FEBRUARY...MY FAVORITE MONTH!

MAD HATTER'S TEA PARTY...Friday, February 12 at lunchtime

We will have a Mad Hatter's Tea for our Valentine Party. Children will be invited to create & wear the craziest, wackiest hat they can imagine! (Okay, maybe not too off-the-wall!) We will have a 'tea party' luncheon - mini-sandwiches, bite-sized desserts, a fondue fountain, and plenty of tea to drink!

We will need LOTS of volunteers to pull of this adventure!  Please mark your calendars - we'd love to have you in class!

ACTION PROJECT - BIRTHDAY BAGS!

With my 40th birthday approaching, I have been trying to come up with a cool way to celebrate.  Running the Colorado Marathon just proves that I'm not all together upstairs. :)  Seriously, 26.2 miles is like running halfway to Denver.  That's just nuts.

I have shared with our class my desire to do something to honor my birthday, yet do something that will make a difference.  I have decided that I'd like to model ACTION for my students by creating BIRTHDAY BAGS for homeless students in our community.  IB promotes student-initiated action - and I am hoping that my action idea will help the children realize that action does not  always have to be  about saving an endangered animal or collecting money to send to another country.  Action is needed within our own community - and we can impact those around us.

This idea is borrowed (and modified) from a project the McGraw Student Council participated in when I was a Student Council adviser.

The Coloradoan recently published a statistic that said there are nearly 700 students identified in Poudre School District that are in 'unstable' homes - meaning that they are homeless. 

My goal is to create a minimum of 40 Birthday Bags for homeless elementary school students in PSD.  Each Birthday Bag will consist of items a child would need to have a birthday celebration - a small gift, a coupon for a birthday dessert from local stores, and small 'favors' that the child can share with his/her classmates at school.

I love my birthday and I remember having fond memories of celebrating my birthday as a child.  I was born on George Washington's birthday and always thought I was pretty darn lucky to have a holiday on my birthday to celebrate.  With our current economy and this high number of homeless students in our district, my hope is that these Birthday Bags will help create a special memory for children in our community.

My hope is to have our class assist me every step of the way to achieve my goal.  I would like the children to help me make a plan and execute the various steps to create the birthday bags.  I believe this will allow the children to have a hands-on part in the project, as well as learn how to plan viable steps to reach a goal.

It will feel good to give to those in need.  :)

HAPPY 2010! It's SPEEDY quick from here on out!

I told the children we have less than 5 months left together - and we have lots and lots to accomplish between now and then!  Time has been flying – and we’ve been learning new stuff every step of the way. The kids are at an AMAZING point in the school year.  They are starting to make connections between all academic areas, they are incredibly independent, and they are HILARIOUS!  I laugh all the time at the (inadvertent) one-liners I hear all day!

...UPDATE ON PLANNERS... 

WHO WE ARE - HAPPY, HEALTHY KIDS

CENTRAL IDEA:  People can learn skills to develop their physical well-being.

LINES OF INQUIRY:

        · Developing healthy habits regarding nutrition and exercise

        · Skills that impact health

I believe the children are enjoying this planner because a) we've been outside almost every day, b) we've been running, stretching, singing and 'dancing' (?) to the "Hokey Pokey Aerobics" and "The 12 Days of Fitness" daily, and c) we're always on the move!

Our class has made a pact that we will try to make subtle changes in our daily habits to encourage good physical health.  February is the 'Schools on the Move' Challenge - and we're motivated to have 100% participation from our class.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!  We are hoping to have as many of our classmates as possible join us for the first 'Healthy Kids Run' on Sunday, May 9.  Winners of the 'Schools on the Move' Challenge will be announced and the kids can cheer me on as I finish the Colorado Marathon.  I encourage all families to get out and participate in the Healthy Kids run series.  My son, James, has completed every run series (8-9 runs each year) since Kindergarten.  Now, as a 4th grader, he's determined to run a half-marathon and participate in the PSD Elementary Track Meet.

Next up...WHERE WE ARE IN PLACE AND TIME

CENTRAL IDEA:  Communities Develop Over Time

LINES OF INQUIRY: 

     • a study of a local community

     • similarities and differences of two communities

     • changes in the natural environment of a community

This planner is all about HISTORY.  It's my all-time FAVORITE!  Here are some upcoming events to be aware of:

- BOXELDER DAY...February 11

We will reenact life 100 years ago in a one-room schoolhouse.  Children will have the opportunity to do the 3 R's - Reading (from McGuffy Readers), 'Riting (calligraphy & penmanship), and 'Rithmetic (lots of ROTE memorization).  We will learn about the structure of the school day - as well as the games children played.  Children will also be invited to dress in time-period fashion.  It should be a hoot!

- CITY MODEL PROJECT...late February

Once we get back into our history planner, the children will have a month to create a city model project.  They will be required to work on Standard 5: Research - with a presentation to follow.  Once the city models are complete, we will plat out the City of Fort Collins on our classroom floor and use our mapping skills to lay them out.

- SURPRISE HISTORY FINALE...first part of April

As our culminating activity for our history planner, the children will present a finale of instrumental characters and events in Fort Collins' history.  It will be a compilation of Fort Collins' trivia and catchy tunes.  I'm working on the logistics in my head.  I will have some crazy idea, I'm sure! We are aiming to present our finale to you by the FIRST PART OF APRIL.  (We have lots to learn and prepare between now and then!)  If you're planning any vacations for that time of year, please let me know so I can work diligently to plan this event when all children will be at school.

HANGIN' AROUND OUR CLASSROOM

ALLITERATION IN IT'S FINEST

Can you say 'Plethora of Patterns' five times fast?!?

I want to know why I can't pull off an outfit like that and be so cute!

THE WEEK BEFORE WINTER BREAK...

...our teacher managed to contract a 'food-borne illness'.  (Why does that SEEM to sound better than 'food poisoning'?)  We were busy, busy, busy - and loving every minute of it!

VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS

 

After our visit to the Avery House, we had the opportunity to create many of the Victorian treasures that were on display.  We made gilded nut ornaments, pomander balls, paper chains for our classroom tree, angel ornaments, and cones that were used like stockings (to be filled with nuts, candies, and goodies).


CITY HALL WITH LISA POPPAW

We were fortunate to visit City Hall and meet Lisa Poppaw, the Fort Collins City Council member for District 2.  She showed us around City Hall, gave us a private tour of the Council Chambers, taught us about the 'Green Screen', and explained what the City Council does and how each councilperson represents the area in which s/he lives.  The highlight of our visit was being able to sit in the council chairs and pretend that we were leading a City Council meeting!

 

DOWNTOWN FORT COLLINS

POP QUIZ: 

Why was the Opera Galleria built?

What is something interesting about the Opera Galleria?

Can you name the building in the mural?

 AUSTIN'S AMERICAN GRILL

Instead of having a typical holiday party, our class went to Austin's Downtown for lunch.  In preparation for our luncheon, we practiced our best manners and learned how to properly set a table.  We donned our finest apparel and enjoyed the company of our classmates and families.  The Austin's staff was INCREDIBLE.  They served us quickly and efficiently.  We are thankful that they allowed us to invade their restaurant for a leisurely lunch.

GRAHAM CRACKER COMMUNITY

 

 WELCOME TO FORT CAREY!

Where the air smells sweet...

         The homes are edible...

And the citizens who live there know what it means to have a good time!

 

Our summative assessment for our FORT planner (Families Organization Rules Togetherness) was to create our own community.  We created a graham cracker community that had the five areas most common in a community - rural, recreational, residential, commercial, and  industrial.

 

Fort Carey was designed according to the placement of the river.  We learned that communities are dependent upon a water source.  Fort Carey had all the amenities of a 'Choice City' - a hair salon, bakery, museum, zoo, mountains to hike & bike, police station, and shoe factory.

Many thanks to all the parent volunteers who came in to help with our graham cracker community - and a heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated the items we needed to create our masterpieces!

BUDDIES...We learn while we're having FUN!

 

We are fortunate to have 5th Grade Buddies.  We are paired with Mrs. Babcock's class.  We alternate classrooms to visit each week - and we get to do some great activities together!

Mrs. Babcock planned for us to learn about CHROMOTOGRAPHY.  We made these ultra-cool holiday lights out of coffee filters.

 

Mrs. Carey showed us how to make 3-D snowflakes using symmetrical cuts on a triangle.