The Great Kapok Tree

This week we are looking into why author's write. We have discovered three main reasons: to entertain, to inform, or to persuade. We just finished reading The Great Kapok Tree and discovered that Lynn Cherry wrote to inform us all about what is happening in the rain forest. Did you know that the rain forest is being slowly cut down? So here are looking at ways we can help save the rain forest and our great WORLD!

Pick up litter 
Replant trees once they have been cut down
Recycle paper, bottles, and cans 
keep our yards cleaned up 
Conserve our water
tell people all about the problems in the rain forest 

What can you help us do?

Bats...Bats...BATS

Guess what we are learning about this week....wait for it.......wait for it.....BATS! That is right, we are learning all about those dark, creepy, night time creatures. Well at least that is what everyone thinks about them...our goal this week is to figure out just what bats are up to these days! So here we go again...we have the questions and we are hoping that YOU have the answers! So...

1. Why do some bats eat fruit for dinner?

2. How do bats have babies? 

3. Why are most bats misunderstood today?

4. What is a bat's prey?

5. Do bats have bones?

Now...we only hope you can help us answer these!

Signs of Winter

The Legend of the Persimmon: 

This morning we learned all about the seed of a persimmon. Did you know the seed has helped people determine the outcome for the winter to come. We learned the seed can have 3 different shapes inside.

Fork- The fork represents a mild winter 

Knife-The knife means the winter will be full of ice! 

Spoon- The spoon represents shoveling out lots of SNOW! 

....What did we find this year in our persimmon?.....

You guessed it, we found that this year our persimmon showed a SPOON! We are hoping for lots of snow. We also took the time to see what the Farmer's Almanac said about winter here in Arkansas. Guess what, it completely agreed with our persimmon. So here we go...getting ready for a cold winter to come! BRRRR....

Help us out...if you have cut open a persimmon please share what you found! 

Jellyfish

This week we are studying all about the life of jellyfish. We have found that jellyfish are quite the interesting animal...they actually have no brain and no heart! WOW! Who would have guessed that an animal living out in the deep blue sea has no brain! So here is what we are wondering...

1. How do jellyfish live if they don't have a heart?

2. Can a jellyfish still sting you if it is not alive?

3. How does a jellyfish breathe?

4. Can jellyfish survive on land and water?

5. Why have do jellyfish have tentacles?

We would love for you to help us answer these questions. Also, if you have any pictures or videos please email to Ms. Race at amber.race@doverschools.net

Sea Turtles

This week we are learning all about different types of sea turtles and their habitats. We have discovered that sea turtles are very fascinating animals! Did you know that sea turtles can travel the ocean for 20 years in the current and then make their way back to the same beach they were born on to lay their eggs?! How cool is that!!! We are hoping for a little help from you...

1. How do sea turtles meet each other? 

2. What is the smallest type of sea turtle?

3. How do sea turtles sleep?

4. Why do momma sea turtles leave their eggs?

We are hoping you will be able to share with us some of these answers and possibly some more cool facts. We are looking for neat websites to look into and pictures to share with others! Thanks for you help! 

-Ms. Race's class

WOOT WOOT WOOT....3 day weekend!

Labor Day weekend!!! 

We are so excited because we all get an extra day off this weekend! Ms. Race's class just wants to wish everyone a very happy Labor Day weekend! Please be extra safe and enjoy the hot summer days! Also, Ms. Race is a little excited because this weekend kicks off college football....GO HOGS GO! 

WOOOO PIG SOOOIE! 

-Ms. Race's Class 

New school year...new adventure!

Welcome back!

A brand new school year is starting up in Ms. Race's class with all new students! We are so excited to share with you some new questions, ideas, and adventures. At Dover Elementary our mascot is the Dover Pirate, so this week we read some of David Shannon's books all about Pirates. Guess what we learned, our pirates are totally different then Mr. Shannon's pirates! 

We brush our teeth...his pirates have green teeth!

We all take a bath everyday....his pirates don't take baths at all! 

We wear and change our socks...his pirates don't even wear socks! 

We change our clothes all the time..his pirates wear the same thing day after day!

Some of us have to change our little sisters' and brothers' diapers....his pirates don't even know where to begin!

We talk like normal people...his pirates have their own pirate language! 

We live on land....his pirates live in a ship in the big ol' ocean! 

We read books and bedtime stories...his pirates don't read at all! 

We did however learn that his pirates just like us.....GO TO SCHOOL! 

Do you have any cool pirate books or pirate stories to share with us?