The LaFontaine Letters: April 2013

Computer Time

We have recently been given the chance to have a weekly computer time. Every Wednesday we will use the computers throughout the day to aid us in our learning. Hopefully you all received an email from your child. In these emails it is your child's job to share with you what they are learning at school, one thing that they enjoyed at school that week, and a question for you. Please write back to your child! Ask him or her questions about school, tell them about something you'll be doing together, and answer the questions they ask you. Hopefully as time goes on our emails will get a little bit longer to you! The students will also work on their typing skills, math facts, blogs, reading, and learn about science and social studies while using the computers. We will also use them to complete several projects that we have coming up after Spring Break.

PJ and Jagger research the layers of the earth.

Kail and Miya work on their reading comprehension.

Logan reads about the layers of the earth.

Aidan works on reading.

Kohl and Ali read together.

Katie practices her math facts.

Maddox reads.

Zac and Maurizio work on their typing skills.

CJ learns about the moon while Madison reads.

Hunter works on his blog while Alyssa works
on her typing skills.

Tierney and Lorna

Allie practices typing.

Iyana works on typing correctly.

Market Day

Our Market Day went very well! The students had a great time running their businesses and using their money to buy products and services from one another. Some of the fifth and sixth grade classes even stopped by to buy some things from the different businesses. I was so impressed with how prepared everyone and with how responsible they were with their money on Market Day! After Market Day was complete, the students worked with their business partners to evaluate their business' success. They determined whether they made a profit or had a loss, and discussed what made their business successful and what could have improved their businesses. They also reflected upon how well they worked together with their partners and what they learned from the experience.

Katie and Nora with their business "The
Great Sugary Factory"

Hunter, Griffen, and Liam try to keep up with
the demand for milkshakes.

Tierney and Miya at their business,
"The Chocolate Tower"

Aidan, Zac, and CJ wait for customers at
"The Sports Palace"

Logan and Maddox display their products at
"Angry Bird Accessories"

Kohl and Jagger at"Paper Fill Fun"

Allie and Sarai wait for customers.

Maurizio and Hayden are ready for
Market Day to start at "Donut Land"

Ali and Kail are ready at "Origami Gami"

Iyana, Madison, and Jolina display their products

Aidan and PJ wait for movie goers outside
of "AMT Theaters"

Katie and Nora try to keep up with
the demands of the customers.

Lorna and Alyssa sell their tattoos.

Aidan and CJ sell baseball cards to sixth graders.

Kail shows off his purchases of the day.

Alyssa and Lorna are ready for business at the Tattoo Factory.

Zac, CJ, and Aidan count the money they made during
Market Day.

Alli and Sarai add up their money.

PJ and Aidan determine whether they had a profit
or a loss with their business.

Katie and Nora reflect on how their business did.

Logan and Maddox count the money they made.

Maurizio and Hayden discuss what worked well and
what didn't for their business.

Alyssa and Lorna look at their expenses and compare
that to the money they made during Market Day to
determine whether or not they made a profit or
had a loss.

Reflections on Mini Society.

Profit or Loss?

Mini Society Commercials

Some students chose to make commercials to advertise for their businesses. It cost $20 for a 15 second commercial and $40 for a 30 second commercial. We learned that we had to budget our money and decide what was most important to us to make our businesses successful. Here are the commercials that were created in our classroom:

Origami Gami Commercial

Mini Society Businesses

We learned a lot about what it takes to start a business. We learned that it takes a lot of planning, collaboration, time, and money! The students first had to create a Business Plan, which had to be approved by their parents and by me. Once they had their approval the students could start creating the things they would need to make their businesses successful: advertisements, commercials, products, and business signs. The students had to use the money that they've earned from their jobs to buy all of these things.