100 Day of School!

Today is the 100th Day of School. We have been counting the days since the very first day and it is finally here. The students had a special homework assignment this week. The students were challenged to create "something" to wear that had 100 things on it. We had a belt with 100 buttons, we had a shirt with 100 candy hearts, and a shirt with 100 bows. The kids looked and felt terrific. In class we made a 100 day trail mix with exactly 100 treats in each bag. Each student made a 100 Day of School Hat and a 100 Day book. We read books about the 100th day. We counted to 100 by one's fives and tens as well as other fun activities based on the number 100. We finished the day with a visit from "Zero the Hero", who made the day extra special.

Potting Day!!!

What a Great Day!! We were so very lucky to have Chloe's Dad come to our room for "Potting Day"! He and his co-worker Ms. Smith brought, soil, seeds and all of the other supplies that we needed to plant plants. We planted radishes in the room. We learned all about what plants need, and where food comes from. Each student received a large pot, a bag of soil and seeds to take home. Now our Super Smart students can share what they have learned with their parents and start their home garden. Thank you Mr. Jones and Ms. Smith.

Polar Express Day!

We celebrated the Polar Express last Friday. The children came to school in their jammies. We then read the book The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. The students then made golden tickets so that they could get on board. The students had their tickets stamped as they began the incredible journey. The kids watched the movie based on the book while they enjoyed freshly made homemade doughnuts and hot cocoa. We had several moms and dads join us for this super fun day. Some of them even wore their pajamas. A great time was had by all.

Santa Clause, Old St. Nick, Pere Noel.

We are continuing to read with our Fifth grade friends each week. We have been reading previous December Books of the Month. We noticed that in many of these texts, Santa Clause is a character. This led to a discussion about the history of the Santa Clause and his many different names. We discussed several different names for him.
* Santa Clause
* Santa
* St. Nicholas
* Kris Kringle
We then challenged the children to find out any other names they could find for Santa. One Fifth grader, Sarah came back the following week with this list.
* French - Pere Noel
* Welsh - Sion Corn
* Italian - Babbo Natale
* Turkish - Noel Baba
* Vietnamese - ong gia Noel
* Portuguese - Papai Noel
* Romanian - Mos Craciun
* Slovenian - kaledu Senelis
* Latvian - Santa Klauss

Pow Wow 2011

Pow Wow 2011 from Chet the Eagle on Vimeo.

The annual Pow Wow event is spectacular! Take a look at the video and see a small glimpse of our amazing Pow Wow.

Morning Message

Each morning during Skills Block, we participate in a Shared Writing experience. We call it the Morning Message. We start with something that the teachers have written on the board with just a few things missing. The students then figure out what should be there and are invited to fill in the blanks. This is a wonderful daily tool. As the year progresses and our literacy skills become more vast, the students written participation increases. We love Morning Message, because we can cover so many different skills in so many fun ways!

Apples. Apples Apples

We had a wonderful day filled with APPLES! We have been reading many fiction and non-fiction books based on apples. We have also learned a great deal about Johnny Appleseed. Our culminating day of apples was filled with learning and fun. We began the day with a survey of who likes apples and who does not. The children were then given the opportunity to taste both a red apple and a green apple. The children then discussed the similarities and differences between the two. We also participated in shared reading of some poems about apples and songs about apples. The children were able to watch Mrs. Meissner use a special machine that peels and cores the apples with a twist of the handle, this was a highlight for all of the kids. We then made homemade applesauce. Each child was given the opportunity to taste the homemade applesauce, Every child took a bite. We would like to say a special thanks to the mom's of Brooke and Emily, and the dad of Mrs. Brown for making this super fun day such a super success!