Week of December 8

The students have been hard at work on their ABC books for the nonfiction books they read for November.  Here is a mixture of facts from all of the ABC books. 

A is for Annie, a Jewish 11 year old girl in the Second World War. 

B is for born.  Albert was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany.

C is for crazy.  Zlata was crazy for peace because the war was driving her nuts.  She was wondering whether the war was ever going to stop. 

D is for daring.  Houdini was a daring man, as he took many risks. 

E is for education.  Education is very important for Malala.  She travels the world to make it possible. 

F is for fast food.  Fast food is really bad for you.  You should never eat it!

G is for Georgia.  It is a state and a country.  It borders Russia and Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

H is for horse drawn carriages.  Mozart had one in his final years (it cost a great deal of money), and can be called a coach too. 

I is for impromptu.  Maria had impromptu accidents.  Like in 1949 when she was performing Swan Lake her partner lifted her leg.  Then she trembled and fell over. 

J is for knowing when you get back from your job.  Many pet owners believe that their cats have extrasensory perception.  Your cat either (a) knows your schedule or (b) hears your car motor. 

K is for knowledge.  Albert died writing math. 

L is for liquid on glass.  Liquid sticking to glass is caused by surface tension. 

M is for mom.  The mom of Sini and Annie died 1 week before Hitler would have taken her away. 

N is for Nijinaska.  Maria's best ballet teacher was Madame Nijinaska.  Unlike all the other ballet teachers, she showed her how to do the ballet steps. 

O is for open minded.  Albert was open minded like a gate. 

P is for pilot.  Houdini was also a pilot before he became an escape artist. 

Q  is for Qatar.  Qatar borders U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia. 

R is for ridiculous.  A ridiculous amount of money is spent on fast food-about one trillion dollars. 

S is for sacrifices.  Zlata had to make lots of sacrifices during the war. 

T is for total simplicity.  Albert never used shaving cream. 

U is for Underbelly.  A cat shows his underbelly but attacks when  you rub it.  A sleepy cat will show its underbelly, a cat equivalent of shouting "Hey."  from the couch.  Your cat will probably look at you because it is exposing one of its weak spots.  Some cats like having their belly rubbed, if your cat lets you it probably likes you a lot. 

V is for visions with 2 eyes.  If you wonder why we only see one thing with two eyes, it's because one eye sees the object and the other perceives depth. 

W is for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Wolfie) was born on January 27, 1756 and died on December 5, 1791. 

X is for xtra fact:  Pakistan's border touches India, Iran, China, Afghanistan, and the Indian Ocean. 

Y is for youngest.  Maria was one of the youngest dancers in the Ballet Russe. 

Z is for zealous.  Mozart was zealous about music whenever he played it, composed it, or when he talked about it. 













 

Week of November 24

Don't Go Breaking My Heart!

The students received an excellent opportunity to check out sheep hearts, as part of our health systems study.  We had 2 expert doctors in to the class to show us all there was to know about the heart.  Most (but not all!) of the students enjoyed the dissection and were thrilled with the chance to explore. 

Here are some comments from the students about the experience:

"I loved when we got to stick our fingers in the pulmonary artery."

"I will always remember it (especially from all the 'ews' that were said)."

"My favorite part is the part when we cut the heart in half."

"I liked cutting through the extra thick wall."

"I got the heart all to myself because my partner couldn't stomach it."

"Even though I was kind of grossed out, it was fun."

"It was really interesting.  The only part I didn't like was the dissection."

"I extremely enjoyed it, especially when we didn't have the hearts."

"I like to dissect stuff."

"I enjoyed the presentation even though it was pretty gross."

"I liked it when I put my finger through the heart and finding the valves too."
"I believe that if I keep doing this I can become a great surgeon some day!"



Week of November 17

We had a fabulous field trip to the FBI office in Seattle.  After going through security, they showed us a few FBI videos, including one that showed what the agent training is like (be sure to ask your child about OC spray!), saw the offices of the Special Agent in Charge and the assistants, talked to the media relations person who told us about how she had just named a new bank robber in the area (The Man with the Plastic Mask), had presentations and demonstrations from the Hazardous Evidence Recovery Team (HERT) and the evidence specialists (ERT), toured the control room, and walked through one of the agent and analysts areas where teams work together to solve cases.  They also took our picture in the lobby.  More pictures will be coming soon. 

Here is what the kids had to say about this wonderful field trip. 

    The field trip was amazing.  I'm not sure I want to be a FBI agent when I grow up.  It seems really scary.  It was like my dream to meet a special agent.  Seeing the guy Adrian in the hazmat suit was cool, too.  I loved the field trip. 

     I was so excited about the trip to the FBI yesterday.  It was really fun when they showed us the equipment they wear.  It was also fun when she showed us the monitor room.  It was cool when she showed us the radio room.  It was as fun as I anticipated.

      Yesterday we went to the FBI.  My favorite part is where Ms. Cheryl put goop on my finger to make a finger print.  We also leaned how you have to train to be a FBI agent.  We also got to try on a hazmat suit.  I had fun at the FBI.

     Yesterday we went to the FBI.  FBI stands for Federal Bureau of Investigations.  My favorite part is when Cheryl put the gloop on our finger.  I also like the HERT.  That's the FBI. 

     The coolest thing at the FBI was the room where they watch all the cameras.  It was the coolest thing because it showed you places around the building.  It was really interesting.  It also showed who entered the building and at what entrance.  I had an amazing experience at the FBI. 

     Yesterday I went to the FBI HQ.  I saw the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.  At lunch I saw clips from FBI TV shows.  I found out how detectives find finger prints with caulk.  The FBI field trip was great. 

    The field trip to the FBI was awesome.  My aunt, Marnee was there and I got to be with her.  That field trip converted me to do exactly what my aunt does, to be an analyst.  Marnee has a really really cool job at the FBI.  The radio station was really cool too, I wondered what that radio station call was but I didn't ask.  That's why I really liked the FBI field trip.   

     I think what I liked about the FBI was the suit and the camera room.  The suit was cool because you look like the suit from Monsters, Inc.  I like the camera room because you can spy on people.

     I thought our trip to the FBI was super fun.  We looked at the wall of honor.  I got to get my finger print in a wet clay, and when it dried, it was very rubbery.  We also watched all the cameras in the radio room.  Those are some of the fun things we did at the FBI. 

    It was fun when we went to the FBI headquarters.  We talked about who we wanted to be when we grow up.  We went to the telecommunications room.  We also saw the techno wall of honor.  The FBI was fun. 

     I liked HERT the most.  There was a hazmat suit, which was really cool.  They demonstrated their equipment  They demonstrated what they did.  That is why I liked HERT the most. 

     Our trip to the Seattle FBI Headquarters was so cool.  First, I got to get into a suit, a hazmat suit, it got really hot in there.  Also, when I was in the suit I held a machine that would sense hazardous materials or substances.  Last, we got to see a lot more in the headquarters, like the top 10 fugitives of all time, and some FBI videos.  That is why our trip to the Seattle FBI Headquarters was so cool. 

Some reflections from the week:
"I had to take a minute on the wall today, not very fun."
"I went from prewriting to publish in a matter of 3 days."
"I think I did well on my math test because I only got two wrong."
"In language arts, my group had trouble getting things done."
"I have three objectives next week.  Finish all work in time given.  Keep up a growth mindset.  I want to improve my handwriting.  These are my goals."
"I got better at division."
"I think that this week went well because I got better at my penmanship by writing a lot during the week and weekend."
"Social Studies went well because we did a play."
"I had a fantastically awesome week.  The artwork with the dots is really tedious though."
"I think language arts went good this week.  We discussed very good, and we helped each other read."
"I'm getting better at division."
"I really want to get 100% on my spelling test next week."

Week of November 10

We had the pleasure of helping in the Pre-K room this morning.  The students thoroughly enjoyed working and playing with these students. 

 

     I had a lot of fun when we went to Mrs. West's room.  The kids are soooo cute!  I love those little writing papers, they give you a subject and start a sentence, then you finish it.  Their toys are so cool!  That is why it was fun.

 

 

 

    I loved going to the Pre-K room.  It was fun to help my Pre-K partner write his story.  It was about a dog who found a chicken in his dog house.  It was hilarious. 

 



    After that, we played with Cuisenaire rods.  They are rectangular prisms that represent certain numbers.  I made a half pyramid and had my partner fill in the other half.  Then I made a chart of multiples of ten (9+1, 8+2, 7+3, 6+4, etc.) and then we did some addition.

    When all our work was done, we built a ramp.  We stacked a bunch of blocks and balanced a plank on them. We called it "Happyville Ramp". It was so fun.  That is why it was so great. 

 

    I think I liked going to the Pre-K room.  It was fun when me and my partner wrote a story.  I thought is was fun when we made a ramp and let cars down it.  I think all of the Pre-Kers are tiny.  That is why I liked going to the Pre-K room.  

 

 

   A lot of things went fun when I went into Mrs. West's room.  It was fun when I built a tower of blocks.  Also, it was fun when I helped them with math.  Another reason it was fun is because I helped them start their story.  That's what went fun. 

 

    I liked going to the little kids.  I liked writing with the kid and building blocks.  We built a ramp.  It was really fun because the kids were very funny.  

 

 

    I liked going to the Pre-K room because we helped the Pre-Kers write a story.  I worked with my brother.  I wrote 2 sentences minus one letter.  After that I dotted one word for him.  Our ending story was "The penguins went to Antarctica to play.  The penguins went sledding.  They had fun."  That is why I liked to go to the Pre-K room.  

 

 

   This is why I liked going to Mrs. West's room.  My partner and I wrote a story about a police helicopter finding a crook.  We studied how to make ten using blocks.  Lastly, I played with cars, blocks, and a doll house.  Overall, Mrs. West's room was an excellent experience.  

 

 

   I liked going to the Pre-K room.  They have hammers (I am so envious).  The little kids are super nice.  And then there's Sadie who is super cute and loveable.  That is why I liked going to the Pre-K room.  

 

 

    I liked and also disliked going to Mrs. West's room.  My partner was okay at writing, but math she was really distracted.  I liked writing with her. After though I loved playing with others.  That's why it was fun and not fun going to Mrs. West's room.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

    It was fun when me and some other people built a super-garage out of blocks.  The top was a ramp for cars to slide down.  There was a jail cell there.  It was also multi-floored.  Building a super-garage was fun.  

 

 

 

    I liked to be with the little kids today.  First, I got to know them a little better today.  Second, I helped them build their castle (which I accidentally knocked down).  Third and last, one of them helped me get my coat, gloves, and hat (which was nice).  That is why I liked to be with the little kids today.