Oozing Pumpkin

I totally forgot to take pictures of the kids in their costumes-ugh!  We will definitely have a lot of photos from our Halloween Craft Party on Monday, though.  In the meantime, here is a fun video for the kids to watch!  (They do say not to do it at home because of the chemical involved, but maybe some of our brilliant scientists can think of substitutes to use?) 

Lantern Festival at Jamaica Pond

   Last post for tonight-I promise!  We decided to got to the Lantern Festival at Jamaica Pond this weekend hosted by Spontaneous Celebrations, an organization that I do not know much about, other than that they encourage culture and community through art.

  Out of curiousity, I drove by the festival on Saturday evening around 8:00, figuring most people would have left by then.  There were still tons of lanterns making their way around the pond and it looked SO COOL!  I was able to get a good look at some of the lanterns, too, and noticed they were made of recycled soda bottles! 

I made it my mission to scrounge some up on Sunday and get to work! 

   Since I am not a huge soda drinker, though a big fan of A&W Diet Root Beer, I had to borrow some bottles from my aunt and mom who mostly had 1 liter bottles.  These worked out great, however!  I pulled out all the leftover tissue paper I had, a bottle of Modge Podge (that I watered down), some paint brushes, and scissors.  (BTW The Modge Podge was actually glittery, so my vampire creation really did SPARKLE!!!)

    Next, Emily and I got to work!  We painted the glue onto the tissue and stuck it to our bottles-as simple as that.  The nice thing about tissue paper is that, although it is delicate, it is very forgiving to work with.  If it rips...paint it with more glue!  I hope you enjoy our final products in the slideshow above and I hope you get a chance to make some lanterns of your own!    

Note: We used electric tea lights.

Onto the Garden!

   After a great morning outside with many pumpkins and parents, the kids got a break to eat lunch and have recess.  Then, though, it was back to work!  Mrs. Cooke, and her friend J.T., brought their super helpful "Gardens With Spirit" trailer and played in the dirt with us!  Students learned about planting bulbs, such as which end goes UP!  See if your child can tell you the vocabulary word we use for what plants, such as bulbs or apple trees, do in the winter months!  (Hint: college students sleep in a place that starts the same way....) 

   Mrs. Cooke also found a pod of seeds on one of our milkweeds.  Inside were enough seeds for each student to plant one somewhere in the garden.  Milkweed seeds travel in a really cool way.  Ask your child if they can tell you three ways that seeds travel.  They ESPECIALLY love to tell about one way in particular..... (Hint: It has to do with animals.  Waste not, want not!)  

   The kids also loved watering the garden with the cool "Ghostbusters" watering backpacks!  A HUGE thanks to Mrs. Cooke and J.T.!  Enjoy the show! 

Pumpkin Day 2011

   On Friday, October 21st, 2011, Miss Perron's Class had their First Annual Pumpkin Day!  Thanks to the hard work of our wonderful room parents, Mrs. Hazel and Mrs. Powderly, along with a number of awesome parent volunteers, we were able to take our classroom outside! 
   Students visited three stations.  At the first station students work together to construct incredible scarecrows for our garden!  A big thanks to Mr. Powderly for being the "brains" behind the operation!! (That's a reference to Wizard of Oz, not a commentary on Mr. Powderly's brainpower!)
   At the second station, students got creative using various materials to decorate their pumpkins.  Every one was unique and beautiful! 
   At the third station, students explored pumpkin science and math, which we will continue in the classroom.  Do you think a pumpkin will sink or float?  You might be surprised!  See if your second grader can tell you why!  You might also want to see if they can surprise you with some interesting info about what determines the difference between a fruit and a vegetable! 
Enjoy the slideshow and please remind fellow class-families to sign up for the blog so they can get a glimpse into a "Day in the Life of a Second Grader" as well!

Thanks again to Mrs. Hazel, Mr. and Mrs. Powderly, Mr. and Mrs. Florio-Sousa, Mrs. Blakley, Mrs. Grady, Mrs. Clemons (and her nephew), Mrs. DeMartino,  Mrs. Samargedlis, and Mrs. Connell for coming in and helping us!  Also, thanks to any parents who sent in supplies!  You are all the best! 

Make Your Mark

I discovered this great song inspired by "The Dot" and I had to share!  Enjoy!
Make Your Mark by iamemma

Read and Romp

As many of you know, I have developed many good friends at The Blue Bunny Bookstore in Dedham, MA. One of the friends I made, Joy, is the founder of an organization called Catching Joy. Catching Joy's mission is to teach young children the joy of volunteering and giving. This is something that we will be incorporating into our classroom this year through a number of service learning projects that I am hoping to do in conjunction with Catching Joy!
We've already had a wonderful example of the giving spirit in our class by Will who asked for books for his birthday to donate to the school library! To learn more about Catching Joy, click on their logo below:

One of the programs I learned about through Catching Joy is Reach Out and Read, an evidence-based nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud.  Here is a clip of the work they do:

Through Joy, I was fortunate enough to become an ambassador for a wonderful Read Out and Read event coming up on November 13th at the Seaport Hotel in Boston called the Read and Romp.  Emily and I went for the first time last year and had a wonderful time!

Read and Romp is the annual family friendly event to help raise money for Reach Out and Read’s mission. It is a fun day for the whole family where children are able to experience some of their favorite books by participating in activities and crafts.

Read and Romp 2011 will take place at the Seaport Hotel in Boston on November 13, 2011 and features:

·         12 storybook-themed stations with fun children’s activities

·         Each child receives a gift bag with a book, toys, and other goodies

·         Meet and greet with:

o    Norman Bridwell,  Clifford creator

o    Peter Reynolds, children’s author and illustrator of the Judy Moody series

o    Hallie Durand, author of Dessert First.

·         Buffet lunch with musical entertainment by Stacey Peasley

·         Raffle and online auction with a chance to win great prizes

For tickets and more information visit: http://www.readandromp.org/.

If you are unable to go, but are interested in supporting the cause, here is another option! 

Draw a Book Give a Book!

Encourage your child to read and give back to others!

The Draw a Book Give a Book project supports Reach Out and Read by emphasizing to children the importance of reading and generosity.  Children design, draw, and color their very own cover to their favorite book and send it to Reach Out and Read along with a suggested donation of $10.   Parents or caretakers may send in a donation or encourage their children to raise the money through their own creative ideas.

Please make checks out to:

Reach Out and Read, Inc.

56 Roland St. Suite 100D

Boston, MA 02129

Your child’s beautiful drawing and demonstration of service to others will be displayed at Read and Romp on November 13, 2011 at the Reading Makes You Feel Good Station, sponsored by Catching Joy, a 501c3 non-profit that promotes volunteerism beginning with young children and their families.

All submissions must be received by November 10, 2011.

For questions or more information please email fundraising@reachoutandread.org, or call 617-455-0665.

Here's the template (clicking the pic will take you to Google Docs):

A peek at last years event....

Learning the World By Heart

A few weeks ago, the Elm Street community was lucky enough to be visited by author David Smith. Mr. Smith traveled from his home in Vancouver and talked to his audience about his books and the importance of geography and understanding the world we live in. Some of the information he shared was amazing! For instance, not all places in the world recognize 7 continents and 5 oceans as we do in the United States. (Be honest....did YOU know there were 5 oceans? When I was in school there were only four!) His picture books are "If the World Were a Village", "If America Was a Village", and "This Child, Every Child". They are very factual and content rich, but I have found second graders to be very engaged when presented with the information in smaller parts. Mr. Smith is also the author of a program called Mapping the World by Heart. The program itself is more appropriate for middle schoolers, but some of the activities are adaptable for the younger grades.
Most of my students are able to name the continents and oceans. They see the map and globe all the time, though many are still discerning between continents, countries, and cities. As an experiment, I gave my students a template with only North America drawn in. Together we listed the names of seven continents and five oceans. (Students were able to choose to call Australia, Oceania or Australia.) I told students not to get hung up on the shapes of the land, but rather see if they could place "blobs" of land in the right area on the world. The results are so interesting and fun to look at! (See the photos of a select few in the slideshow below.)
I will hold onto the maps and we will complete this same exercise at the end of the year to see how their perceptions change after a year of social studies instruction and our Travel Log Project which will be coming home soon! Enjoy and maybe give this a shot yourself! Maybe even try to locate countries.....talk about a brain buster!

Autumn Day

Rick Riordan in Burlington, MA!

Attention all fans of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, 39 Clues, Kane Chronicles, and Heroes of Olympus! Author Rick Riordan will be at the Barnes and Noble in Burlington, MA this Friday, October 7th at 7:00 PM.
The store is representing the Aphrodite cabin for this event.

Special Store Instructions:
Pre-Order your copy of The Son of Neptune from this store, and your name will be added to our Wristband Reservation List. Your wristband secures your spot in the B&N VIP line. Reserved wristbands can be picked up Tuesday October 4th or Friday the 7th. He will sign 2 books only. Call store for more details! (781-273-3871)