Captains of Character

First, I want to apologize for pictures sometimes not showing up on my posts recently. I try to upload the pictures both at home and school, as well as from my iPad, and it has been freezing up the computer and doesn't post. I'll keep trying though!!
Last week at Oakland, we started recognizing "Captains of Character" on the morning news show. These are students that exhibit outstanding character both in and out of the classroom. My first recipient was Daamini. She shows the character trait of flexibility by never complaining when we stray from routine and always going with the flow. Way to go Daamini! 

This week, we recognized Adam. He exhibits problem solving by always working hard to solve a problem on his own, especially when Mrs. Wise is working with other students! He never gives up! Awesome job, Adam!

We've been busy counting coins this week. Please work with them at home with any change you have around the house. They're getting better with this, but more practice never hurts!


Remember our Christmas Party is next Friday at 9:30. If you are able to, please send in a few dollars to help with the cost of the party. The students will be having a Zaxby boxed meal. We hope you can join us! Students will be dismissed at 11:00 that day. We can't believe Christmas is almost here!

Abuzz with Activities

First of all, I hope each of you had a blessed Thanksgiving! We've been busy these past couple of weeks with experiments, investigations, and engineering activities. The week prior to the holiday, we did several Thanksgiving themed experiments. Here are a few pictures and explanations of some of them. Discuss these with your child at home!
First, we placed corn in a container of water on the window ledge to see what would happen. This was a learning experience because we had to stray from the materials listed. It stated to use "indian corn" but surprisingly no stores in the BS/Sptbg area had indian corn (what?!). I guess they clear that out after Halloween to make room for Christmas merchandise. So unfortunately, we didn't observe too many changes but it led to a discussion about what would happen if we actually had used indian corn.
Next, we did an activity called "Pass the Cake" where we used apple, lemon, and chocolate cake. The students had to close their eyes and only use their sense of smell, touch (with tongue), and taste to predict what they were eating. Their favorite part was feeding their partner! We then graphed the correct and incorrect predictions. The trickiest flavor to predict seemed to be the lemon.

Another activity was "Shake it Up" in which they had to predict what would happen if we shook cold cream in a cold jar. Some of the predictions were it "would explode," "turn to sour cream," "turn to butter," or "do nothing." After a lot of vigorous shaking we had....BUTTER! We discussed how it had changed from a liquid to a solid because the fat particles were sticking together from all of the shaking. Then we tasted our creation on pieces of bread. They were surprised that they actually liked it!

And I save the best for last...."Boat Builders." The challenge was to build the Mayflower using only modeling clay, that could float and safely hold Pilgrims (10 marshmallows), livestock (tootsie rolls), and cargo (pennies). It was wonderful watching this engineering activity in progress. I was so proud of them for not giving up. Those groups that struggled got frustrated but kept trying. What a wonderful life lesson! And they were so proud when they achieved their goal. We had a great discussion too about creating, trying, and revisiting different aspects of the activity and what we had learned from it. This was a great learning experience and I look forward to the future activities and challenges we attempt as a class!

Doughnuts with Dads

Thank you to all of the dads, granddads, and uncles who were able to come eat doughnuts with us on November 12!  Dads are such an important role model in the life of a child and I know that they were excited that you could be here. I loved reading the writing they completed during breakfast about their dad, or grandfather, or uncle being so strong they "can lift a truck," as handsome as "a lion," and if they had a million dollars they would buy them "a new car."  That shows how much they care for and love their family! Enjoy these pictures I took, and if I missed you, I apologize!

Thanksgiving Break begins next Wednesday! We have some fun activities planned for this week and next to celebrate this special time in our culture and how it was influenced by the Native Americans and Pilgrims. We also begin telling time this week, so please practice this skill at home with your child because it can be a difficult one for a lot of them. Have a fabulous week!

Room 102 at Riverbanks Zoo

We had a fantastic trip to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia this week! What a great way  to concluding our animal unit! When we arrived, we went to the Discovery Center to take a class about animal classification. They knew the answers to all of the instructor's questions, which makes me so proud of how much they've learned! They really enjoyed the hands-on activities in classifying animals. Following class, we ate lunch in the picnic area and then the students were free to explore the zoo until the end of our visit. I could NOT have done it without all of my parent chaperones. Thank you so much to each you that were able to attend!! I am so grateful and I hope you enjoyed your time with us. Enjoy the following pictures!

Red Ribbon Week

This week was Red Ribbon Week at OES. I love this week each year because of the fun activities that share with the students the message of making good choices to succeed in life. On Monday, some BSHS football players (one, a former OES student) spoke to our class about being drug-free and how they can be anything they want to be by making the right choices.

Tuesday, they dressed in their best, which was appropriate since it was our Awards Day. They looked fabulous!

Wednesday was our field trip to Riverbanks Zoo. See the following post :)
Thursday was college, university, and military day. I loved seeing all of the different school colors and imagining where they would all be headed when they graduate in 2025.
Friday was Career Dream Day. It was Career Day at OES, so the students dressed as what they want to be when they grow up. I had several teachers, veterinarians, a doctor, a professional singer, and military guys. Awesome!

The first career we got to hear about was from Mrs. Griffin, a graphic designer.  Each student got to choose a design to go on a jar opener (which I'm sure you'll find both cute and useful) and then watched a picture of me get photo-shopped :) They loved it! What a cool presentation. Thank you Mrs. Griffin!

Next, we visited a dental hygienist. They learned about the proper way to take care of their teeth by practicing on Kanga, the kangaroo.

We then went to Mr. Lunsford who taught them about construction. They had the challenge of constructing a tower as a team and had to beat the record of 40 inches tall. They rose to the challenge, and one group made a 44 inch tall tower! It was a lot of fun watching the teamwork and strategies involved.

Last, we visited Mr. Gaines, a lawyer. They learned what a lawyer does and even got to act out a courtroom and wear judge's robes to feel powerful and yell, "Order in the court!" They seemed to be a little familiar with Judge Judy too :)

It was a wonderful week with meaningful experiences for all of us!