An exciting Friday...

First Mrs. Hansen brought her family in for show and tell!

 being around all these big kids can be kind of frightening 

 what do you think mom???

 Not so much for this little guy.. he was ready to find a desk and stay for the year.

 there was a little laughter...

 joining the big kids for a spelling game

 look at those cheeks!!!

 showered with gifts

 There is Mr. Hansen

 This just totally cracked me up..why do moms always get all the garbage handed to us? If we are in the room it is a given that  our family will hand us the garbage!!:-)  

Then it was on to Agricultural Day

 The kids had four stations they visited. Beef, Dairy, Forestry, and Horticultural.

 They asked so many good questions.

 The Crayfish

 Friday was also the start of the science project on crayfish. They are observing these crustaceans for three weeks. So far I have learned..

They can be mean

They only need to eat every two weeks

They don't like each other and they will kill one another...and eat them too

They like it dark

 This was the mean one(well one of them)

 These are the houses they have to keep them from fighting each other

 This is how you pick them up if you are chicken

Friday was a great day to be a third grader

The Planetarium

SPEAKING OF FIELD TRIPS!!

Reminder:

May 12th: Olmsted Historical Museum(Morning)

May 16th: All day to Mystery Caves

End of school:-( Picnic lunch Friday June 3rd at Valleyview Park.

The excitement started with a picnic lunch in the classroom. Outside picnic lunches are a casualty of Minnesota spring...

I wanted to share with you the praying mantis exhibit they are watching in science. Hopefully soon they will have 100+tiny babies to watch.

Then it was on to the bus!

They were so excited to be going on a field trip! 

 There was lots of entertaining and silly posing on the short bus ride to Mayo. 

 Once we arrived there we were escorted into the tiny circular room with a large white dome. The dome is actually kind of like a giant smart board. The room itself is probably 30 feet in circumference with about 50(very comfy) chairs in it. 

In the center is the machine that projects the stars and planets. The astronomy teacher that leads the class is so good at what he does. I just had to video a portion of it to share so you could hear his voice and tone with these kids.

He starts by softly dimming the lights and projecting blue light for them to get adjusted to the dark. 

There is a time when he simulates the sky without and environmental light(streetlights, etc) and it is incredible! Quite possibly one of the most peaceful moments I could imagine. 

Then it was back to school! 

Owl Pellets

Owl Pellets , a set on Flickr.

Here is a slide show of the kids dissecting pellets.