Harold and the Purple Crayon-Moon cookies

 The book, Harold and the Purple Crayon, took us on a grand adventure to an imaginary world all drawn with a purple crayon.  Many of the kids in class were familiar with the book and anxiously shouted out what would happen next.   It was a delightful story time.

After discussing the characters, themes, setting, problems and solutions found in the story, we explored the amazing moon.

We learned how the moon is covered in craters.  We even made craters in our flour moonscape using some asteroid golf balls.

Then we studied the phases of the moon (new, full, gibbous, half and crescent) and etched their shapes into oreo cookies!  It was delicious learning.

Next week, we are going to recycle old crayons into something GREAT!

Tea Party atop the "High Wire"

Day two of our study of Mirrette on the High Wire, had us taking to the air and performing amazing feats.

We quickly re-read the story and then watched some videos of some REAL-life high wire walkers.  We even saw a man walk a wire across the Grand Canyon.  It was terrifying just to watch!!!

We also watched a dog walk a wire! Super amazing!

We noticed in the videos, the many different feats that were performed by high wire walkers.  One carried his assistant on his back across the wire, another held up a hoop with his wife dangling below and holding on with her foot, and one even cooked some toast on a stove in the middle of a wire hung across the Niagara Falls!  Crazy!!!

So after seeing these amazing feats, we were determined to not only walk the wire, but perform some amazing feats of our own.

We started out just practicing walking the wire.  Some were more balanced than others, but we kept moving our wire up higher!

By the end, we were walking the wire carrying an egg on a spoon! 

We also walked the wire holding a teacup and teapot full of water.  In the middle, we actually poured a cup of tea!!!  Incredible! 

But we didn't stop there!  We walked to the middle of the wire and set off a canon!  And finally, we walked the wire wearing an elephant head and bent down and picked up a sticky ball using our trunk.  It was simply unbelievable! 

That's why we just HAD to take photos to prove our courageous endeavors.

Next week, we will be reading the super fun book, Harold and the Purple Crayon.

High wires and hearing

We learned to face our fears in class on Thursday!

Our book, Mirette on the High Wire, took us to Paris where a little girl meets the famous Bellini, a high wire walker.
She quickly becomes enamored with
Bellini and begs him to teach her to walk the wire. He tells her no, but that doesn't stop her. She tries to walk the wire by herself. She tries and tries again. He sees her insistence and desire and finally helps her train. She is a natural!

She discovers that Bellini is world famous and has even walked a wire across Niagara Falls! On his way back across the falls he stops in the middle and makes an omelette! That's just how amazing he is!
She begs him to do these stunts again but he says he has a fear of the rope now.
She tells him he must face his fear.
In the end, he faces his fear with the help of Mirette and they go on tour together walking wires around the world!

We identified the setting, characters, problems, solutions, and the themes in the book. We are getting so good at this! I'm astounded at the themes they find hidden in the pages. It would be great to remind your child of these literary elements as you read together.

Next, we talked about ears?! Why ears, you ask....because they are essential for keeping our balance!
And Mirette had an amazing sense of balance.
We learned that ears help us hear and the fluid found in the vestibular canals keep us balanced. We experimented by turning in circles over and over again. This disrupted the fluid in our ears and made us feel very dizzy!
We then tested our ears ability to hear by trying to identify what items were found in the mysterious Easter eggs. We shook the eggs and tried to figure out if they held a penny, button, bell, noodles or a foam block.
It was a bit tricky, but our ears didn't let us down!
Next week, we are going to test our balance as we perform amazing feats of circus skill!

Bagpipes and oatmeal

On Thursday, we had a wonderful class full of Scottish delights.

First, we re-read Wee Gillis. It is such a good story.  We again talked about and compared the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland.  We then looked at pictures of some of the animals of Scotland.  They have orcas just like us!!  

We also learned about family or clan tartans.  Each family has their own pattern.  You can tell which family people belong to, just by looking at their kilt or scarf!  NEAT!!

We then made some delicious oatmeal.  Wee Gillis ate oatmeal in both the Highlands and the Lowlands. Everyone loves oatmeal.

Lastly, we watched a couple of videos.  The first one showed the actual train from the Harry Potter movies!  Yes, they were filmed in Scotland.  JK Rowling, the author of the series, is Scottish.  

Next, we watched an awesome bagpiper!  We were so inspired, we made bagpipes of our own.  I bet you heard them during lunch.  We hope you enjoyed our impromptu concert.  You are very welcome!!

Next week, we are headed to the air with our book, Mirette on the High Wire.                                                                                 

Wee Gillis- What's in a name?

It is so great to be back in our class.  I missed my weekly story hour with your kiddos.

We kicked off the semester with a fantastic book about finding your own passion.

Wee Gillis by Munro Leaf is a book set in Scotland.  Wee Gillis is a young boy with family in the highlands and in the lowlands.  They want him to choose where he wants to live.  In the highlands, he must spend his time tracking stags.  In the lowlands, he must spend his time tending the long haired cattle.  Instead of choosing, he splits his time between both places, developing skills and a strong set of lungs.

When it comes time to choose where he wants to stay FOREVER, he finally discovers his talent for bagpiping.  Now he can live both in the highlands and the lowlands and play music.

We took a quick elements of literature quiz, which your kids were amazing with, by identifying the setting, theme, characters, problems, and solutions in the story.  Their answers were thoughtful and right on the money!!  They are very smart when it comes to discussing literature.

We then talked about our names.  Wee Gillis's real name was actually seven names!!  They then practiced writing their names and then making some name art.  They decorated their names with their hobbies, interests, and passions.  They then took turns presenting them to the class and telling each of us a little bit about themselves.  It was amazing!!  We found out some interesting things about everyone.  I hope they brought them home and showed them off.

We then ATE OUR NAMES!!  The table was scattered with alphabet cookies and they found every letter of their name.  JJ had the easiest time  : ). Then we ATE OUR NAMES!!  They were delicious and the perfect lead in to lunch.

Next week, we are going to learn about Scotland and even make some bagpipes.  Now might be a good time to invest in some earplugs!

The healing stories of food

We tried to overcome our sadness from the cancelled field trip with stories about food.  (Food seems to cheer me up, so this book choice makes sense to me.)

First, we watched a storytelling video of the classic book, Strega Nona.
We loved it.  We talked about the setting, characters, plot, and themes found in the story.  We learned that you need to LISTEN.  I knew I loved this book!

Next, we watched the telling of Stone Soup.  Again we learned such valuable lessons.

Finally, we finished our restaurant simulation.  This time we switched roles. Our restaurant was called School Kids' Party Place and Burgers.  We had lovely hostesses, servers, chefs, and cashiers.  But the place was a bit messy.  I think the health office might have closed us down if they would've seen the kitchen.

Next week, I believe we will be participating in the famed cardboard city.  So get out those big boxes and start designing. Maybe you could build a replica of School Kids' Party Place and Burgers or maybe Cinco de Mayo?!!!

Glowing Moonjellies

Class last week was so enlightening.  We re-read "Night of the Moonjellies."  It is a great book.

Then we made moonjellies using a plastic bag, twist tie, and glow in the dark snake!  Hopefully, they made it into your homes and created a lovely night vision for your family.

Next, we worked on ocean animal identification.  (We watched an ocean video while trying to find all the animals that were on our coloring page in the video.) We've got some great ocean explorers in class! 

Next week, we are headed to the zoo.  We can't wait to go to the aquarium and see all the animals we talked about in class.  Please remember to send Ida your permission slips.  It should be a grand adventure!