Our Trip to the Tallahassee Museum

Today we loaded up and headed to a capital city favorite, the Tallahassee Museum (more commonly called the Jr. Museum). Despite the chilly temperatures, we had a great day surrounded by north Florida nature. The bears were curled up to keep warm, the panthers were lounging about, and the turkeys looked frightened for their lives with the holidays looming around the corner! Ms. Sandy taught our class about about the Earth's waters and we even took the nets down to the lake and gathered wetland organisms. We had a great day in our own community! If you haven't taken a family trip to the Tallahassee Museum, it is a fabulous way to get out and explore the great outdoors!

From Trash to Critters

In celebration of America Recycles Day we made creative critters out recyclable items in our classroom. The kids got really crafty and we even had to pull out the hot glue gun! We hope that each of you recycle at home and at work! Here are some benefits of recycling published by the U.S. EPA:

Benefits of Recycling
Recycling protects and expands U.S. manufacturing jobs and increases U.S. competitiveness.
Recycling reduces the need for landfilling and incineration.
Recycling prevents pollution caused by the manufacturing of products from virgin materials.
Recycling saves energy.
Recycling decreases emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change.
Recycling conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals.
Recycling helps sustain the environment for future generations.

So remember the next time you go to throw something away, can you find another use for it??

What Books Do for Us...

We are reading a book right now called Listen. It has been chosen as a Sunshine State Award winning book. It has a great message about the relationship between humans and animals. As I read aloud to the class about a adolescent girl who is trying to tame a wild dog, not because she wants a pet, but because she wants a friend, I realize that is true for most of us. Our pets are one of our closest friends. My dog, Sis, is a great walking companion. Although she has very short legs compared to me, she tries hard to keep up. She brings a smile to my face, and is just down right cute!

I hope that you have an animal in your life that brings laughter into your life! Take time to cuddle up with your pet, and read a good book! Practice makes us better readers!!

Congrats to Michael and Cassie!

Congratulations to two excellent spellers. Michael and Cassie represented our class in the fifth grade spelling bee! I was quite proud of them, and I know their classmates were too!

Take a Veteran to School Day

The fifth grade was honored to have over 20 veterans take part in our Take a Veteran to School Day. Several students in our class invited family members and friends to come and join in the festivities. You can read more about our Take a Veteran to School Day at http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20081111/NEWS01/811110320. After the assembly Congressman Allen Boyd, a Vietnam Veteran, came to speak to our class. He spoke about his time in the service, as well as his job as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The students had a lot of great questions for him, and he did an excellent job answering them too!

Happy Veterans Day to all of our heros!

Halloween Visit!

A few special guests stopped by our classroom on Friday, my niece Pearce, my brother, and my sister in law! Pearce is 21 months going on 11 years old! She had a great time checking out what the "big kids" were doing, gave out some hugs, and of course did the Gator chomp for all! It was so good to have family in town, and it is always a treat to have them come visit Gilchrist. My brother and I are both Gilchrist Grizzlies, and his 5th grade classroom is our classroom! Thank you Witters Family for the Halloween treat!

The Moon Isn't Made of Cheese...It's Made of Oreos!

Last week we joined together with our 3rd grade science buddies to review the eight phases of the moon. We used our SMART Board to complete an interactive simulation of the moon's phases, and then we got down to the good stuff. Students were able to recreate the different phases by using Oreo cookies. We had a great time, and also learned something! Make sure you are keeping up with your moon journal each night! Extra Credit for any students that can tell me the diameter of our moon in kilometers.