Dear Families:

We have begun our study of Ancient Egypt and since a highlight of any Ancient Egypt study has to do with mummification, we have begun our unit by mummifying chickens. Yes, chickens. Our chicken mummies will be drying in salt (we change it weekly) for about 40 days and then we will begin the wrapping process. There will be graphs constructed (weight of the chicken corpse each week) and a full written report of the process – so stay tuned. J We are in need of salt, so if you have any to spare, please send it in. I bought 10 containers, but that will only get us through the first week!

In addition to starting our chicken mummies this week, we will be taking a look at the geography of ancient Egypt and begin taking a look at the art and religion of this fascinating culture. I was fortunate enough to have visited Egypt for nearly a month in 1999, so I will bring in some artifacts from home as well. Next week, just in time for Halloween, we will create funeral masks casting each other’s faces in plaster cloth and building from there. By the end of the study, in December, students will create an Egyptian Museum, which will be the culmination of individual research projects that may include topics such as Hieroglyphics, the Afterlife, Gods/Goddesses, Daily Life, Art, Music, Games, Jobs etc… You will hear more about this as the unit progresses. For now, we will get the "lay of the land" and delve into the geographical reasons that Egypt was known as the "Gift of the Nile". If you have any resources/thoughts etc… please feel free to send them in – if you are interested, please visit our class blog for some cool links and updates on our projects.

http://bakermoretown.blogspot.com/

Also, look for a permission slip for a field trip to the Fleming Museum (where they have a real mummy and an excellent collection of ancient artifacts) and the Perkins Geology Exhibit – it will be coming home soon!

Speaking of field trips, in my last newsletter, I asked parents to email/write a note expressing your thoughts/concerns about fundraising and destination regarding an end of the year field trip. Thank you to those of you that responded – your input is appreciated.

Patty Riccardi and I have discussed the parental input we received and have decided to move ahead with a fundraising effort, but have not decided on a destination. We have decided that we will plan our field trip the way that most families plan their own excursions - we will set a budget (determined by the results of our fundraising) and then figure out what we can do with the money that we have. This will avoid the stress of not meeting a fundraising goal or having to "scale back" a trip because of lack of funds. Once we have a budget, the kids will have input into a destination/activities. Patty and I are willing to do a bus trip with a hotel overnight (with an educational purpose, of course), but we are also fine with a day trip and perhaps an overnight at the school.

We will be selling two products – scented soy candles and compact fluorescent light bulbs. Both products are items that are environmentally conscious and things that we think people would purchase normally (the light bulbs) or would be good for holiday gifts (candles). Later this week, a fundraising order form and candle samples will come home with your child – the form will include all necessary information such as prices, sizes, scents, who to make checks out to and when the forms are due. We are NOT encouraging students to sell anything door to door – just offering these items to family and friends will be fine. The soy candles will sell themselves – they are beautiful and they smell wonderful (A HUGE thank you to John Snell for giving them to us at cost so that we could make the most profit possible).

This week, we are also mixing our classes for math, so your child may have a different math teacher. We are focusing on prime numbers, factors and multiples – if your child knows their math "facts", particularly multiplication and division, this unit will go much more smoothly for them. We continue to work on memorizing these facts at school so that they are automatic, however, many students will need additional practice at home. Ask your child some sample facts, such as 8x7 or 42 divided by 7 and see how quickly they can answer. If it is not automatic, if they pause or need to think for more than a second, they need to practice. There are lots of free online math games you can download or have them make their own flashcards at home – my kids learned them in the car doing oral drills (why not? Where are they going to go?). Students will be applying these concepts to problem solving situations as well as multi-digit computation.

As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns –

Til Next Time,

Sara