Monday, October 31, 2011

Have a Happy Halloween!


Thanks to our great room parents,
we had some wonderful
Halloween 
fun today!








Happy Halloween! on PhotoPeach




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What did you enjoy most about our party?

Did you have a Happy Halloween?

Tell us what costume you wore!






Don't forget to trick-or-treat for UNICEF!

Don't forget we have homework tonight,
even though it's Halloween!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Colossal, Creative Collections!

Recently we read a story in class called "The Talking Cloth." In the story a special character, Aunt Phoebe, was called a "collector of life." 
 
Many of us have collections too.
Please enjoy reading about them.


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Adam's Rare American Money Collection

     I have a collection of rare American dollar bills and coins. I began collecting them four years ago. In my collection, I have four two dollar bills, one Eisenhower dollar coin, eight presidential dollar coins, four half dollars, and four copper pennies.The Eisenhower dollar is most special to me because it was given to me by my papa. Definitely, I will keep collecting until I die!


*****

Hayley's American Girl Doll Collection
       This is my amazing American Girl dolls collection. I started collecting when I was four. I now have six dolls, and I'm looking forward to getting more. I collect these dolls because they are so much fun to play with! They have so many accessories and pets! My favorite dolls are the 2011 girl of the year, Kanani and the 2010 girl of the year, Lanie. Kanani's Hawaiian and Lanie is Californian. Most of all, I think American Girl dolls are the best!


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Andrew's Baseball Helmet Collection
                  
     I have a lot of baseball helmets. I have red ones, blue one, dark blue ones, and ones that have two colors. I like them because they reminds me of my 7th birthday. That's when I started the collection. My favorite baseball helmet is an Angels one. It's my favorite because they are my favorite team. I will keep collecting different types of helmets forever!



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Bella's Littlest Pet Shop Collection
      My collection is a Littlest Pet Shop collection. One of my favorites is the polar bear whose name is Snowflake. Another one of my favorites is the octopus whose name is Darla. I got my first few for Christmas when I  was little. Another thing I love about my collection is that they're all animals. I also have some of the houses. I like to collect them because it's fun to open up the package and find out which ones you have. I wonder what  collections other people have?




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Eve's Smurf Collection
     My collection is an amazing smurf collection. When I went to the arcade, my mom got a smurf for her prize. When my mom got it, I decided that I wanted to collect them. Then my cousin got one, and she said I could have it. I was so excited that I got my second smurf. Then I got another one and another one.  That's how I got my collection. 


*****


Grace's Rock Collection
      My rock collection is a very special to me. I got it when I went to my grandpa's house. We were at the beach when I got the collection. I found the rocks at a very sandy place near the shore. Then I found a very cool rock that had holes in it. That is my favorite rock. Then I asked my mom if I could make a rock collection. My mom said yes! I was so happy I could have a collection. Now I am looking forward  to collecting more rocks and getting to show people my collection.


*****


Josh's Sports Card Collection

     My collection of sports cards is a valuable collection with many great players. I collect these cards because I really like sports and athletes. I started when I was very young. I have many favorites like: Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Kobe Bryant, Clay Mathews, and many other favorites. I keep this awesome collection in my room where I have millions of cards.


    *****


    Michael's Trophy Collection

          My collection is a trophy collection. I love my trophies because I like to admire them in my room. I received all of my trophies by participating in sports, especially basketball. When I look at them, I pretend that I am a famous allstar basketball player. I hope you can have a trophy collection too.      



    *****


    Sydney's Japanese Eraser Collection
         I have many Japanese erasers in my unique Japanese eraser collection. I have animals, balls,  foods, clothes, and things that you can travel in. I collect Japanese erasers because they are fun to play with and to trade. I started to collect Japanese erasers when I was four. I get my Japanese erasers in China Town, from toy stores, and from Card Sharks. I like the panda and the hamster the best. I think my Japanese erasers are awesome!


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    Nate's Pokemon Collection
          My collection is a Pokemon collection. I collect these cards and other knickknacks because I like to play and battle with other people. My rarest card is my Deoxes and Raqayza legend. I got all of the items in my collection from the comic book shop. I started collecting  when I was four years old. I really like Pokemon!


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    Maya's Glass Elephant Collection
        My collection is glass elephants. My first one was white and light brown. My second was a light pink and purple elephant.  I have a light green elephant too. I started when I was young. My favorite is a light pink elephant, and it is special because my great grandma gave it to me. I hope I can share my collection with you soon in person!


    *****

    Nicole's Japanese Eraser Collection
         I have many kinds of collections. This is my Japanese eraser collection. My four erasers that are in a little box are smelly.  I also have three little couches and a table. My other Japanese erasers are different kinds of food. I have a piece of pie, a tomato, milk, and bread. There's even a knife to slice the bread! I have three more erasers and those are a cat, ghost, and a spider. I hope you like it.   




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    Quynh-Anh's Rock Collection
         My favorite collection is my rock collection. All of my shiny, rocks have different patterns and came from Lone Pine. I got my first rock when I first learned how to ski. My favorite rock is a light purple crystal because it was the first rock I ever picked out.  When I look at my collection, I feel proud because I think about the first time I went skiing and how much better I have gotten. I really like my collection and hope I can expand it soon.
      


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    Gregory's Trophy Collection


         My amazing collection is my trophies. I treasure my trophies in my closet. When I see my collection I remember about all my track and field games and my basketball games. My favorite trophy is the silver one with gold stripes on the border. My first medal was golden and said on it, "Best Boys Basketball team." One of medals was made from real gold and has silver on the border. Absolutely, I love my trophy collection.   


    *****

    Oliver's Game Collection

          My awesome collection is an amazing game collection. I treasure my games because they are very fun to play. I keep my awesome game collection in a game box. My favorite game is TDU Raceway. I like TDU Raceway the most because I love driving my little car in my garage. My first game was called MLB 2K9. It is a baseball game. The last game I bought  was called Super Sluggers. One of my most precious games is a football game. It reminds me of my grandma because she got it for me on my birthday. Obviously, I love to play my games.

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    Mrs. Ranney's Marvelous Mass of Magnets!


         My collection of magnets represents travel experiences I have had over the last sixteen years. I began my collection during a train trip that I took with my daughters and Mrs. Yollis’ in 1995. For this reason, the Amtrak and Great Northern Railway magnets mean a great deal to me. Since magnets are rather inexpensive and because I can see them everyday on my refrigerator, they seemed like a great souvenir item to collect! It is very difficult to select an absolute favorite. Two groups of magnets that are particularly precious to me are the ones from New York and Germany. The magnets from New York represent my daughter, Sarah, who lives there. I have visited her many times and have enjoyed all the sites, particularly the Statue of Liberty. Symbols of my daughter Kari, the magnets from Germany, are from places I visited with her when our whole family joined her for Christmas there in 2009. Definitely, I plan to continue collecting magnets everywhere I go for the rest of my life!



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    Please leave a comment about our 
    Colossal, Creative Collections.

    Tell us which collection is the most 
    interesting to you and why.

    You can also include a bit of information about your own collection, if you have one!

    Monday, October 24, 2011

    Let's Get Creative!

      As part of the Student Blogging Challenge,
    we have received some wonderful links 
    giving students an opportunity to be
    creative!


    We have many creative students in our class!
    Why not give one of these links a try?
    Are you artistic?
     Try Getty Art or Artpad







    Is science your thing? Are you inventive

    Are you an amateur animator
    Then you might like Kerpoof!





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    Which activities did you try?

    What were you able to create?

    Leave us a comment and tells us 
    about your experience!

    Tuesday, October 18, 2011

    Hip Hip Array!



    We have been exploring arrays!

    Row x Column = Product

    The multiplication for the array above is
    3 x 4 = 12
    because it has 3 rows of 4.

    When the factors are different digits, 
    the arrays are in the shape of a rectangle. 
    When the factors are the same digit, 
    the array are a square!


    We practice making arrays ourselves!
    First, we worked with tiles and created arrays like these:







     
    Afterward, we looked for 
     materials in our classroom that we could 
    use to create some more arrays! 

    Check these out!


    2 rows of 2 atlases



    3 rows of 6 pieces of clay


    2 rows of 5 clocks


    4 rows of 4 pieces of clay


    4 rows of 4 balls of clay
    4 rows of 4 pieces of clay

     Did you notice the the 4 x 4 square array was very popular?




    4 rows of 3 clay birds



    4 rows of 5 connecting cubes


    3 rows of 6 glue bottles



    6 rows of 6 dice



    4 rows of 3 dictionaries




    2 rows of 3 pencil sharpeners



    3 rows of 3 clocks



    3 rows of 2 thesauruses


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    Here is a quiz about arrays!
    Rows   x   Columns on PhotoPeach





    Which array is your favorite?

    Do you know more factors that will make square arrays?

    Do you see any arrays in your home?

    Tell us about it in your comments!

    Tuesday, October 11, 2011

    Are You An Expert?

    The second story in our Celebrating Traditions Unit is called
    "Anthony Reynoso, Born to Rope."









     This is a story of a family's tradition of Mexican rodeo roping and riding. Anthony and his family work hard and practice their skills for their exhibitions. Because of their hours of practice, they are now expert performers!



    *   *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *



    Please share about a skill you have worked hard to learn. 

    What steps did you take to master this skill?  

    Was it difficult at first?
     

    Did anyone help you to achieve this goal?

    Monday, October 3, 2011

    Celebrating Traditions!

    This week Mrs. Ranney's class is starting a new unit in Language Arts
    called Celebrating Traditions!



     A tradition is something that family, friends,
    or another group of people has done for many years and continues to do on a regular basis.

     *     *     *     *     *

    The story for this week is "The Keeping Quilt".


     In the first story, "The Keeping Quilt," by Patricia Polacco, the author retells the story of her family's handmade quilt. In the story, a Russian immigrant mother and family arrive in the United States. She plans to make a quilt from a basket of old clothes, telling her daughter, "It will be like having the family in backhome Russia dance around us at night."  The quilt is passed along from mother to daughter for four generations. It becomes a Sabbath tablecloth and a wedding canopy. It even becomes a blanket for new generations of children. "The Keeping Quilt" is a heart-warming story about one family's tradition.

    *     *     *     *     *

    In the comment section, please 
    share a tradition your family celebrates. 

    It can be an annual party, a holiday, or any traditional event.


    Please include details about: special foods,  decorations, songs, and/or activities.
     Your comment should be 4 to 6 sentences long.