Grandfriend's Day - April 2011

I was so proud of my students. There was a morning full of tasty treats, lovely singing, and shared learning! Each student acted with kindness, and maturity. Grandfriends made our day special and, I think, we made their day special too! Thank you for coming!

We served our Grandfriends some cheese and crackers snack.

We interviewed our Grandfriends about their travels around the United States.

They helped us learn more about the United States.

We asked questions about the state's climate, geography, and state parks.

It was fun to hear their travel stories!

Which states did Grandfriends go to as a child?

When we posted all the various states that our Grandfriends visited,
we were very close to getting to all fifty states!

Students were happy to share a Grandfriend for the day!

We felt admiration while we were learning.

Each child interviewed a guest.

Thank you for coming!

It was a fun morning!

Fifty States Unit

We began our new social studies unit with much excitement. This was the beginning of learning about the Fifty States and the much anticipated State Float Parade. We started by learning about the globe, the continents, and the location of the equator and other parts of the globe. We then discussed the idea of resources because the next part is to research a state and answer the essential question: How has your state successfully used its resources? We chose a state to research and off we went. We are working on the State Float packet at home, and in school we are learning the location of all fifty states. Some of us are challenging ourselves to learn the state capitals as well. We will write a travel brochure at school and read these travel brochures to you during the State Float Parade. We can't wait to show you what we have been working on. See you on May 24th!  

The Five Chicks are now Five Pullets

Our chicks have grownup enough to call them pullets, young hens that haven't yet laid eggs. They are healthy and enjoyable. The seem to peck at everything in their brooder. The brooder is now at 70 degrees during the day. We are getting them ready to go to their outdoor coop. We bring them clover, dandelion, and an occasional worm. They love grapes and laying together in the afternoon. When they are not resting or pecking. You can often find one or two of the pullets roosting on the edge of the brooder. When it is okay with Tr. Jen, we allow the pullets to jump to our legs and we can pet them. They still poop a lot and make a fuss occasionally. We love them and are very proud to have them in our classroom.

The pullets have been raised by these third graders. 

The are very comfortable being petted while sitting on someone's leg.

See how much I have grown!

Cole has a knack for being just quiet enough or gentle enough for our pullets to easily come to him.

It is strange at first to have a pullet on your leg.

But you get used to it and soon it feels normal.

Annenberg Theater Field Trip

Other than it being a rainy day, we couldn't have asked for anything better. We had lots to do inside with our friends. Some of us did crafts, watched entertainers, and some had the patience to wait in line to get their faces painted. We found a relatively nice spot (under the cherry trees is a bit nicer) to have lunch. The grand finale of the trip was watching the dancers in the Dance Theater of Harlem. These dancers walked us through the basics of ballet. Our own Lara got up on stage and showed all of us a few dance moves of her own. It was a fun day with many good memories. 

We were entertained.

We were active.

We tried things ourselves.

We had our faces painted.

There were jugglers!

We ate lunch.

We got ready to watch the amazing presentation of the Dance Theater of Harlem.

Poetry Slam

Note: We are still working on uploading all the video clips. The following poets are available now: Henry, Cole, Chloe, Genesis, Mekkhi, Lara, Autumn, and Tr. Meg.

Today, Third Graders shared their poems during our Poetry Slam. We heard funny and heartfelt poetry, and shared examples of poetic devices we learned during our poetry unit.

Some examples are:

• Alliteration - "Lara licks a lollipop." 
• onomatopoeia - meow
• Rhyming - "You know we always try, to protect it from the dye." 
• Simile - "Summer is like a hot cup of tea." 
• Metaphor - "Baseball is a big white cake with a topping of fans." 
• Personification - "The trees shiver in the wind."

The poetry slam highlighted all the learning we did and our growing comfort with literal and figurative use of words. We welcome you to watch the videos of the children's performances.

Some videos were recorded on a flip camera and some on an iPhone, hence the different sound levels and separate video clips.

Plaza de Amigos

el colmado

Today was Plaza de Amigos. Third graders practiced speaking spanish in a simulated plaza. They were a little nervous at first, but soon welcomed the challenge and enjoyed the festive event. There were five stores: el colmado (supermarket), la clinic (doctor's office), la libreria (the book store), los helados (ice cream store), and las artesanians (souvenir shop). Each child had to ask a question in spanish. The store owners (the older students) responded in spanish. Third graders worked through the lists that Sra. Ayers gave them and collected stickers at each shop. At the end, they received a burrito (little burro) from the artsanians' shop. We were also treated to a delicious lunch provided by many parents. Thank you for all your support! It was a successful day!

los helados

la libreria

la clinica

Sra. Ayers was great help, but only as needed!

las artesanias