Happy Halloween

We did all kinds of things today to keep BUSY...all had Halloween on the brain! PP even shared his pet hermit crab that died...how ghoulish! :-) Be careful and have fun tonight.

Author's Chair

I love it when the kids come to school with their original writing to share! I encourage writing at home...we love to hear their stories!

Pumpkin Glyphs

These are no ordinary pumpkins. If you look closely...they are all different! For starters, the green ones are boys and the orange ones are girls. The characteristics tell your preference on what kind of Halloween treat you like, if you like happy or scary jack-o-lanterns, if you like pumpkin pie, have you tried pumpkin seeds, etc. Later, we wrote down our preferences in sentences. Look for them in next weeks Tuesday folder!

"Five Fat Pumpkins"

What a sight to behold!

We finally finished our masterpieces inspired by Starry Night today. Last year this took one afternoon...this year it took three. This class likes perfection...each one unique in its own way.

All aboard the roller coaster!

Doesn't it seem like we always have something going on? I hate to tell you that this next month seems to be crammed with dates to remember! Get your calendars out and make note of the following:

Nov. 2 - Daylight Savings time (we get an extra hour of sleep!)
Nov. 4 - Voting day...we will have our own election in class!
Nov. 5 - early dismissal/report card day
Nov. 7 - There will be a substitute. I am in leadership training. Bingo Night!
Nov. 10 - Picture retake day!
Nov.11 - help stuff red folders 8:00-8:30
Nov. 12/13 - We will have another substitute. I will be out for medical reasons.
Nov. 13 - Reading Champions money envelope due.
Nov. 19 - MFA field trip, student led conferences after school
Nov. 20 - Math/Science night

Nov 25 - stuff red folders 1 more time!
Nov 26-30 - Thanksgiving Break

Today we saw a short video about HISD's Reading Champions reading program. We learned a little bit about the March of Dimes and their mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. I shared with them the story that I was born premature, weighed almost 2 lbs and could fit in my mom's hand. Since we keep reading logs in 1st grade I know that keeping track of your child's reading for a few weeks will be easy! I told the kids that simple picture books can be counted and if your child reads chapter books exclusively to keep track of the minutes instead. Choose one method or the other. More information can be found in your red Tuesday folder. I KNOW we can all be medal winners!

You will also find a yellow field trip slip in the red Tuesday folder. We will be going to the Museum of fine Arts on Wednesday, November 19! The cost will be free to students but the bus will cost $6. Parents will have to pay at the door but no charge for the bus. Volunteers are welcome and encouraged...no siblings. Children are to bring a sack lunch and disposable drink. This is a fun day!

Pumpkin Patch

The pumpkin on the bottom right corner looks like it was Star Wars inspired. SK...is it?

Don't you love that no 2 pumpkins are alike? I always tell them, "If it were...it would be boring!" I gave each child the same sized pieces of paper with only the instructions...make a pumpkin with a stem and face. The pumpkin on the bottom right corner looks like it was Star Wars inspired. SK... is it?

What a mess!

We had 7 of these going in the class room all at the same time...everyone painting wildly! Don't send your children in their (or yours for that matter) favorite shirts this week! This week will be messier than the norm...

Starry Night

Today we read, Camille and the Sunflowers to introduce our new artist...Vincent Van Gogh! It was a great book that exposed us to some of his more famous pieces of art and also eluded to how many people did not appreciate Van Gogh until much later. Much to my surprise...no one knew that he cut off his ear (they usually blurt it out at some point during this book) and I was certainly not going to get into it! We started painting our own "Starry Night" pictures but will have to finish tomorrow. We love how his paintings are mostly blues, yellows and greens...and mixing them to make the colors more interesting! I only captured parts of their work because this project is still a work in progress!

Spooky Spaghetti

It was great seeing everyone...I think I saw almost everyone! Thank you to all of you that manned the Bungee Run. It looked like quite a workout...probably a surprise to most of you! I know I took a lot of photos...but unfortunately, the camera was set on "video" by mistake! Sorry guys. If you have any good shots, send them my way!

SS volunteer sign-up

set-up 12:00 pm - Lang, Archer
4:00-5:00 pm -Archer, Partridge
5:00-6:00 pm - Sweeney, Baker
6:00-7:00 pm - Lang, Lang
7:00-8:00 pm - Barrall, Ogle
Clean up 8:00 pm - Partridge

I'm sure if you are dying to man The Bungee Run and you did not get around to signing up...I know your help would be greatly appreciated! Look for us on the playground field. If you are still around at closing time (which I know many of you will!) feel free to stick around and help close our booth down! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Art a la Carte #1

Today we had our first Art a la Carte lesson on Henri Matisse and his use of positive and negative space. Thank you Mrs. Partridge and Mrs. Ogle! We'll have to continue your lesson and learn more!

Picasso's Rose and Blue Periods

QO's rose period - "Love"

PP's blue period - "RIP Mom"

Today we learned that Picasso had 2 of many distinct times in his life that he painted very happy pictures in red/pink tones and very sad pictures in blue tones. We were inspired to watercolor some "blue" and "rose" pictures that make us happy and sad.

Help us not get sick!

We ran out of hand sanitizer. If you would like to help with this it would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Watercolored Names

For obvious reasons, I did not display the children's work for the world to see...so here's mine! The children's names are much more creative...each had a different way of showcasing their own unique blend of colors and shapes. What better way to practice our watercolor skills and make a pretty sign all at the same time!

Thank You!

I find sweet notes (almost daily!) laying on my desk, in Prince's mouth, on my chair, in my lunch bag, in my box in the office and sometimes bravely delivered by hand. It is an honor to have your children in my class this year...I do love them!

Have you heard the news?

This week I raised the stakes for a sticker reward during journal time...their goal is now 2 pages! The kids can do it...easily. I am so proud of how much growth I've seen! I'm looking for sentences to start with a capital letter, a punctuation mark at the end of each sentence and spacing between each word. We've been working on handwriting and margins a lot so I'm seeing a lot of improvement in that department as well. Way to go, guys!

Girl Before a Mirror

Today we watched a short Unitedstreaming.com video on abstract artist Pablo Picasso's faces. The students created a collection of 3 faces using oil pastels emulating Picasso’s style. The main objective was to let our imagination run wild with the many possibilities. We looked at Picasso’s painting Girl Before a Mirror for inspiration.

Science Lab

Today in science lab the children had the opportunity to make telephones! They learned that when you talk into the cup, your voice vibrates the string. The vibrations travel through the string like how waves travel through water. When the vibrations reach the other end, they vibrate the bottom of the cup and turn back into sound waves which your friend can hear. How many of you remember making these when you were little? :-)

Is there a baby in the house?

Just a couple of things…

Is there a baby in your house that eats baby food from a jar? If so, we could use 6 jars! We use them for painting in class and don’t quite have enough!

Somehow the reading log did not make it into the homework packet yesterday. I had no idea until I had a pack of eager readers inquired about it first thing this morning! Since it was my mistake, I will not require the log to be finished this week but I know all of you are reading anyway, right? :-) I put a copy of the reading log in the Tuesday folders today. I told the kids they could earn an extra point for homework if it is completed.

If your child does not have a little pencil sharpener in their school box, I STRONGLY encourage buying one. The pencils are weird this year and for whatever reason my classroom sharpener does not like them!

Officially, we had 95% participation in PTO sign-up. I bet it really is 100% but because of all the mix-ups with the PTO website problems… that’s what it is. Thank you for participating and being so understanding. Look forward to getting your free school directory…you earned it!

Our art planner has started with a bang. Yesterday we learned a bit about Picasso. We found out that he created about 40 "Girl With a Ponytail" pieces of artwork! I challenged them to see if they could find 1 and bring a copy of the picture to class. They were especially interested to find out about the sculpture in New York that is as big as a house! The kids are loving it! I promise after the planner ends your child will have a wealth of artwork (and knowledge) to decorate your house!

Thank you to the Bogler’s for loaning us a digital camera until I can purchase a new one! You know I will put it to great use!

The school pictures are in! They are in Tuesday folders. You be the judge...

Have a great week!