Craft corner

I think it's now safe to show you.....

The children have been busy block printing cards in a sunny corner of our room.  I love what the
children are able to create with a simple piece of styrofoam and some ink.

Fulgurite

Can't go wrong with a fulgurite!















Every year, I gift the children with a mineral, rock, or fossil.  The idea is that by the time they leave our community, the children will have the beginnings of a class set...AND they will have acquired the itch to collect more.

This year, a good friend acquired a class set of fulgurites at the Houston Gem & Mineral Society Annual Show.  Fulgurites are formed when lightning hits the ground and melts and fuses sand together, leaving a rock impression of its path.

When they opened the gifts and we talked about what they were, one child exclaimed, "Awesome!  I can add this to my collection!"  Exactly!

Watch me grow

One of our winter traditions is daily observation and measurement of an amaryllis bulb as it grows.













These plants are amazing!  For a period of weeks, the stalk consistently grows at least 1 centimeter per day and sometimes grows as much as 3 centimeters!  We chart its growth on a line graph, and the children are always amazed to see how fast it grows.

Graphing growth

This is another Room 15 tradition.

11-7-16

From Guest Authors S.A., 3rd grade;
O.S., 2nd grade; J.M., 1st grade
11-8-16
Yesterday, we planted an Amaryllis.  We put it in a vase with charcoal and rocks and water.  An amaryllis is a bulb.  Other kinds of bulbs are onions and garlic.  We are using a ruler to measure the stalk in centimeters.    











Predictions:
"I think in about a month or so it will be at the tip of the bowl."  S.A., 3rd grade
"I think it will grow in one week."  G.M., 2nd grade
"I think it will grow slowly."  O.S., 2nd grade and J.M., 1st grade
"I think it will grow two centimeters a day."  A.C.-S., 3rd grade

11-22-16

11-28-16

It turns out, our amaryllis grew at a rate of about a centimeter every day!  From November 7th through November 28th, it grew 20.5 centimeters.

11-29-16

11-30-16

Thanksgiving spirit

Baby, it's warm outside . . . but we celebrated Thanksgiving with hot apple cider anyway.  
















It's a Room 15 tradition for our third graders to convene to prepare hot apple cider for the class.  Into a big stockpot, the children pour three 64-ounce bottles of apple juice.  We then add a cinnamon stick, along with a sprinkle of peppercorns, cloves, and allspice.  This is the perfect opportunity for a little parts of the plant lesson on the spices (clove flowers, peppercorn berries, cinnamon bark, and allspice berries).

All morning, we enjoy the smell of spiced cider simmering on our little electric burner.















After lunch, we enjoy sipping hot cups of spiced apple cider while we read.  It's such a simple tradition but something our class really looks forward to.











There's a Book for That!
We love Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen.  It's a tender story of modern-day pilgrims who are still coming to the United States for religious freedom . . . and a beautiful reminder that we must appreciate, rather than ridicule, each other's differences.

Happy Election Day

Every year, in honor of Election Day, we hold a mock election so that the children can experience the voting process.















Updated 11-9-16 
by C.N., 2nd grade; O.S., 2nd grade; S.A., 3rd grade; B.D., 3rd grade
Yesterday, we did a mock election.  An election is when people vote for something.  To vote you need a voter registration certificate and you need to sign it.  A voter registration card is how people know it's you.  You have to be quiet in the line and patient.  

We showed our voter registration card, signed in at the polls, got a ballot, found a voting booth, and voted for our favorite singers and more.  When we were done with the ballot we would fold it and put it in the ballot box.  Taylor Swift won.  

"It felt good to vote because it was exciting to have an election with our parents voting for president."  S.A., 3rd grade
"It felt good to vote because we got to have our own vote."  C.N., 2nd grade
"I did not like to vote because I was at the very end of the line and I had to wait 20 minutes."  B.D., 3rd grade

Election Results:
Favorite Musical Artist: Taylor Swift
Favorite Fad: Emojis
Favorite Toy: Nerf gun
Favorite Movie: "Trolls"
Favorite TV Show: "Teen Titans Go!"
Favorite Book Series: Harry Potter tied with Babymouse
Favorite Author: Shel Silverstein
Favorite Museum: Houston Museum of Natural Science









It's not too late for all you eligible adult voters to get out there and vote!
If you live in our area, research the candidates with the League of Women Voters Guide. 
Enter your address here to find your polling location and print a sample ballot.




There's a Book for That!
Election Day (Rookie Read-About Holidays)
Granddaddy's Gift by Margaree King Mitchell
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin
Dig Into History (Nov/Dec 2014): The Beginning of Democracy


Update 11/9/16: For help on how to talk to children about the election, visit http://www.tolerance.org/blog/day-after

Update 11/29/16: Harry Potter won 17 to 4 in a run-off election.  Unlike Election Day, we did not have 100% voter turn-out for the run-off election.

Happy Halloween!

Every year around this time, something comes up that calls me away from school, leaving Ms. Frizzle to substitute in my place.
This post comes to you from Guest Author J.M., 1st grade, who was at school today to witness Ms. Frizzle's fabulous fashion choices.

Today is Halloween, and our substitute is Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus.  It is so exciting!  Ms. Frizzle's hair is light orange and curly.  Her dress is black with dancing skeletons on it.  There's a lizard named Liz on her shoulder.  

Her earrings are white skeletons made out of clay.  








She has black shoes with bobblehead skeletons on them, and they jiggle their big fat heads when she walks.

It is very weird.  Maybe she came out of the T.V.


Editor's note:
I understand Ms. Frizzle even taught the children a skeleton song in Spanish today!

Overheard at school today:
"Boy, Ms. Frizzle looks a lot like Ms. S."
"She sure sounds a lot like Ms. S."
"But Ms. Frizzle doesn't wear glasses."
Overjoyed upon spying the skeleton shoes, "Oh! Those are perfect!"
"Ms. Frizzle, one day when we go to the Arboretum, can you wear a plant or animal dress and bring your Magic School Bus?"
One child whispered to another teacher, "I don't mean to be rude, but is that Ms. S's real hair? . . . Oh! Ms. Frizzle!"

Día de Muertos

Around the start of October, a new activity appears on our art shelf: a cardboard skull template to trace, black construction paper, oil pastels, a pair of scissors, and a few laminated examples of calaveras created for Día de Muertos.  

Here's a sample of what the children created:

There's a Book for That!

Calavera Abecedario by Jeanette Winter

Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston

The Spirit of Tio Fernando by Janice Levy

Gift for Abuelita by Nancy Luenn

A few places/events in Houston where you can learn more about this beautiful holiday: 

Casa Ramirez (241 W. 19th St., Houston, TX 77008)

MECA (Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts)

Lawndale Art Center

Say goodbye with pancakes

Today, we say goodbye to this school year and send our third-years on their way to Upper Elementary.  It is always a bitter-sweet day.  To soften the transition, we celebrate with pancakes!

Each cooperative group works together one last time to make breakfast and then sits down at the table to eat together and celebrate their year of learning exploration.




With the support of parent volunteers, the children make scrambled eggs,

pancakes,

banana-orange-yogurt smoothies with a squirt of honey and some mint from our courtyard garden,

and real whipped cream to top fresh strawberries.


The children get the opportunity to tackle challenges such as whisking (and more whisking...and more whisking),















cracking eggs,

measuring ingredients,

and flipping pancakes.

The reward for their labor is to sit down and enjoy each other's food and company.

Meanwhile, another group begins cooking.
When one group is finished eating, they work together to clear and set the table for the next group.

On this special day, children are invited to get comfy with pillows and books for a read-a-thon

or enjoy board games and other non-electronic fun.

checkers

mancala

folding paper airplanes and testing for the best design