We had a wonderful day yesterday. The students had a reading test yesterday and we also prepared for their Science Test today. Students were extremely well behaved on their field trip to the Chilliwack Museum where they got to hear stories from the past and make some pioneer crafts including potato candy. Yes, that’s right. You heard correctly; potato candy! And it was good!! In fact, it’s all good in Grade 3.

As the Christmas season comes closer, we often tend to think of those in need. While we should always be thinking of others who are having difficult times throughout the year, Christmas seems to naturally bring these feelings out.

As such, our class has a couple of projects we are working on to help bring Christmas to others. Our first project is the annual Salvation Army Food drive. We are are working hard to being in lots of cans and other food items. We have already received a number of items but more is needed. Please continue to bring those items in.

The other project we are working on is a toy drive. We are working on getting used or new toys together to donate the local Woman’s Shelter. Any toy is fine as long as it is in good shape, has all the pieces with it and is clean. I am sure that your child has many items that they do not play with and could be donated to someone who may not get a present for Christmas.

Here are the spelling words for this week. Look below or if you can not see the spelling words below click m-41 or download the spelling list from the side box.net area.

M-4

Here is a fun video that I found of a famous comedy sketch! Parents, you may know this one but the students probably don’t. It’s called “Who’s on First?”

First of all, I was reminded this morning that parents have already pre-paid for field trips this year! So please disregard the request for money (although I could put it towards a Tylenol fund for dealing with a crying baby!!!)

And now for something completely different:

Class Party !!!!!

We are happy to report that your kids have been working very hard to earn enough stars in class to have another class party! The government, however, has now implemented new regulations that do not allow us to offer unhealthy treats at school (such as pop, candy, and regular chips). For this reason, we are getting creative and have come up with a possible list of healthier alternatives! We would love it if your student could bring something to the party –this Monday, Dec 01/08 – from the list below, or some other healthy snack we have not thought of. Please discuss this with your child today, so that we can get an idea on Fri. of who will be able to bring things on Monday.

fruit plates
cheese & cracker plates
veggies & dip
healthy chips
juice boxes
popcorn (please bring it already popped)
rice cakes
homemade cupcakes, cookies, rice krispy squares etc.

Thanks so much for all you do to help us throughout the year. It is very appreciated!

. . . and those things, of course, are the memory verse and the spelling words for the week. I am trying hard to get them to you on Monday but you may have to be patient with me for a bit. My mind wanders a lot. By the way, have I told you that I have a daughter? I am really happy!!! Here are some more pictures.

The memory verse this week is an easy one. It is John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The spelling for this week is below:
Spelling M 3

We have had a busy week so far. In social we have begun to look at mapping. If you haven’t had a chance to download Google Earth and play with it, go and get it. You will need a pretty up to date system however but give it a try. You never know what might happen. As part of our intro to mapping, we have been talking about cardinal directions: North, South, East and West being the main points on the compass. I was telling the students about how sailors used to use the stars to navigate by looking for the North Star or Polaris in the sky. By looking for the Big Dipper you could easily find the North Star. Here is a video describing how to do this:

Here is a neat video showing how you can use your watch as a compass to find North:

My wife and I want to share some exciting news! At 7:14 this morning, my wife and I were blessed with the birth of a little baby girl. We have named her Siena Katherine Hancock and at birth she weighed 8 lbs 10 ounces.

We feel very blessed by God that Siena arrived safely. She is very healthy and comfortable and is enjoying her new world. We are very excited and can not wait to show you our new family member when she is up to meeting people. Here are some pictures:

Sorry that I didn’t get around to posting yesterday! It has been a busy week what with trying to get things ready for subs if I need to leave suddenly.

A couple of things though.

Students got their new bible memory verse yesterday. We are using Romans 8:28 this week which reads:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

As your child may have mentioned, the verses are due on Friday this week. Sorry about the inconsistancy with the Monday but now that we are down to more normal weeks, we will be trying to keep the verses to Fridays.

Students also got their spelling this week. Here is the list:

Spelling M 2

Now, on a completely different topic, our school has started a new initiative to get more involved in the community in doing service projects. Our class is looking for a service project or two where the students would be able to get out into the community and provide a service. I am wondering if there are any parents out there who might have some ideas of ways our class can get involved in our community in a service project that would be a good fit for 25 young, energetic, caring individuals. If you have any ideas, you can email me or post a comment on the blog or see me directly. All ideas are welcome and the more ideas the merrier!!!

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and thoughts as we get ready to expect our baby. The children have been encouraging and thoughtful and are almost as excited as I am!

I had a great day today. The teachers had a great time discussing technology and our vision for the future. We got to participate a little in worship but mostly just had some great conversations about why technology is so important as a way to be relevant to this next generation. Speaking of this next generation, I found this great video. It is mostly American based but speaks some truths for all of us.

If you haven’t read through the comments yet, one of our students in Holland right now sent us a little note. She is there for her Opa’s funeral. Please add her in your prayers as her and her family deals with this loss and as she begins to head home.

One of our other students created a piclit for the class. You can see it below.

Finally, just for fun, I found this funny video. I thought the kids might enjoy it.

Maybe a few to many milkbones, eh?

If you haven’t checked out multiplication.com yet check it out. Lots of great resources. I have heard a couple of the students have already checked out the multiplication game.

I was highlighting a couple of neat sites today for the kids. One was a really fun site from an american zoo. It allows you to create a “wild animal” in your likeness. The other site is a site to help learn the mulitplication tables but also includes a free game you can download to learn the multiplication tables.

The first site, “Build Your Wild Self” was created by the New York Zoos and Aquariums group. In this site you can build a representation of yourself, then add body parts from other animals. Once you are done you can then learn about the different types of animals you have used. You can then print it out, send it to someone or put it as your desktop. You can see my example here.

The other site, “Multiplication.com” has lots of great resources and activities for learning your multiplication tables. There are games, downloads and activities to use with your children. The best part is that there is a free game which you can get to from the site or by clicking here. Once you scroll to the bottom, you will see that there is a sign-up where you will need to put your name and email. The reason they ask for your email is so that they can send you the link to download it. If you like you can use our class email which is mrhclass-at-gmail.com (using the at sign instead of the word) and our password which I will not type here but has something to do with Mr.H’s evil twin brother! You will then get an email with the link which you will have to click. The download will start. Once that is done, you will need to install the program and then play!

Have fun and have a great weekend!!!

I hope that you were able to enjoy the concert today. The students did a wonderful job and also did a wonderful job listening and sitting respectfully for the rest of the concert.

It is an important day for students to be involved in. I was talking to my students about how my grandfather, who passed away last year, never really talked about the war (Second World War). He kept telling me that it was a terrible time and that he didn’t want to share that experience with me; that it was a sad time where he lost many friends. However, we need to make sure that we never forget this time. In my conversations with the children last week, it was reassuring to hear that many of the students had some understanding of the importance of the day. However, there were some misconceptions and things that needed to be clarified. Having these conversations with students is a very important process and learning experience for children to help ensure that we continue to put a precedence on peace making.

As for the rest of the week, as it is a short week, there will be no spelling or memory verse this week.

This week, (and probably a little next week) I am showcasing a great album as our music of the week. The album is called Hush and it features Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma. Yo-Yo Ma is a famous cellist who I got to see live last year. The concert was magnificent. Bobby McFerrin is not someone I have ever got to see live but he is an amazing vocal artist probably best known for “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”. However, most of his work is in the classical area and is a very well known conductor. So I thought I would highlight a couple of songs. One is from the album “Hush”, the other is a song that Bobby McFerrin did live. It is just an amazing song that only he could ever pull off. The last one is his mst well-known one, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”.

SeeqPod - Playable Search