Archive for January, 2010
On Wednesday, Mr. Martini (our first grade teacher’s husband) stopped by to play the native Australian instrument, the didgeridoo. The students were amazed by this primitive instrument made by the Aborigines. Mr. Martini informed us that the instrument was made by a tree that had been hollowed out by termites. Then, he blew into the wax-covered mouthpiece. It looked just like when a baby blows air through his lips. The sound was amazing. Mr. Martini was very patient and willing to attempt to make all of the animal sounds our young friends could come up with. We want to send a very big thank you to Mr. Martini and Mrs. Martini for getting him here!
Mr. Martini with his didgeridoo.
We could feel the air come out of the bottom!
On Tuesday, we celebrated the 100th day of school! Since it was the 100th day, we had to party 100 times over! We began the day with 100 brisk steps in the chilly air. Then, we started working on a paper chain with 100 links. After P.E., we layed each of our 100 items out to see whose was the longest. We discovered that Jackson’s pipecleaners were the longest, Alize’s chocolate chips were the shortest, and Johannes’s paper clip chain was the easiest! After Spanish, we finished up our paper chain and took a break from all that counting! Instead of our regular math lesson, we created cereal necklaces with 100 “beads”. To end off our day, we took 100 licks on a Tootsie Roll Pop to see if we could get to the Tootsie Roll (we couldn’t). We had an excellent time partying for our 100th day!
These are a few of our 100 things!
Working to put 100 pieces together!
A paper chain, 100 links long!
An edible 100th day treat!
100 licks on our lollipops!
How many 100’s can you see?
Check us out on Photobucket to see all the 100th Day counting!
On Friday, a third grader stopped by to tell us all about recycling! They created a poster to help us remember why we want to take care of our Earth.
Thank you Ashley for stopping by!
This week, Victoria was able to bring lots of outside information from Australia. Her dad was stationed in Darwin and had many items that Victoria was eager to share.
Victoria with the boomerang!
The Aboriginal rainstick.
An Aborigines child with a baby kangaroo.
Thank you Victoria for the wonderful artifacts!
Last week, Jackson turned 6!
Happy Birthday Jackson!
We continued our journey south into the land of ice. There we learned about the population of Antarctica, the many types of animals both on land and in the polar waters, and the small number of plants that can survive the harsh terrain. We also explored the weather by observing the amount of precipitation and the frigid temperatures.
Sammy appeared to be a magician when he lifted the ice right out of the cup!
Check us out on Photobucket for all of our frigid fun!
January begins our journey to the remaining 6 continents on our trip around the world. For the first leg of the trip, we were able to cross over the Panama Canal into South America. There, we were able to take a dive into the major bodies of water, trek through the jungle, swim the second longest river, climb the longest mountain range, sweat through the driest place on Earth, and search out animals from throughout the different terrains of the continent.
Climbing Machu Picchu is hard work! 3,000 steps to the top!
A South American export, cocoa beans, does not taste like chocolate!
Check us out on Photobucket, for all of our South American fun!
The new year will bring new friendships! We are teaming up with Mrs. Burns’s third grade class for the opportunity to connect with our older peers. The third graders will join us every Friday before lunch. For the beginning of our time together, the older friends will read to us. Then, the Kindergarteners will have the opportunity to practice reading a book of their choice to an older peer. Many of our friends are eager to continue some of the chapter books that the third graders chose!
Kate and Ashley enjoy their book.
Scout chose to read one of our student-created books to Sarah and Alize.
Johannes is very interested in Logan’s book.
Check us out on Photobucket for all of our reading connections! And, don’t forget to stop by Mrs. Burns’s Third Grade blog for more information.
Over our Winter Break, Alize had a birthday. We are so excited for our last friend to turn 5!
Happy Birthday Alize!
On Friday the 18th, the Kindergartners were outfitted in their holiday best, ready for reindeer games! We celebrated the day with our Holiday party where we created necklaces with our names on them, Christmas frames, and tried the delicious brownies!
Kate and her mom decorate the Christmas frames!
James and the girls plan their necklaces!
Sarah and her Dad are ready for a treat!
Alize and Andrew loved the sweets!
Check us out on Photobucket for all of the holiday cheer!