Katherine's Adventures with Swinger

Friday, Swinger came home with me and we packed for the Indian Princess campout. Saturday, Me, Swinger, and my dad left at 8:00 A.M. for Camp Duncan.  When we got there we picked a bed and got settled in our cabin.  Then we hung out in our cabin, after that we went sledding.  It was really steep so we went down fast and went really far.  Me and Swinger were freezing because the snow was blowing against us.  After sledding, we went skating on the ice and me and Swinger fell on our butt several times.  Next, we went to the mess hall and when Swinger tried the sandwich he spit it out.  So he decided to have a salad like me and we both liked it better than the sandwich, although it wasn’t great.  After lunch, we hung out in the cabin and played some music for a long time.  Since me and Swinger had so much fun sledding we decided to do it again.  This time it was even colder because the temperature dropped all day.  We went down faster this time because the snow had turned into ice.  Then we decided to go back to the cabin and make s’mores with our tribe.  The s’mores were so delicious I even got my dad to try one.  Swinger liked them too, better than the salad!  

After that we went to the dance party, right when we got there Swinger disappeared out on the dance floor!  We found Kate, Lilly, Emily Douglas, and Ellie.  The first song was “Timber,” it’s Swingers favorite song.  So he taught me the monkey dance and I taught him the sprinkler.  Then people started to leave and our legs got tired.  The next thing we know, me, my dad , and Swinger are the last people on the dance floor!  So we went back to the cabin.  My dads phone said eleven o’clock PM!  Me, Kate, Lilly, and Swinger talked for awhile and ate more s’mores before we went to bed.  Me, Swinger, and Kate were the last people awake.  We understood that because it was twelve fifteen PM!  Finally, we went to bed.  “Good night” I said to Swinger.  

Sunday, Swinger and I got up and did the wake-up call.  After that we went home.  We stopped by Panera for a cinnamon roll.  Swinger loved the inside because it had the most cinnamon.  We liked the hot chocolate too!  I had a great time at the campout with Swinger and my dad.  Swinger got to spend extra time with me because of Martin Luther King day.  So I had a playdate with Kate and he loved the sugar cookies my mom made.  He also had fun playing in the basement with us.  Then I had a playdate with Lilly and we had really yummy popsicles.  Wednesday, I had my last breakfast with Swinger.  “I had a great time” I told Swinger, and he said the same thing back.

Andrew's Adventures with Flipper

On Friday, January 10^th I brought Flipper home with me.  Flipper came out of my backpack and watched me say “hi” to my grandmas.  The whole family came over to celebrate my sister Ava’s birthday.  Flipper ate dinner with us.  We had sloppy joes and fries.  After dinner, Uncle Pete spun Flipper and I around on the floor by our legs.  We sang Happy Birthday to Ava and everyone ate mandarin orange cake, her favorite.  Flipper and I did not eat any cake.  We were too full from dinner!

On Saturday, we started the day with breakfast and video games.  Then my dad took us to play basketball.  Flipper cheered for me as I shot 24 baskets.  I was hungry after that.  I had 2 tacos for lunch at Taco Bell.  We had to get new tires for my grandma’s car and then we dropped it off at her house.  After that, Flipper and I went go-karting.  Flipper was not allowed to go in the go-kart with me.  He watched me get in 4^th and 8^th place in 2 races.  He also watched me get a spin out.  Flipper was worried that I got hurt, but I did not get hurt.  Later at home, we had pizza for dinner and played the board game, Clue.  It was Miss Scarlett with a rope in the study.  Flipper was shocked and confused.   Flipper slept in my room that night.

On Sunday, we had a fun day planned for Ava’s birthday.  We ate Subway in the car for lunch and drove to Chicago to see The Blue Man Group.  Flipper’s favorite part of the show was the dance party.  He liked to shake his butt and watch the huge beach balls fly in the air.  After the show, we went to dinner at the Little Goat diner.  Flipper watched me gobble up the french fries.  There was another surprise after dinner.  Flipper and I tried to guess the surprise, but Ava figured it out when we got to the stadium. We saw people walking with Blackhawk jerseys.  It was the Blackhawks vs. Oilers game!  We got to watch the game in a skybox.  There were lots of treats.  We made Blackhawks signs to cheer the team on.  They won the game 5-3! 

Flipper and I had a great time this weekend!  On Monday, Flipper and I had our last breakfast together and went to school.

Throughout our Midwest social studies unit, students conducted research on a Midwest state. As a culminating activity for our unit the students created floats that represented the states they studied. We then had an opportunity to parade our floats through the hallways for other students and teachers to see. Click on the image below to view the students' descriptions of their floats.



Here are photographs of the students busy working on their research and floats.

Students evaluate the reliability of various websites in this fun "presearch" lesson. We analyzed the websites based on the presence of the following: publisher, author, bias, depth, accuracy, and if it is up-to-date. Check out these fun websites and see if you can determine their reliability!

http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

http://www.classroomhelp.com/lessons/web/WHALES/whale_in_MI.pdf

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/PandaFacts/

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/chineseriverdolphin.htm

http://www.nwf.org/Kids/Ranger-Rick/Animals/Amphibians-and-Reptiles/Chameleons.aspx

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/porcupines/

Officer Friendly Visit

Before winter break Officer Aiello visited our class to discuss stranger safety and internet safety. 

Assembly Line

After learning about Henry Ford's assembly line, we experimented with our very own bookmark-making assembly line. The students evaluated the process and compared advantages and disadvantages of creating the bookmarks using an assembly line compared to constructing them independently.

Light Beam Observations

During science today students observed how light travels through cloudy liquid. Students used iPads to document their learning (or record light saber sounds). Take a look at the interesting videos and photos below!

Weekly Crandall Chronicle

What's Happening This Week

Spelling: Our spelling pattern this week includes words with /oi/ and /oy/.
Reading: This week we are focusing on story elements and sequence of events. Our vocabulary strategy is using context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. 
Writing: Students continue reading from the book My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada. They have been identifying character traits that the main character possesses and using evidence to support their claims. New writing words for January were sent home last week. There will be a cumulative test at the end of the month.
Grammar: Our focus is combining sentences with shared subjects or predicates.
Math: We began Unit 6: Geometry last week. Students will be focusing on angles and polygons this week.  
Science: We began our new unit on light last week. We are currently exploring concepts on illumination, light sources, beams of light, and reflection.
Social Studies: Students brought home flash cards for the NE states and capitals. The test covering these nine states and capitals will be at the beginning of February.

Weekly Reminders
* The January Student Challenge will be sent home on Friday. It will be due before the end of the month.
* If your child tends to get wet while playing in the snow during recess, feel free to send an additional pair of socks or gloves. 

      * There will be no Scholastic book orders sent home in January since the February Book Fair is soon approaching.     

* Please continue to encourage your child to practice his or her math facts nightly. Remember, there are many                      different math games on our class website!

Study Tip

Our science unit includes many new vocabulary terms that the students will be using regularly. Please check our science page on our website (click on the science tab at the top of this page) to view our most recent terms.