after posting several years of 3G excitement and I was struggling to get past some technical hurdles. However, we are back up and running now. 💻

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Reading Nonfiction

Understanding how to read nonfiction text is a critical skill we’re learning in 3rd grade. Students learn how to navigate a nonfiction book to find specific information. We also share our new knowledge by teaching each other.

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Thanksgiving Gifts

I was so lucky to receive Thanksgiving gifts from my class this year! I believe this is the first time I ever received presents on American Thanksgiving. There were many tasty autumn treats and a beautiful collaborative card. I am thankful for these children every day of the year. 🦃🍂🍄

3rd grade executed an amazing performance at the Elementary School Christmas Production on December 1st. You can relive the magic on Saint Maur’s YouTube Live Channel here.

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Find these shots and more in this folder of pictures captured by student photographers, Ms. Fürstenau, and 3G parent Paul Zomerdijk.

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Saint Maur Spirit Week – Dec 11-15, 2023

Saint Maur celebrated Sports Day on Friday, November 3rd. Students, teachers, and parents enjoyed friendly competition together with a focus on sportsmanship and fun. The weather was perfect for enjoying physical activities outside.

…and congratulations to the Blue Team for their 1st place trophy!

We had a blast at the Halloween Game Show sponsored by the Elementary School Student Council on October 31st. Students were allowed to wear Halloween accessories with their uniform that day. Some 3rd graders were picked to play a whack-a-ghost game. I was picked to play the teachers’ game, too. There was even a dance party!

*Videos courtesy of Mrs. Boyle watching from the balcony. Thank you!