Well, another week has gone by. This year is going fast already. The students have had an awesome couple of weeks. We are just about to wrap up our building projects and are looking towards our Space unit.
Students had their math quiz today, and from the looks of things, they all did quite well. Starting next week, students will be doing a weekly Mad Minutes. They will have to answer 35 adding in two minutes, 35 subtracting in two minutes and 25 multiplying in two minutes. If you would like to practice for these, you can create your own quizzes using the Math Fact Cafe link on the side under the links.
As we have started our memory verse again, please work with your child on helping them to memorize their verses for each Friday.
Here is the link for next weeks Spelling Words. Justr click on the picture and you will be taken to the new words with the activities.
For devotions today, we did something a little different. One of my favorite bands is the David Crowder Band. So I found a video with their music and words and we sang along with it. Anyway, I thought I would also share it with you.
To end off, I would like to share one of my favorite poems with you. I was sharing it with Mrs. Davies and I was telling her that we had a copy of this poem hanging on our wall at home. So to end of this week, here is a poem that means a lot to me.
Desiderata
written by Max Ehrmann
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
I’ve been hearing lots of great things about the spelling city. The students seem to really be enjoying the activities and the ability to practice their spelling words. Here are the spelling words (m-6) for the week for you to print out if you like. They are also on the box.net widget on the side.
I am thinking of a way to reward the students for using the spelling city site to encourage them to use it. I will let you know about what I come up with soon. Speaking of tests, we forgot about the 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 10 times table test today. We will instead be doing it for Friday. That gives the students a couple more days in which to practice.
Mrs. Caswell has passed out the recorders for the students as you may have noticed today (and I am sure you have noticed!). There is also a note that was to go home with it as well. The students will be bringing the notes home tomorrow. You can also get the notice in the box.net widget on the side.
The memory verse for the week is from Ephesians 4:29:
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Thank you working so hard on voting for the site. We came a long way and from far behind. We didn’t make it but had a good run nonetheless. Thank you for your support. I have not been able to write as much as I wish I could. I am still adjusting to having a baby at home. However, I am going to really make sure I get some more posts out during the week to help you stay better informed. Thanks!
. . . 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.
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:
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:
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 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”.
Over the last few weeks students have been working hard on a voicethread. A voicethread is a powerpoint that allows you to add narration. We have been creating our voicethreads to discuss things that make a community safe and caring.
Please enjoy your child’s work. If you have a microphone, please feel free to add an appropriate comment to the voicethread.
Students got their bible verses today. Students will be reciting them on Monday. However, I must have been half asleep when I typed it up as I made a couple of mistakes. Please check that your child’s verse matches the actual verse as listed below.
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Here is the memory verse for this week. Students will recite their memory verses on Monday.
Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
Just a reminder that Friday is a P.D. day and there will be no school for students that day.
It was a fantastic day today! The students earned another party which we will be having tomorrow afternoon. If you would like to help by supplying some kind of treat, that would be wonderful! Students will now have to earn double the amount of stars to earn their next party but I know they will be able to do it as they have been really improving as the year has gone!!!!!
We are working very hard on our Social Studies Voicethreads. Don’t know what a voicethread is? Check out the blog next week to find out!!!!
One of the students in the class, J.A. made a fantastic PicLit today which I wanted to share with you.
A reminder that next week is a short week with staff going to Pacific Academy for workshops and Thanksgiving Monday following that.
Students also have a spelling test tomorrow.
Students do not have a Memory Verse tomorrow as I, with my failing memory, forgot to get one printed out. They will have memory verse next week.
It was a busy day today and the students got quite a bit done. We are just about done working on our outlines and will be getting ready to turn them back into stories. The student have really picked up the idea of writing outlines and should be able to make an easy transition to writing paragraphs from those outlines.
In Art, we are working on creating pictures out of horizontal lines, diagonal lines and vertical lines. While it may seem that it would be hard to do an interesting piece of art out of just lines, I think the art will be amazing.
We reached a milestone the other day! We have gone past 2,000 visitors on our blog! We were all very excited and we are now trying to reach 3,000 by the end of the year.
Just a reminder! Students have their spelling test and memory verse tomorrow. Please help the students prepare for those!
Here is a game for you to try that looks like fun.
3D Maze – Play Now! Prepare a plastic bag near you before playing this game…
Well, another week has gone by. This year is going fast already. The students have had an awesome couple of weeks. We are just about to wrap up our building projects and are looking towards our Space unit.
