A Thanksgiving Treat!

Wow...I know you all have probably been wondering why our class blog has been so neglected lately! Lets just say we have been very busy in Room 8! I also got to have some fun as a bride to be and go to Austin for my bridal pics! So fun! So with that said, this blog post is going to be a big jumbleof things we have been doing in the last few weeks! Take a look...

We celebrated our 50th day of school by traveling back in the 1950's! It was so fun!

We had so much fun this week! We learned about life in the 1950's and compared it with today! The kids learned about Elvis, Thunderbirds, diners, poodle skirts, Hulahooping, and how to do the Bunny Hop and Twist! So.Much.Fun! We ended our 50's week by making good ol' fashioned Rootbeer Floats! Yum!

We also had a great time learning all about pumpkins! We read many non-fiction books about pumpkins, learned about the life cycle and had a good time measuring pumpkins! At the end of our pumpkin study, we used our 5 Senses and taste tested many different foods made out of pumpkins! We tried pumpkin seeds, pumpkin bread, pumpkin ice cream and of course, Pumpkin Pie! The kids then graphed their favorite and we looked at the results of the graph! What is your favorite way to eat pumpkin?

David measuring the circumfrence of his pumpkin!

How many cubes will it take to make the balance scale equal to the weight of the pumpkin?

We discovered that not all pumpkins weight the same!

We learned about balance scales and how to measure weight!

Willy carefully taste testing!

We are still enjoying our Secret Readers each week! Mrs. Yegyayan and Mrs. Novero surprised the class with some great read alouds!











We also spent a few weeks learning about our great countrys symbols! Each student made a non-fiction book about the symbols we have learned about really did a great job! We ended our study with our American Picnic! We have such amazing parent volunteers that came out and BBQ'd hotdogs and served lots of delicious treats! Each child dressed up as their favorite American symbol and presented it to the class. They did an EXCELLENT job and I couldn't be more proud! **Side note*** Yesterday the class made Thanksgiving placemats and wrote down what they were thankful for. One adorable student of mine wrote that she was "thankful for the Statue of Liberty!" Ha! Melts my heart! I am so glad learning about Lady Liberty really got to her! Too cute!

Jack as George Washington at war!

Jules as Betsy Ross!

Michael and his mom!

Natalie as the Bald Eagle

Luke as Abraham Lincoln!

Ethan as the Bald Eagle!

Daniel as the Bald Eagle!

Tyler as a Military Man!

Charlie as George Washington!

Jules and Willy!

Zoe as a goofball!

Margaret Ann as Betsy Ross!

Charlie and hid dad!



Good Amreican Citizens!



American Picnic 2011!

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for each student I have and am blessed to be their teacher! Have a great, restful break!

Gobble, Gobble,

Boo!

Is October really almost at an end?! Oh my word time is flying by!! We have had a lot of fun this month! We have studied about bats and pumpkins, American symbols, motion and force,and have experienced some BOO-TASTIC science!!

Our AMAZING PTA created a spooky science lab, and the kids Entered if they Dared! They had so much fun!

They talked about Dry Ice!

They investigated dry ice vs. regular ice! Which one would melt faster?

They learned how to make a spooky smoke! Just add dry ice to warm water!

This has to be my favorite! They used a secret Witched Potion (also known as Windex) sprayed their hands and hit the Golden Rod paper! The secret potion sucked all the blood out of their hand! It was so exciting!! Try this one at home!

Zoe was amazed!

Next, Daniel put his hand in the jar to see what he could find! Looks like nothing, but inside were Ghost Eggs! Polymer Crystals were in the water...the stuff inside diapers. You cant see them unless you dare to stick your hand in the jar!

The kids got to make Boo Bubbles! this was a mixture of dry ice, warm water and dish soap! When you popped the bubble, vapor was released!

This was such a blast! The kids have been talking about it for days! Our PTA is so wonderful!!

This week we have started learning about Motion in Science. We talked about what force is and how objects need a push or pull!

My firsties had to create a boat out of foil that they think would not sink! Next, we tested it out in a tub of water! Then, they had to move their boat using a force! Some of them were brave and tried to see how many crayons and cubes they could fit in their boat before it sank! It was fun getting our hands wet with this lesson!

 Did you all know that next Tuesday is the 50th Day of School!?!?!? Holy moly! Every morning in our calendar routine, we count how many days we have been in school! To celebrate the 50th day of school, next week our classroom will travel back to the 1950's! In your child's Friday Folder you will find a note talking about this special day! In an effort to travel back in time, we are asking the kiddos to come dressed in their best 50's clothing!!! ***Now, believe me, I know you all have your hands full with Halloween Costumes! PLEASE do not feel the need to go buy another costume for our 50th day celebrations! Get creative with the clothes you have at home!! I showed the class some pictures of 50s style clothing today...jeans rolled up, white shirts, poodle skirts, scarves around the neck...and I think with a little creativity, we will have a classroom full of kids ready to bunny hop their way into the 1950's!

Tomorrow is our Field Trip to Main Street Theater! Please remember to send a sack lunch and wear a VOE t-shirt if possible!

'Till next time....

Tooty Ta, Guest Reader and much more!

Hey y'all! Have I got a treat for you! Let me introduce you to the Tooty Ta! My firsties and I like to celebrate my favorite day of the week, FRIDAY, by doin' a little dance! Fridays bring such joy and excitement that we end the day dancing to the Tooty Ta. Take a look...

Isn't that just HILARIOUS??! And don't think Miss Axton doesnt get in on doing the Tooty Ta! I'm considering doing it as my first dance at my wedding! ;)

Another Friday Celebration is our Secret Reader! Last week we had  Mrs. Tekell, I mean "Holliakula" come to our class to read! Mrs. Tekell, Holliakula just got back from an amazing trip to Maui! Take a look at our secret reader! She came in costume and all! The kids were AMAZED!

Showing us a map of her trip!

Holliakula started off by asking a few questions about Hawaii to see what the kiddos already know. Here's a little of how the conversation went. I hope you find these answers as amusing as I did...
Q: Does anyone know an important person that was born in Hawaii?
Unnamed Student: Lady Gaga
Mrs. Tekell....well, I was thinking about President Obama!

Q: Does anyone know the capital of Hawaii?
Unnamed Student: Hallelujah?
Mrs. Tekell...close, Honolulu!

Q:Does anyone know the state fish of Hawaii?
Entire Class:...........
Mrs. Tekell: Humuhumunukunukuapua'a!!!
(Say that 10 times fast!)

The kids had so much fun learning and reading about Hawaii! We can't wait for our next secret reader!!

Conferences:
Conferences are NEXT week!! A reminder was sent home yesterday in your childs homework folder giving the date and time of your conference. Please make sure you are here on time as we only have 15 minutes per conference! We have early dismissal next Thursday and Friday!

Snack:
If you are able to donate snacks, we are in need! Feel free to send individually packaged snacks to school when you can! Thanks so much!

We are finishing up our Apple Unit and will have our Apple Day Celebration on Friday! Have you talked to your firstie about all the new fun apple facts we have learned?! Stay tuned for pictures!