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!