The Things You Learn at Chuck E Cheese's

This weekend my family convened in Atlanta for my niece's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's. I have not been in this famous mouse's home in many, many years. Here are some things I learned in my two short hours there...

1. Mr. Cheese is making a KILLING!
2. Children like to run around and scream about nothing (of course I already knew this).
3. Parents love to take pictures of their children running around and screaming about nothing.
4. Three year old children should not play skee ball! Please refer to picture.

5. Earning 898 tickets will get you an item that cost about two cents.

All in all it was a great time. Happy Birthday Pearce!

As for the happenings of our fifth grade classroom. Well, we are busy bees right now. Pictures of our Black History Month door contest entry, and our Valentine's luncheon are to come later this week!

The Underground Railroad

For research purposes, here are the two sites we will be using:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/index.html

http://www.freedomcenter.org/underground-railroad/freedom-stations/scholarship/people/

More details to come!

The Midnight Ride of Who?

While reading up on our American History in language arts, we came across ole Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's iconic poem, The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. We've listened to it, read it, and dissected the meaning. All to find out that it is historical inaccurate. So since Longfellow didn't get the story quite right, we decided to take some creative licensing of our own.

The Midnight Ride of Rachel...



The Midnight Ride of Cole...




In math and science news, we learned the difference between mass and weight today. Make sure to ask your child if their weight would be the same if we took a field trip to the moon. Would their mass?

Would You Like a Spot of Tea?

We hosted a tea party for our science buddies on Friday. The third graders didn't know too much about the historic event that took place way back at the start of the Revolution. After filling them in on some history, we dressed them as Mohawk Indians. Make sure to ask your fifth grader why the Patriots (not Tom Brady) dressed in this peculiar disguise. Then we enjoyed a cup of tea together. A science buddies event would not be complete without learning something scientific! Students observed the three states of matter in their cup (solid - sugar cubes, liquid - tea of course, and gas - vapor). They also put their heads together to analyze density and buoyancy. We had a great time!



Here are some wonderfully creative social studies/writing projects my students did on key players of early colonization.

Lily's a Mama!

Lily went and decided to have her cub right when I boarded a plane to head out of town. Isn't that how it always happens. I came back to school to hear about the excitement from my students. You can see the new cub being born (don't worry it is not gross or graphic) on YouTube. I will let you go there yourself since there is such a variety of things on YouTube! The little baby cub sounds just like a little baby human. I'm proud of Lily for not needing medicine, ice chips, or any special breathing techniques. She just took care of business!

Here is what a new born black bear cub looks like...



I also realize now that I am one of the millions that love Lily. Look at the t-shirt design below...

Wildlife in Washington

I am here in our nation's capital, and have had a wonderful time visiting some of my favorite places and sharing time with some of my favorite faces. Washington has had a cold winter, just like we have had. However, we awoke on Saturday to a gorgeous blue sky which made our nation's monuments look like beacons on a long green alley. After walking to see the "new" World War II monument, we strolled down toward the Capitol and stopped at the Museum of Natural History. While waiting for an IMAX, we stepped into the Nature's Best Photography exhibit. It was AMAZING! I am grateful that we live on a planet Earth that is home to such a variety of splendid creatures. I am also grateful that I got to glimpse into the jungles, deserts, and forests and see what nature has to offer. I sure hope that we begin to really work to conserve this Earth for not just future generations of humans beings, but also future generations of glorious wild beings. Take a peek into the exhibit here.

I'm looking forward to being back with you all on Tuesday! Remember to work hard!

A New View and a Patchwork Quilt

Things have been busy around our classroom these days. It's that time of year that moments turn into minutes, minutes turn into hours, hours turn into days, and before you know it IT IS JANUARY 20TH!!! I've always heard that life flies by the older you get. I sure hope my little students are enjoying every minute!



We have a new view from our window. Our Discovery Garden is becoming a reality. Earlier this school year I received two grants to change the barren space outside our back door into a outdoor space where children could have hands on experiences with science. This past Monday our Student Council participated in a school beautification day. Parents, students, and teachers made our campus sparkle! Our view is improving by the day. What's coming next you might ask...a compost tumbler, a green house, a mural, and the list goes on!





We have also completed our classroom heritage quilt. It is not a "true" patchwork quilt, but I think it is pretty darn nifty! I am a novice sewer, but maybe one day I will join the quilt making club. Each child contributed a quilt square to highlight their heritage.