Flat Stanley

We just finished reading a book called Flat Stanley. In the book, Little Stanley Lambchop gets flattened by a bulletin board while he is asleep. He uses his flatness as an an advantage to mail himself off to California to visit one of his friends. We are going to "mail ourselves" off for an adventure of our own. The class has been asked to think real hard over the weekend about somebody they would like to write a letter to that lives in a far away place. It could be another town, state, or even country! On Monday, an information packet will go home detailing the materials needed. If you want a head start, here are the things you will need to send in by Wednesday:

• Two stamps
• A baggie full of items to decorate the flat person with (fabric scraps, sequins, googly eyes, felt, etc.) Only enough for your child's flat person
• The name and address of the person you plan to write to

Here are some pictures from last year's Flat Stanley project:

 Example of a boy Flat Stanley

 Creative example of a girl Flat Stanley

This student received a package in the mail with lots of souvenirs from a family member who took her flat person on an exciting adventure! It's always exciting for kids to get mail!

This project is famous worldwide. You would be surprised at all the Flat Stanley networks there are! The class got really excited today when I showed them some very famous people with Flat Stanley (President Obama, Regis Philbin, Muhammad Ali, even the NY Giants just to name a few!)

For more information click the following link: Flat Stanley World Wide!

Pictures from Constitution Day

Check out the slideshow from our Constitution Day ceremony. Our school was decked out in red, white, and blue to show our patriotism! Florida Supreme Court Justice, Peggy Quince came to speak to our school about the importance of the Constitution. We learned how it protects our freedom. We learned about the Bill of Rights, and how there have been amendments made over the years to go along with the changing times. For example, women were not allowed to vote until the 1920s! The 19th amendment allowed this to happen! So, even though the Constitution was created over 200 years ago, it is still a document that is important and continues to govern our country to this day.

Create your own digital slideshow

We the People...

Constitution Day is tomorrow! Don't forget to wear your red, white, and blue! We are going to have a wonderful assembly in the morning at 9:00 AM. We want to show our spirit and remember to be thankful for this important document that protects our rights and freedoms!

Here are a few links you can check out to learn more about our Constitution:

• Constitution for Kids
• The Preamble
• Ben's Guide to the Government: The Constitution
• The Bill of Rights
• From the White House: The Constitution
• Constitution Games

Constitution Day is Coming!

Constitution Day is Friday! We have been learning all about what the Constitution is and why it is so important to our country. We learned a song today in class (both Mrs. Williams' class and Mrs. Owen's class) and we practiced singing the words to the Preamble of our Constitution. Click the link below to see the video we watched in class today and get your child to sing the chorus of the song for you! 

The Preamble - School House Rock

We Love Reading!

We began switching classes on Thursday and have had a wonderful time doing so! In our reading class, we we read a great play about two friends named Damon and Pythias who were very loyal to one another. The class was assigned parts and we had a day to act out the play and create our own music when it was called for!

Not only did we read a great story, we have been working on our grammar skills. Last week we talked about nouns and this week we concentrated on verbs. To help your child remember the difference, have them log in to Brain Pop. Our username is: springwoodelem, password: owls. Brain Pop has a video about anything you can imagine, so by all means, take a look at as many videos as you want! Try the quiz at the end to test your knowledge.

Here's your weekend challenge! How many action verbs can you think of to describe the events in this picture?

New Schedule Starts Tomorrow!

Parents,

Don't forget we begin switching classes tomorrow! Your children will have Mrs. Owen for reading and writing in the morning. After lunch, they will switch to Mrs. Williams' room for math, science, and social studies! A schedule was sent home in an email and hard copy format today. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about our new schedule.

Two Weeks Down!

Can you believe we just completed our second week of school, and that September is already here? Time flies when you're having fun! Here is an update of what we have been doing in class!

We recently began talking about place value in math class. We are really excited to be working in our brand new textbook. We are even allowed to write in it! How cool is that???? Usernames and passwords will be going home soon so you are able to access the new math series online.

We also began our unit on "Friendship" in reading class. We heard a story about a whale and a mouse who helped each other out in hard times and became great friends. We also read a story this week about two dogs named "Rugby and Rosie." Ask your child about this story, and check out the Imagine It! website if you would like to read this story, or any of our upcoming stories. All students have usernames and passwords stapled in the front of their agenda books. Not only is our textbook online, but there are also great games on there to help build spelling, vocabulary, and grammar skills. The link to our online textbook is under the heading "Frequently Used Links" on the left hand side of this page.

Keep checking the blog for more class updates, and for pictures of your children hard at work in our classroom!