Happy Holidays!

Thanks for a great December! I can't wait to see everyone next year. :)

Page Updates

Please visit the Learners in Room 115 page to see the November class picture.  Also take a look at the page, Our Trip Around the World to see what learning happened today.  Enjoy!!

Our December Unit Learing

Tomorrow we will be packing our bags for a trip around the world. In December, we are going to learn about the different holiday traditions.  Please visit Our Trip Around the World page for daily updates about our learning and projects.

Thanksgiving Activities

I am thankful for such a respectful, responsible, and safe class!!!! Thank you Busy Bees.  Here are some of our special Thanksgiving activities.

During our Unit discussion on Ppast/present, the students' discovered many items that were different from the past.  The first big difference was the type and make of clothing. The students researched about Native Americans and their vests.  They found that Native Americans made their clothing by hand and used items only from the environment. Many vests contained symbols and patterns that related to their tribe.

The students also enjoyed a special treat from Mr. Van Eman during their Native American vest project...PUMPKIN PIE!!!!!

Guest Reader

During the month of October and November the classroom had 2 special guest readers. The first guest reader was Sarah's mom and the second reader was my mom, Mrs. Van Eman. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your favorite book with us.

New Page: Students Vokis'

Check out the new page: Voki Creations.  Liam has a special message for Thanksgiving.  I can't wait to see more. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Message From Miss Van Eman

Create Your Own Viko

Do you want to have some fun on the internet?  Now you and your family can create a unique person on the internet for our visitors to view.  Visit www.viko.com to create your own.  You will be able to create a character style, customize your look with clothing and accessories, pick a background, and add your voice via phone, microphone, or text to speech.  

Here are the directions:

1. Go to http://www.voki.com/
2. Click on the green tab: Create Your Own Voki
3. Customize your Voki
4. Click "publish" when you have finished customizing your person
5. Write your first name for your title
6. Click save
7. Select size- SMALL
8. Copy the code under "For Most Sites Use This Code"9. Paste the entire coded link into an email to me. (email) vaneman_l@westcler.org
THEN.... I WILL PUT IT ON THE BLOG!!!! :)

Colonial Times- Past vs. Present

Today, your children were excited to learn about things children did who lived long ago during Colonial days. We talked about how the children had to do many chores every day. We talked about what school was like for children in the Colonial times. We learned about hornbooks which were the textbooks they used back then, which don't even look like textbooks at all. Then the children made their own version of a hornbook after writing one fact they learned from our lesson today. The children will continue to talk about life from the past compared to our lives today throughout the week. You might be interested in looking at one of these websites with your children at home about daily life from the past:

www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving

www.libertykids.com/nowthen/index.html

Check your child's backpack today for the hornbooks they made in school and ask them about it!

Science Unit on Light

This week, your children learned about light. They learned how light reflects off objects and enters our eyes. They learned about shadows, and how they are created. They learned about transparent, translucent and opaque objects by looking at the shadows created using a flashlight. They learned about Thomas Edison and electricity. They explored rainbows and light.

We watched a video about light, which the children loved. Check it out:

http://www.watchknow.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=5140&CategoryID=633

Halloween Writing Activities

Halloween Costumes:  The students gave clues about what they were going to be for Halloween.  The students read their writing aloud and had 3 friends guess their costume.  We got 21 costumes right. Great clues Busy Bees! 

Personal Pumpkins: The students created a personal pumpkin for their friends to guess which pumpkin belonged to which friend. 

Here were their guidelines:

Eyes Shape: Boy- Circle Girl- Square

Eyes Color: Color of your eyes
Nose: The first letter in your name
Mouth: Age 7- Triangle Age 8- Rectangle
Stem: Your favorite color
Number of Stripes: Number of brothers/sisters

Can you find your child's personal pumpkin and costume writing?  If so, please leave a comment. :)

Math Unit 3 Review

Today, your children enjoyed using their Math Menus to visit 5 stations around the room to review for their Unit 3 Assessment tomorrow. They reviewed Frames and Arrows with 2 rules, Subtraction Number Stories, Place Value, Telling Time and Money. The "dessert" on the menu was their most challenging yet most enjoyed station because they used plastic coins to "buy" candy. They had to determine which 2 pieces of candy they wanted to purchase with their dollar.  Next, they had to decide if they had enough money for their choices. Your children are learning more every day. You should be very proud of them!

Amelia Elmentary Night at Beechmont Rollarena

Amelia Elementary's Night at Beechmont Rollarena is Monday, November 1st from 6:30-8:30p.m. The cost is $3.00 per skater and $1.75 for skate rental. There is no school the next day. Go and have a great time with your classmates!

Writing

Yesterday, we read the book The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. We talked about how the Little Old Lady said she wasn't afraid, but she probably really was. Even though she was scared, she found out that there really wasn't anything to be afraid of at the end. We decided to write about a time when we were scared but it turned out to be nothing scary after all. I loved reading all of the stories that your children wrote! They are great storytellers using some wonderful details. All of their stories are hanging in the classroom. Here are some examples of your children's writing:

Red Ribbon Days Next Week!

Red Ribbon Week Days:

Next week, we will be saying NO to drugs.  Below is the assigned spirit wear for each day next week.

Monday 10-25: Put a Cap on Drugs
Tuesday: 10-26 Sock it to Drugs
Wednesday: 10-27 Wear Red for Red Ribbon Week
Thursday: 10-28 Team Up against Drugs (Wear favorite team shirt)
Friday: 10-29 Wear Red, White and Blue

Ready...Set...Action!

Please help your child practice their lines from the play, The Strongest One this weekend.  Your child will be practicing all next week as well as performing for Mrs. Wells' kindergarten class on Thursday.

Math Unit 2 Review

Today the children really enjoyed their Unit 2 Math Review as they followed their 'Menus' to explore a variety of activities in order to prepare them for their Unit 2 Assessment on Friday. The concepts they practiced today were Addition and Subtraction Number Stories, Fact Families, Frames and Arrows diagrams, What's my Rule tables, as well as card games including "Top It!" to practice basic addition facts and "Name that Number" to use addition or subtraction to form a given number. The children worked hard at practicing these new concepts. I am positive they will have no trouble with their assessment tomorrow!

Book Fair Friday

If you would like your child to buy a book at the book fair, our day to visit is Friday.  Please send your child's money in a bag or envelope so that it will be easy to keep track of while at the book fair. Thank you.

We WON!!!!!

We have won an ice cream party and 15 minutes of extra recess for bringing in the most items for the fall festival.  We will enjoy our extra 15 minutes of recess on Friday.   Great job everyone! :)

Yesterday in math, the children experimented with interactive dice on the Smart Board to help them learn about fact families. They created two addition problems and two subtraction problems using the numbers on the dice. They really enjoyed "rolling" the dice to create new fact families.
Keep up the good work, Busy Bees!

Have fun with fact families!
You can do this fun activity at home also! All you need is two dice or some dominoes, pencil and paper. Roll the dice or select a domino at random. Use the pencil and paper to create fact families from the numbers on the dice or dominoes similar to this one:
4+5=9 5+4=9 9-5=4 9-4=5

School Pictures Wednesday

Don't forget to dress your very best on Wednesday for school pictures.   :)

Page Update

Check out the Learners In 115 page.  The class picture for the month of October has been added.

Fall Festival Update!

All I can say is WOW!!!!! Thanks parents and students for buying coloring books and Play-Doh. Tomorrow is the last day and I think we are almost in first place.  :)!!!

46 items

78 items

Surprise Student Reader....

Last week we had a special guest reader....one of our classmates! After he was done taking his OLSAT and SAT he decided to create a book and share it with the class. Thanks Justin, we loved your story about Halloween!

An Illustrator Visits Amelia!

On Friday, the students were surprised by illustrator Deb Kern.  She shared her book Oh Garden, Oh Garden!  Thank so much for your visit Mrs. Kern, we loved your pictures. 

Addition Number Stories

This week, the children learned about addition number stories. They were given examples such as:
5 soccer balls are inside the goal. 7 soccer balls are outside the goal. How many soccer balls in all?

During our discussion, the children determined the answer should be 12 and learned that they should answer the question including the unit also. So the correct answer would be 12 soccer balls.

Then, the children had the opportunity to write some of their own addition number stories based on a picture. They are becoming experts at telling an addition number story and answering the question using the unit! Good work everyone!

I can't wait until next week when we get to use the interactive dice on the Smart Board!

Don't Forget Your Red!

Remember to wear something red in honor of the Reds game tomorrow.  We will be taking our October classroom picture for the blog.  GOOOO REDS!!

Please Help Room 115 Win!!!

WANTED….Items donated for the Wild West Fall Festival

2nd Grade – Coloring books and cans of play-doh

If our class collects the most items we will receive an ice cream party and 15 minutes of extra recess! Please send in items no later than October 12, 2010.

How astronauts live in space.

During Reading Street Unit 1 Week 2 the students explored space. They read a nonfiction piece about how astronauts live in space and wrote sentences about the information they could recall from the text.

What Would You Do If You Went Into Space?

During our investigation of space the students wrote about what they would do if they went into space.

Our First Guest Reader

The students enjoyed a surprise visit from our first guest reader.  They loved hearing Mrs. Schirmer's favorite book.  Thanks again Mrs. Schirmer, we hope you can surprise us again!

Goodbye Eddie!

Today was Eddie's last day.  Even though we are sad to see you go, we know he will love his new school.  Bye Eddie!

Goodbye Hugs

Goodbye Letters

Goodbye Eddie! :)

Message from Mrs. Walker

Dear Parents:


October 4th-8th is count week, and it is an extremely important week for all Ohio Schools. During this week, our student attendance determines our state funding. The better the attendance, the more funds we obtain from the Ohio Department of Education.

We must do all we can to ensure 100% attendance during the week. We are required by the State of Ohio to have documentation on all student absences. If your child must miss school during this week, it is essential that the school receive a call on the day of the absence, as well as a note describing the reason for the absence upon return to school. These notes are kept on file in the event we are audited by the state.

We would like to thank you in advance for your consideration and assistance in helping us achieve 100% attendance and our maximum amount of funding.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Walker

Changing Seasons

Last week, I had the opportunity to teach a science lesson on the changing seasons. We discussed how the weather changes not only from one part of the year to another, but also throughout the day every day. During our discussion, we created a chart detailing the months, weather, and fun outside activities we like to do during each season. Afterward, the children each wrote a book about the four seasons. Good work everyone.

Check your child's backpack for his/her book on Monday, and have him/her read it to you.

Greater Than/Less Than/Equal To

Today we had a great discussion about how we can use symbols in math to compare numbers. We looked at greater than/less than and equal to. I loved seeing all the "challenge yourself" problems today. Great job everyone.

Using the 100 chart to see which number is greater (lower on the chart)

Working together  to find which number the alligator will eat. 

"Challenge Yourself" Game

The Great Poetry Race Page

Please visit our Great Poetry Race to see the winner from last week! Great job everyone.

Math Exploration

Check out our Math investigation pictures from last week.