Fourth of July

My 4th of July started out to be a wonderful day on the Mall at Washington D. C. We left our hotel room early and rode the train from Baltimore to D. C. When we arrived we walked up and down the Mall veiwing all the different sites from the country of Butah. When we headed toward the White House the line was too, long for us to get in for the concert ao we walked to the other end of the Mall to watch the fireworks up close by the Washington Momunent. We found a wonderful place for veiwing but then it began to rain. We stood under a blanket that another couple provided until the rain was flowing right through it. It was still another half hour until the fireworks, it was raining hard, and we were soaked so we left.

We ended up back at our hotel room by the time PBS ran the fireworks on tv. Watching on tv is not the same but we were dry!

Payton's Letter

Payton and her family went to South Dakota for vacation. They visited Mount Rushmore, Bear Country, and Needles Point. Payton said that her most favorite part was seeing all of the animals as they drove through Bear Country.

Thanks for sharing with us Payton.

If you write to me I will put what you have been doing on the Blog.

Downtown Aquarium

The Downtown Aquarium here in Denver is one of the best I have seen. In it you can take a walk through many different aquariums and scenes of wild life. The aquariums at the entrance contain fish found native in Colorado. Later aquariums contain fish found in our oceans. Outside of the aquarium is a petting zoo. If you are interested in fish, the entire experience is exceptional.

Maxwell went for his first grooming last Friday. I was very shocked at how different he looked without his tousled curls. It made me sad because the new cut makes him look so grown up.

Maxwell

My new four month old puppy is quite a tease. He is the little salt and pepper miniature schnauzer that is darting around under the kitchen table with the red and blue rope in his mouth. The big black dog is my son's dog, Terrell. Sorry the weather news is on in the background.

Last Day of School

Video

Thank you Mrs. Quinn and students for this wonderful video. I will cherish it.

Green Me

I woke up this morning and found that I was all green!
My Mom came in and yelled, "Oh my gosh!"
We went to clean up. It didn't come off. We showed Dad.
"Oh my gosh, Mighty Hulk or Grinch!"
"No," said Mom. "It's our son."
"Oh," said Dad
I went outside. My Mom took me to Cotton Creek. The principal said,"No GREEN KIDS ALLOW!"
He kicked us out. I was sad. We went home. I tried again but the green would not come off. So I went to sleep crying. The next day I woke up.
"There's a problem," I said. "I'm not green."
I went doen stairs.
"That was just a dream," I said and my Mom, Dad , and I laughed.
And I said, "That was almost the worst dream in my life."
By Xavier G.

Measurement

This past week we were very active doing many different measurement centers. The students did comparison measurement of three different styles of broad jumps. (frog hop, rabbit jump, and a kids jump) They measured the classroom and discovered a comparison between two different standard units of measurement. Computer activities included games that used several different units of measurement to move around mazes. One game included using ten facts to follow their movement allowing them to know when to get to a battery to recharge.

Lost Books

During the year your children took home their guided reading books. Sometimes they were not returned to school. All of the guided reading books were checked out in my name. I have about 60 lost guided reading books. If you find any of the following books at your home would you have your child return them to school. THANKS!

June B, First Grader: Cheater Pants
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Gregory, the Terrible Eater
Amelia Bedelia Helps Out
Cam Jensen and the Mystery of the U.F.O.
The Baby Shark Now Returned
Headless Horseman
Henry and Mudge
A Lesson for Martin Luther King Jr.
Flat Stanley Now Returned
Anna, Grandpa, and the Big Storm
One Piece Missing
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Horton Hears a Who! Now Returned
I, Columbus
The Original Adventures of Hank the Cow Dog
Christopher Columbus
My Father's Dragon
Ira Sleeps Over
Ralph S. Mouse

Field Day

We had a wonderful chilly day of track and field activities. A great big Thank You to all the parents, grandparents, and friends that came to help and enjoy.

Plays

The performances Friday night were wonderful. I am very proud of all of the children. The posts of each performance contain pictures that the children were taking during the plays. I hope you enjoy them.

Thanks for coming to celebrate with us!

Stellaluna

Stellaluna
A tiny fruit bat is left alone after an owl attracts her mother. She falls into a bird nest. While she is there, she does not always act like the birds but tries to obey. Gradually, she learns to eat and act like a bird so she can survive. When she learns to fly she has new challenges because of her differences. After she is discovered by her bat family, she learns how fruit bats really are suppose to act and what they eat.

Rapunzel

Rapunzel
A husband tries to please his wife by stealing greens from a sorceress garden but he get caught and promises to give away his unborn child. The beautiful daughter that is born is taken by the sorceress and locked in a tower in the woods. The girl’s name is Rapunzel. As she matures she grows beautiful long golden hair which the sorceress uses to climb up into her tower. A Prince accidentally sees what is happening and begin to visit Rapunzel. Of course, they fall in love but that was not the plan the sorceress had for the beautiful girl. Her solution was to cut off her hair and send her away.

Click, Clack, Moo

Click, Clack, Moo
Framer Brown has a cow problem. Somehow his cows have found a typewriter and are using it to get a few things to make their lives in the barn better. Some of the other animals realize what is happening and they help out a little in exchange for some things for themselves. After Framer Brown decides to compromise, things get less tense until the Duck get the typewriter

The True Story...

The Wolf is in jail. He claims to have gone to the Little Pigs’ houses for a cup of sugar to make a cake for his Grandmother’s birthday. According to him, he had a bad cold and was sneezing very hard. His troubles began when his sneezing blew down two of the pigs’ houses. Later, he became very angry, the police came, and they made up a horrible story then threw him into jail.

Would you loan him a cup of sugar?

Reagan and Family,

Thank you for the beautiful flower!

Spring Plays

Our Readers' Theater has evolved into four delightful plays. We have been practicing for our performances on Friday night the 9th of May. It is a delight to see the acting! They have been working on voice, imagination, and body language. We have had wonderful laughs and exciting learning. Pigs are being eaten, baby birds flying, and cows are typing. Come join us in our celebration at 6:00 P.M. Friday evening.

BEAR

The students were all very diligent and focused during our Bear testing today.

Thanks for helping them come prepared.

Sea Shells

Thank you very much for the sea shells from Washington state. Kain gave me a couple. The pendent on the end of this necklace is one of many beautiful shells that you sent. Kain also gave each of the children two shells.

This week the students have been learning about and preforming Readers' Theater. The students have been working on showing their characters' voice and using their bodies to convey the story without props and scenery. Readers' Theater helps students develop fluency, improves comprehension, and increase confidence. The students are very excited about sharing their plays.

We plan to preform several plays for family and friends the evening of May 9th.

Van Gogh

Four students read the book Van Gogh's Bedroom. Then they read several other sources to find out more about Van Gogh and his art. They found that he painted many pictures outside, and that he usually made several paintings of the same subject. By the use of strong colors he was able to show his emotions in his work and he used many swirls, and curves in his paintings. He died at the age of 37.

After their study, they made pictures of their own bedroom. In their pictures they attempted to use some of Van Gogh's techniques.

On Thursday, Mr. Stroup came in to watch as they taught the other students in the class what they had learned about Van Gogh.

Magnets

A group of students studied magnetism. They discovered that not all metals are magnetic and that one rock called a lobe rock is magnetic. Another discover was that magnet can attract through other abjects like nails and nuts. Magnets can attract through water and through a persons hand. The magnetic field is curved. Magnets have poles and that like poles repel while opposite poles attract.

Tangrams

In Reader's Workshop this week five of the students studied the use and history of the tangram. The students found out that the tangram is a Chinese puzzle consisting of 7 geometric shapes. They are used to make the shapes of different objects such as animals and building. PBS Kids has a site called SAGWA that allows kids to use the tangram online.

Sink or Float

Five students studied what makes an object sink or float. They carried out several experiments to develop their theory that things that are light and/or filled with air float and things that are heavy sink.

After completing their experiments they made several small movies of their process to use when teaching the rest of the class about sinking and floating.

Conferences

Wednesday or Thursday after school this week your child is scheduled to conference with you to discuss their learning. Please come and celebrate with them.

Arvada Arts Day

We had a wonderful time at The Arvada Center Arts Day. We arrive a little early and were the first group seated so there was a little wait time. Half of our class saw Frog and Toad's Year first at 10:00 A.M. The other half of our class saw it at 12:00 P.M. We all took a backstage tour and participated in Snow White acting classes sometime during the day.

These are a few of the dwarfs from the play.

After reading Ralph S. Mouse, the students each made a mask and wrote a script telling about their chosen character from the book.

Math Fact Fun

We are working hard to learn the math facts from 1-20. With the use of the SMART board and the web site Funky Mummy, the students are exercising and having fun while they learn.

Science Fair

Science Fair

Crystals, Creams, and Fossils