Nature Deficit Disorder

Have ya'll heard of this before? That the amount of time children (and this adult) are spending outside is becoming less and less, so of course there is a disorder for this problem. Well we got a good ole dose of nature today at the Tallahassee Museum (a.k.a. Jr. Museum for those native to the area). We saw and did lots of really neat things...

We moved our "wings" like an eagle.



We said, "GO GATORS!"



We learned that the roots of a Cypress Tree are called knees



We imagined what we would have looked like in the olden days



School looked very different in the 1800s



Many organisms lurk in the water around us



And finally, that everyone loves to play!

Look So Good You Could Eat Them!

We made plant cells out of cookies today with our science buddies in Ms. McKnight's class (my mom!). Please excuse the round shape, in fact plant cells have a more rectangular shape. Just ask your child about that. Our 3rd grade friends helped up design our cells using icing, Twizzlers, Life Savers, Sweet Tarts, sprinkles, and Sour Patch Kids. All of this candy represented parts of a plant cell of course! Make sure to ask your child what the difference between a plant and animal cell is.

What I saw this weekend

I headed to south Georgia this weekend with my family to celebrate my mom's birthday. We had a great time, but I learned some things along the way. Lake Blackshear, where we were staying, is a man made lake. That means that engineers had to build a dam to create this body of water. The lake was named after General David Blackshear, who built Fort Early here in the War of 1812 (we talked about this war last week). The lake was created in 1930 when the Flint River was dammed to provide cheaper electricity.

My niece Pearce and I sitting on the dock


On our boat trip around the lake



On our journey home from the lake we stopped by my husband's old farm. I snapped a shot of some honeybees doing their thing. Just a couple of weeks ago we learned about honeybees and even tasted their sweet treat! This is an example of symbiosis, a mutually beneficial relationship. The bees get nectar from the crops and in return the crops get pollinated.

Great News of the Week!

Our great news of the week is that we were awarded a grant from the Gulf Winds Track Club for a project that our fifth grade here at Gilchrist is going to do. You will learn more about it soon, but a hint is that it has to do with exercise and being kind to others!

Have a great week, and please email us! Our inbox is empty!

The Sweet Taste of Freedom!

Yep, your eyes are looking at a cake replica of the United States Constitution! I hate that didn't have my camera (I always have my camera!), so a cell phone picture will have to do. My Dad was our guest lecturer today. He did a great job discussing our nation's transition from British rule to freedom. Of course as a teacher and coach he knows that you really get kids' attention with sweets. He was greeted with cheers when he and the Constitution (cake) entered! Thanks Dad for that special treat!

Ahoy Matey!

Shiver me timber, these pirates are looking for some map skills. On their voyage of the sea they ran into a few islands.

Peace, Love, and Organs

Today is the International Day of Peace. Our students celebrated this day during special area with song, poetry, and pinwheels (ask them more about this!). Thank you to our special area teachers for making this day possible.

We used this day to kickoff Celebrate Freedom Week in our classroom. Have I mentioned before that I love U.S. History and all that it entails? Our class discussion revolved around, "What does freedom have to do with peace?" What a great dinner table topic!

On a completely different note, we are studying about organs in science right now. We hitched a ride on the Organ Trail today so that we could explore the systems inside our body. Click here for a great website to help you with your project. Do you feel like your brain is doing this sometimes?

Great News of the Week!

We have a few great news stories to share with you, but we need you to keep them coming in!

This week great things happened all around us, here are a few to share with you:

* A kind neighbor lends a hand to others in the neighborhood by mending clothes, and bringing goodies for the children.

* A group of middle schoolers no long stand by themselves at the bus stop, they have started talking, smiling, and even laughing (this is hard for middle school children!) as they wait for the bus.

* A family with no school aged children of their own sponsors three children to attend fall field trips.

Make it a great week,
Mrs. Whitaker's Class

Celebrate Freedom Week!

Why the red, white, and blue in September? Our class along with the rest of the United States, will be celebrating our freedom this week! Something that I feel that we all take for granted. September 21st through 25th is Celebrate Freedom Week, with the main focus on the Declaration of Independence. Check back with us throughout the week to learn more about good ole Thomas Jefferson and some other interesting facts about the Declaration. Remember to take time to cherish your freedom this week!

Cells and the Constitution

Today just happens to be the 222nd birthday of the United Statues Constitution. Happy Birthday! I love American History, I get that from my father, and times like today excite me. It excites me to think of the intellect, forward thinking, and perseverance of our founding fathers and of the framers of the Constitution. If you are an American History buff too, visit the National Archives site and the National Constitution Center site. Both are amazing!



Switching gears completely (unless you consider that the framers were made up of cells!), we made model cells today in science. Students decided on everyday items to represent organelles within animal cells. We got a lot of great information from Cells Alive. Do you know what a vacuole is???

Where The Wild Things Are

Yes there are a lot of WILD things in fifth grade, but today there was a rare (thank the Lord) exception. We had a snake visitor named Heidi. She and her owner Mrs. Bryan shared a ton of cool information with us about vertebrates, reptiles, and more specifically snakes.

Some of us that aren't scared of snakes had a little meet and greet with Heidi. (Note to self...don't let someone 1 1/2 feet shorter than you take your picture, you will look like a GIANT!)


Some others, were very brave to get up close and personal with Heidi



Then others could not be convinced, no way, no how! (Just look at that expression on his face, priceless!)



We also read a great book today with fabulous illustrations. The author, Arthur Dorros, does an excellent job of mixing fun words with actual science concepts. What if a fungus ate our school?

Our Great News of the Week!

We read all of the great news that you sent us, and we couldn't pick just one entry. We'll share with you news that brought smiles to our faces this week:

* A sister and her family visited a family member in the hospital after an accident and brought her a basket full of goodies, since she does nice things for others all the time. Good things happen to those who do good for others!

* A group of middle schoolers took time out of their busy lives and served food at a soup kitchen! Way to go guys!

* A Tallahassee volunteer spent her weekend in the magical place of Disney World as she chaperoned child cancer patients during a bonding trip. What a special place to bring such deserving children.

* A mom passed a child waiting for the school bus in pouring down rain, but turned around and stood with him under her umbrella until the bus came. Way to go mom!

* A neighbor passed out back to school goodies and notes of encouragement to children in her neighborhood.

* A customer in the Starbucks drive through had her coffee paid for by the person in front of her. After being short on patience, she realized that the wait was worth it!

Our class project can only continue with your help. Make sure to share those random acts of kindness sightings with us at great.news.grizzlies@gmail.com.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Bees Are Really Busy!

After learning about honeybees, a type of invertebrate which fall in the phylum of arthropods, we enjoyed some biscuits and honey this morning during science. What a nice treat courtesy of Reid's and Rachel's families. Honeybees are quite fascinating check them out here.



We also met with our 3rd grade science buddies from Mrs. McKnight's class (also known as my mom!). We set up a great experiment to see microorganisms at work. All you need are some bananas, yeast, sealable bags, and water. We're keeping our eye of these, and we will report back our conclusions.

All In a Day's Work

Today was busy, what am I talking about, every day is busy around here! We finished off our portrait board, some budding journalists had their work displayed, and Mrs. Crowell showed us a monarch caterpillar (which is going to turn into a beauty!).

We Were Curious?

Today in science we learned about the world of invertebrates. As a matter of fact 95% of the species of animals on Earth are invertebrates. Remember...that means that they don't have backbones. An annelid is a type of invertebrate. You will find a lot of worm type animals in this phylum. We were curious today about the "ring" around our friend the Earthworm. Drum roll please...it is called the clitellum. We hypothesized about what this "ring" could be, but come to find out it is a place where eggs are deposited. Believe it or not Earthworms are very helpful creatures to our world. If your curiosity is still swirling, here and here will slow your head down.

Share Your Great News!

Make sure that you submit some good news that you see going on around you to great.news.grizzlies@gmail.com. We are looking for random acts of kindness, strangers helping strangers, you catch the drift. We want to focus on all the great things happening around us all the time. Check on Mondays for our favorite submission from the week!

Supermodels!

As you know last week my students hammed it up for a photographer friend of mine! He did a great job capturing the kids' personalities. We will use these photographs to make an art exhibit in our room this week, but I had to let you see them too! If you would like to view them click on the link below. You can also order from the website! Thank you Gjergj at Volaj Photography!

The password is: whitaker (all lowercase)

http://www.imagequix.com/photog.php?id=Z9QAN9Z&ec=gilchrist