A Fond Farewell!

Mrs. Ranney has retired and 

will no longer be posting on this blog.

She wishes all her former students a wonderful new school year!

From time to time, Mrs. Ranney will visit at Chaparral, and she will continue to post on the Ranney's Record blog periodically.

Please visit Ranney's Record to leave a comment and feel free to send in a photo that you would like to have posted!

Sizzling Summer Solstice, 2014!

This year in the Northern Hemisphere, summer begins on June 21, 2014.

This first day of summer is called 

Summer Solstice.

Sol + stice comes from a combination of Latin words meaning "sun" + "to stand still." As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky.

As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in 

the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Northern Hemisphere celebrates in June, but the people on the Southern half of the earth have their 

longest summer day in December!

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What are your favorite activities during summer?

Do you have any special summer plans?

Leave a comment, and let's stay in touch!

You may also send in a picture about what you're enjoying this summer to be posted on Ranney's Record!

Our Blooming Butterfly Bush!

Today was a very special day for our class!

 Inspired by Mrs. Ranney's Post called

Astonishing Arbor Day - Then and Now!,

one of our wonderful parents, Mrs. Mayer, had a brilliant idea!

Since Mrs. Ranney's class had planted a tree on our campus 28 years ago, and since this is Mrs. Ranney's final year of teaching, why not plant something special again?!

 

So, we did just that, with help from a few friends!

 

 Mr. Lattimer dug the hole and mixed in the soil amendment.

 

 Mrs. Grupp, a parent with a great deal of plant expertise taught us about how to plant it properly, so the roots could spread out in their new home.

 Each of us helped loosen the roots.

 Mrs. Ranney helped fill in the soil!

 Mrs. Mayer brought our original artwork which has been reproduced as a tile to commemorate this special event.

 After our butterfly bush was securely in place, we all took turns giving it a drink! (A special thank you to Andrea Testa who took many of the photos. Thanks to Mrs. Berman who also took photos today!

 Here it is in its new home, awaiting the installation of the special plaque, so others who pass by will know who planted it and when!

Our special plant is called 

Buddleja davidii 'Royal Red'.
Informally it is known as the Butterfly Bush! We look forward to seeing how tall it will grow and how many different butterflies 
and hummingbirds it will attract!

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What did you think of our planting experience?

Do you have any butterfly bush facts 
that you can share?

What other planting experiences have you had? 

Wonderful, Wild, and Amazing Animals!, 2014!

As part of our animal adaptation science unit, Beverly Critcher 

from Wildlife Experience brought wild animals on four
separate days
to Mrs. Ranney's class for careful
scientific observation.

Wildlife Experience  is a non-profit wildlife education organization that brings native and exotic animals to schools and teaches children about the importance of our natural world.

Day 1:

 Awesome, the Opossum

Sally, the Salamander!

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 Day 2:

Can you identify these skulls and tell what kind of eaters they are?

Skull A

Skull B

Skull C

Skull D

Moose, the Fennec Fox!

Python, the python!

 
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What did you enjoy about your wildlife experience?

What facts can you share about the animals we saw? 

Flaunt Your Funny, Frivolous, Fabulous Fads!

Currently, Mrs. Ranney's Class is reading

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 

by

the wonderful, well-known author, Beverly Cleary.

We have just finished reading hilarious Chapter 3, 

"The Hard-Boiled Egg Fad!"

In this chapter, Ramona and all her third grade buddies are having fun with the latest fad: packing a hard-boiled egg in their lunches each day.  The fad isn't just about eating a hard-boiled egg, however! It's really all about cracking it on your head before you peel it!

  Some of the kids use the timid "rap-rap-rap" method.  Others, like Ramona, 

like to show-off with one big  "whack" to the head!

The fad is not so much fun anymore for Ramona, when she finds that the egg 

she thought was hard-boiled was really raw! Boy, how humiliating!

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A fad is something that is very popular for a short time,

and fads can be a lot of fun! Fads often involve fashion, an activity, or some kind of toy or trinket.

In your comment, tell us about a fad 

that you know about.

 

What is popular right now? 

 

What has been popular in the past?

Family members and friends, this is a great post for you to get involved in! Tell us about fads that were popular 

when you were young!

Welcome to the 5th Grade State Fair, 2014!

Recently we were able to visit the annual

State Fair put on by our

fabulous fifth graders!

Here is a slide show of some of the states

we visited!

Super States At The Fabulous Fair! on PhotoPeach

 

While visiting, we participated in a scavenger hunt and 
learned many interesting facts about the states.

Use your scavenger hunt sheet and share about what you learned 
in a comment!

You may also want to investigate more about a state by using 
World Book Online to learn more!

    

Welcome to Open House, 2014!

Tonight we are so excited to share all of our 

exceptional work with friends 

and family members!
Enjoy your tour of our room! 

Talking Tangram Art

 

Humorous Homophone Sentences

 Poems About Animals We Would Love To Be

 Poems About Us

 All About Our Blog, Featuring a PDF Blog Post Called 

Biographical Bonanza!

A Delicious Math Project

 Wanted Posters about Animal Adaptations in the

Rain Forest

 Ocean Habitat With Kelp Forest and 

Fish Displaying Colorful Adaptations

 Voluminous Volume Extravaganza

 Stunning 3-D Shape Paragraphs

 Beautiful Binders

 Biography Timeline of Historical Figures Born in the 15th Through the 20th Centuries

A Bounty of Biographies! on PhotoPeach

Please leave us a comment to let us know what you most enjoyed during your tour of our classroom!

Conservation Congratulations!

Every year our local Las Virgenes Municipal Water District

hosts a Water Conservation Poster Contest.

 The purpose of the poster contest is to

help students understand and help promote water conservation. 

Twelve students' posters are selected to be published in a calendar.

This year our classmate, Gigi's poster 

was selected as one of the twelve!

Click on the link to view all the 

winning posters for the 2015 calendar! 
 

 Gigi, along with the other 11 winners,
was honored at a special recognition ceremony
at Water District Headquarters.

 Congratulations, Gigi!

We are very proud of you!

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How about leaving a message for Gigi to congratulate her and
let her know what you think of her poster?
 
What facts can you share about water and water conservation?

Biographical Bonanza!

 A biography is a true story about a person's life.

Mrs. Ranney's Class has been reading  biographies  about

people who have made significant contributions to our world!

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We  have  each read a 
biography on our own.
Artists, inventors, statesman, 
composers, doctors,

aviators, astronauts, and pioneers 
in many fields 

are  among the amazing historical figures 
about whom we have read!

We researched by reading library books, as well as doing research using World Book Online.

 

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Now that you are an expert  on your biography subject,
please leave  a comment as if you are that person!

Be sure to include at least 3 facts you learned. 

Watch the comments to see if you can converse with another  biography subject you may know!

(Family members: You may want to choose your own biography subject and join in the conversation!)