Technology and Tebowing

Along with the festivities of the day we also met up with our science buddies to get comfortable with the IPads. Students were able to watch short videos on the states of matter.



I also saw someone Tebowing today! Got to love it!

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Tiny presents

Did you receive a tiny gift for doing something kind or responsible?
Did you know that doing that everyday is possible?

Say please and thank you, hi and bye;
and you might bring a tear of joy to my eye!

Place your package in the cup tomorrow,
and you will receive a night of no sorrow (or what your teacher calls homework).

Love,
Tinkerstein

P.S. Have you noticed that my typing and spelling skills have improve?. I've been taking an online class on my ride to the North Pole each night. It would be totally boring without something to do!

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Critics' Corner

We had a great time at the movies on Friday night seeing Hugo. We hate that everyone couldn't make it, but at least we got to read the book together! If you have seen the movie, please leave a comment whether you preferred the book or the movie. If you preferred the book, then tell us what the movie lacked. If you preferred the movie, tell us what you think the book lacked (other than popcorn!!).

If you haven't seen the movie, and don't want us to spoil any of the fun...THAN DON'T READ THE COMMENT SECTION!

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What's the Matter?

Tomorrow we will start our unit in science on matter. The problem is that matter surrounds us all day, so it is hard to limit our discussion to just science time. Remember from Friday's discussion we learned that matter is anything that takes up space. So what's the matter?

Click here to play an easy and fun game!

Are you hooked?

Our class started a book study today on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brain Selznick. Thanks to our FABULOUS media specialists, Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Gibson, for having faith in my crazy ideas and purchasing a class set of beautiful hardback books for us to get lost in. We are really enjoying the author's words and artwork already. We hope to finish it this week and head to the newly released movie soon!

Comment on what you think it would be like to live alone in a train station at Hugo's age.

The First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Yesterday we met up with our science buddies to learn about Squanto's suggestions to the Pilgrims. One of his suggestions included grinding up fish to use as fertilizer in their soil. This helpful hint lead to plentiful crops, and was life saving for the Pilgrims.

Here is a picture of our Squanto snack ingredients. A pudding cup (mud/dirt), Swedish Fish (fish of course), an Oreo (to be crushed and used as top soil), and candy corn (the abundant harvest!).



And the yummy treat when all the ingridents are mixed up!


To learn more about the first Thanksgiving click here.

Thomas Time

We miss you!

Sparks Fly!

Click here to see more about Ben's "inventurous" spirit!

A tribute and a tasty aquifer

We started off our Thursday with our 4th Annual Take a Veteran to School Day. Four years ago, I wanted to encourage students to bring a veteran guest with them to school. That year we had around 14 visitors. This year, we had over 100 visitors to our campus. The day began with a parade filled with pride. Students held signs, sang patrotic songs, and waved flags. Then we headed into the cafteria for an assembly, and eventually made our way to the media center for a cookie and punch reception. What a wonderful morning it was.




We finished up the day making edible aquifers. They look interesting to say the least. The green food coloring represents pollution. My students could easily see that pollution can make it to our groundwater pretty quickly.

The face of cancer

Oh what a great strong and smiling face it is. Thomas is a fighter, and we are all cheering him on! We can't wait to see him soon!

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Thomas Time - Happy Halloween!

It's Friday, got to get ready for the weekend!

Get ready for meeting with our science buddies tomorrow. We will be learning the science behind pumpkins. Also think about your hypothesis in regards to your water cycle bag. Will there be condensation in your bag?

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Is your water bottle full of dinosaur tears?

Remember that all the water that is on Earth is all that there will ever be. So was your last cup of water from a dinosaur tear, or maybe from Benjamin Franklin's cup of tea? Before we start our journey through the water cycle test your knowledge by watching this short video, reviewing some vocabulary, and taking a quiz. Just click here to start your review.

I'd like to introduce you to...

My friend Flat Stanley. More information to come, but start thinking about where you would like to send him!

Thomas Time

We're learning all about stars in science Thomas, and we have a song for you!

Underlander or Overlander?

We are currently reading the first book in the Gregor the Overlander series. If you could choose to be an Overlander or Underlander what would you be? Would you be a gnawler, spinner, flier, or human??

Olympic Spirit

The Olympics are a special time at our school each year. Especially for our fifth graders. We had a great time on Thursday and Friday. The weather was nice, and so was the sportsmanship! Go Bermuda!!

October making you batty?

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Halloween is in the air! Follow the step by step directions here.

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Thomas Time

Our attempt to videotape Thomas Time this week was a bust. I would like to blame it on the camera, but I think it was the user (me!). Thomas, this week we met with our 3rd grade Science Buddies and decorated cookies to look like cells. See the third graders are studying life science, and we just wrapped up learning about microscopes. So what better way to celebrate science than through eating. You can make one at home too! We used sugar cookies, and different types of candies to represent an animal cell's organelles. Yum! We're thinking of you!

Happy Fall

Happy first weekend of fall. Doesn't feel like fall around these parts, but we will enjoy our weekend just the same. Don't you wish this was your driveway, or a road leading to a very special place?

I imagine that at the end of the dirt road is a small rust colored cabin with pumpkins on the brick steps, and a beautiful wreath of the door. There is of course a pond out back with a small boat pulled up on the bank. The windows of the cabin are open (because there is 0% humidity in my imaginary place!) and I smell pumpkin chocolate chip cookies in the oven.

Leave a vivid comment about what you imagine is at the end of this dirt road for extra credit in writing!

Somewhere over the rainbow

We studied our spelling words this week using the rainbow method. Tons of fun and really colorful. All you need is a three to five colored pencils (different colors), your spelling words, and some paper. Write on top of each other so that you practice the spelling, and look what you get. A rainbow of colors! Good luck on your spelling test tomorrow.

Spelling words artwork done by Adriana!

Thomas Time

Just in case you didn't believe that we were paid endosers of Chick Fil a!

Another crazy balloon experiment

My students shared their at home science projects today. They were great! I love when children find science to be fun. It usually just takes some playing! Here is one student with a great balloon trick. All it takes is a balloon, some liquid dish soap, and a skewer. He lathered the skewer with soap, then blew up the balloon, and put a dab of soap on the bottom and top on the balloon. After making our observations, we formed a hypothesis. We were split on what was going to happen. Guess what...the balloon didn't pop! Research why and leave a comment for extra credit.

Thomas Time

Hey Thomas, we miss you! We were heading out to recess the other day and wanted to say hi! We hear that you are also trying to get out and exercise. We hope you are enjoying some of these cooler temperatures. Thanks for your cool thank you note!

Magic Balloon

Friday afternoon we squeezed in a quick, but fun science experiment. We called it magic balloon, but there is nothing magic about it. It's purely science! With a mixture of baking soda and vinegar we were able to watch our bright green balloons inflate before our eyes. If you haven't tried this easy experiment at home, give it a shot. Leave a comment if you know why the balloon inflates. Remember Houdini has nothing to do with it!

Thomas Time

This year our class is very fortunate to be full of 23 unique and special kids. One of them happens to be Thomas. We were lucky enough to have him for the first day of school, but he will need to spend some time away from school to work on getting strong and healthy. Thomas does not want to be away, and we don't want him to miss a thing. So we will dedicate some time on our blog as often as possible to Thomas. Thomas, we are thinking about you often. Sending you lots of rays of sunshine and we hope you enjoy seeing us! We will see you soon!! Love, Your Class

What is a scientist?

Our class has spent the last couple of days pondering this question. My students looked completely shocked when I informed them they there were in fact scientist. They looked around and didn't seeing any dorky people in the class with lab coats on, or crazy hair (as pictured above). They assumed that their new fifth grade teacher must be lying to them. Slowly they are realizing that we are all in fact scientists, and you don't have to wait to be "grown up" to be one. They're currently researching some different careers in science and what it means to be a scientist.

So, what do you think a scientist is? Extra credit if you leave a comment!

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You gotta be famous for something!

Our first week of school is going fabulously. We are spending some time getting to know one another, and getting used to the swing of things in fifth grade. Today we took a pop quiz about me and about our classmates. One of the questions was..."True or false, someone in our class has never been to Chick Fil a. Two new little fifth graders reluctantly stood up, as the class gasped. Well, now they're famous. I did hear others say, "Well at least you won't die of a heart attack!" Another day in the life of a fifth grader!

Happy First Day!

Can't wait to start off another great school year. Sleep tight my new fifth graders, and I will see you in the morning!

I heart school supplies!

Here is our school supply list for the year! Happy shopping!

i inch binder with pockets inside
package of tab dividers
notebook paper
composition notebook
pencil box or bag
3 duo-tang (paper) folders
markers
highlighter
antibacterial wipes
pencils
plastic homework folder (accordion style)
glue
personal pencil sharpener
colored pencils
scissors

Welcome to a new year!

I am looking forward to meeting 22 new students and their families this afternoon. We have a very fun year ahead of us!!

Can you believe it?

The month of August kicks off on Monday. Time flies when you are having fun! With just about three weeks until the start of school, here are some things that I suggest you fitting in before the first bell rings.

*Dust off your multiplication flash cards.
*Read a couple more good books and add them to your AR reading log. Can't find your log? Print a new one from the Gilchrist website.
*Wait to buy school supplies until after orientation on August 18th. But if you are DYING to pick up a few things (I love school supplies too!) then get items like notebook paper, pencils, markers, glue, scissors, pencil sharpener, and colored pencils.
*Do some family field trips to places like the Mary Brogan Museum, the Tallahassee Museum, the farmers market, etc. Local businesses and museums need our support.
*Spend the night with friends. Stay up too late, watch funny movies, swim, eat lots of watermelon, and enjoy being a kid!

Can't wait to meet my future 5th graders!

The joy of summertime