The tooth is still very loose...I think it may fall out today! He has decided not to bite into any apples to prolong the process...we shall see!

Another girl mentioned a loose tooth as well. When do you think it will fall out?

Tooth is still loose!! Day #2 and counting....

The 7's made elf glyphs in math- they are pretty funny! I even made one, and boy do I look silly as an elf! In case you are wondering what a glyph is, here goes:

Glyph: A symbol, such as a stylized figure or arrow on a public sign, that imparts information nonverbally.

The math students created their elfs in accordance with a code, which reads:

Body- Red- birthday in January- June
Body- Green- birthday in July- December

Neck Cowl- Striped- You like to wrap presents
Neck Cowl- Dotted- You don't like to wrap presents

Hat- Red- girl
Hat- Green- boy

Hat Cowl- Striped- You would like to be an elf
Hat Cowl- Dotted- You would not like to be an elf

Mittens- Red- You like warm weather
Mittens- Green- You like cold weather

Shoes- Red- You like to make snowmen
Shoes- Green- You like to go sledding

Arms and Legs- Striped Red and White- You like candy canes
Arms and Legs- Striped Green and White- You don't like candy canes

What can you figure out about our elves in relation to the code?

Have fun looking! I know we did!

Today a boy in my 7's Reading class commented about his loose tooth. He suspected it would fall out on Christmas day, so we all decided to take a vote! Here are the tallied votes:
2 people think the tooth will fall out tomorrow (the 16th)
2 people think it will fall out on the 17th
2 votes on the 20th
1 on the 23rd
2 on the 24th
3 on the 25th.

We will keep you posted!

We recently read a story about ants in our blue textbooks. It was so fun to read! There were lots of zoomed-in photographs of ants at work, at play, and in their nests. We thought it would fun to make a model of an ant's nest out of beans and paper. The beans are supposed to be the dirt in the ant's nest (or anthill). Did you know that ants dig many tunnels throughout their nest? Inside there are many chambers, including: the sleeping chamber, queen's chamber, nursery (where worker ants take care of eggs and larvae), and a food chamber (similar to a kitchen in our homes where ants store food). We labeled our nest with these important rooms. The ants inside of our nest are us! See if you can spot the queen ant!

Today we created sentences using our names, the popcorn word "is", a picture of ourselves, and of course a period! We put the words in the correct sequence before sharing them (in a pocket folder) with our classmates. Here is my sample sentence:




Many friends thought of great ways to describe themselves, including: happy, tired, tall, playful, great, nice, and pretty. We made sure to leave spaces between our words, and include punctuation at the end of our sentences! Nice job, 6's!

Do you remember when you were little, and you were learning to wink? Both of your eyes would tragically shut despite forcefully attempting to keep just one opened, just one closed. Well, today in class, my 6's were teaching me how to wink- it is too cute! Here goes:

Dear All,

Today I videotaped myself teaching! I was able to borrow a video camera from Calvert for the day, and it was definitely worth it. Afterwards I was able to sit down and review how my lesson was received amongst "the audience" (aka- my 7's reading class). WOW. I saw so many good things (eager students excited to learn, lots of laughter, and of course quiet time during individual work). I also saw some areas of improvement. This was a great tool for me to use today, and I look forward to utilizing it again soon!

Thanks, Calvert!

I apologize for not posting recently...I have been without a camera for quite some time and look forward to receiving it in functioning order this week! Have a happy Thanksgiving!

mrsjenarmstrong.blogspot.com

Create your own visitor map!

North Run Farm!

Today the 7th Agers, parents, and teachers went to North Run Farm! We had fun searching through the pumpkin patch for the perfect pumpkin to take home! Before entering the corn maze, we walked into the "corn room" which was a small area on the outskirts on the corn maze. We were surrounded by huge stalks of corn! We learned about different everyday items whose ingredients come from corn:

-ketchup (I didn't know this either! ketchup contains high fructose corn syrup)
-corn flakes and frosted flakes cereal
-some makeup, including blush
-fruit roll-ups
The list goes on! Post your answers on the blog and let's keep the list going...

An Engineer Visits 7-1!

Today 7-1 had a visit from a special scientist! Mr. Koste is a computer engineer who works on special inventions for the government. He brought in a fingerprint scanner and a camera we all had a chance to use! The fingerprint scanner copied our fingerprints and posted them as images on a laptop computer. We learned that everyone's fingerprints are different- even identical twins have different fingerprints! It was so cool to see our fingerprints enlarged on the computer screen!

We used the camera to take individual photos of us (and a group photo at the end of class). In real life the images produced from the camera and fingerprint scanner help to track down good guys and bad guys!

Thank you for visiting us, Mr. Koste! We had a blast learning about this special kind of science called engineering.

ENGINEERING: The profession of applying scientific principles to the design and construction of engines, cars, buildings, bridges, roads, and electrical machines.

A Smell and Taste Scientist Visits 7-1!

A smell and taste scientist visited with 7-1 today! The first experiment involved us closing our noses while eating sour skittles. Without our sense of smell, the candy tasted very different!
We also used our noses and a penny to scratch and sniff a smell book. The last scent was smoke- it was very strong!
Thank you to Dr. Munger for visiting with us! We look forward to many more scientists popping in for experiments this year:)

B painting!

Today in Pilot we watercolored uppercase B's in blue, brown, or black paint. We decided to paint the B's one of these colors because all of their names begin with B! As we painted, we were sure to practice outlining the B in the same manner we will later practice it in pencil. Take a look at the pictures and video below!

Later on this week we will add a photo collage of B items to our B-EAUTIFUL Bs...stay tuned!

Little Nemos

Today in Math we estimated fish! I had the closest estimation, with 10. Can you guess how many fish are in the jar? Scroll below to find the answer.


There are 7 fish in the jar- nice job!

Block Estimation

Today the mathematicians estimated blocks in our estimation jar. This student estimated the EXACT NUMBER of blocks! Nice job!

Marshmallow Estimation!

On Friday we did our first estimation project! The mathematicians had to estimate how many marshmallows they thought were inside of our estimation jar. What's your estimation??

Scroll below to find out!












If you estimated 27 marshmallows- you are correct!! Nice job!

Addition Kickball Game!

On Monday afternoon, Miss Wise and I combined our 7th age math classes for a game of "Addition Kickball"! It was a huge success- great weather, great fun, and great fact review! Here are some group pictures.

Pilot Sound Web

My Pilot language class and I built a word web today with yarn. We had a lot of fun! We started the game by isolating the beginning sound of our names, and then thought of a food that paired with this sound. For my name, I chose apples. Then we had to say this sentence: "(Fill in name) likes (fill in food). " I said, "Mrs. Armstrong likes apples." After each child's turn, they passed the yarn to a friend. It built an interesting web!

We will have fun this year playing with letters and sounds. Stay tuned!

6th Age Reading

The 6's and I are learning how to blend C-V-C (consonant-vowel-consonant) words with our bodies! Take a look at these videos for reference. Video #1 shows the reading students touching their head while producing the first consonant sound, touching their hips on the middle vowel sound, and touching their toes on the last consonant sound. We had a lot of fun making up silly C-V-C words to blend with our bodies!

The next set of videos shows the students blending the words slowly (with the help of a friend who points to each student individually- as a clue for them to produce the sound) in chairs while holding up letter cards.

We will continue to review these skills when we dive into the book. Happy Thursday!

7th Age Math Chapter 1

The mathematicians in 7th age math are busy learning the routines of the classroom as we transition into the first chapter: Facts Through 12. We will use this chapter as a platform before diving into Chapter Two: Using Numbers Through 100. (This will include place value, greater than and less than, etc.)

Class opens daily with a word problem drill in their journals. These word problem drills are a great way to "warm up" our brains after lunch and recess. It gets us in the math mood!

Beginning this Friday (tomorrow) we will start memorizing basic addition and subtraction facts (0-18). This begins with +1 facts through 10 (1+0=1, 1+1=2, etc.). We will keep this set in the classroom for review and will continue to build on them throughout the year, but I highly recommend keeping a set at home as well. Spending a few minutes each day memorizing these basic facts will really build upon your child's maturing confidence in math. It will also aid them when we do regrouping addition and subtraction later on this year.

Tomorrow is also the start of our "Estimation Fridays". Each week I will bring in a new set of objects to be placed in our estimation jar. Your child will have a chance to put their brains to the test! The jar may be filled with holiday-themed items or sweet treats. Stay tuned for tomorrow's estimation project!

On Monday (weather depending) we will have a math kickball tournament with Miss Wise and Mrs. Mollett's math class on the blacktop. Upon landing on a base, the mathematicians must answer a simple math fact before advancing further. It is a fun game that the kids really enjoy playing! Keep posted for a video of this event!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time!

The Great Lima Bean Experiment

We have been busy in science!

After classifying items as either living or nonliving, we furthered our study of plants by doing an experiment with lima beans. We put 5 lima beans in a bag with a moist towel and some air. This bag was taped to a sunny classroom window. These lima beans had water, food (sunlight) and air- all properties a living thing must have in order to grow and change. The next bag of 5 lima beans was placed in a bag, but was then put in a dark closet. These beans did not receive water, food (sunlight) or air, and were therefore not given a chance to grow or change.

The scientists recorded their hypotheses in their journals- what would the beans look like in a week? Here are some initial photos.

Fish Fotos

Scientists are everywhere! 7th Age learned that one kind of scientist, called a biologist, studies plants and animals. Here is a cool link to a fish biologist who lives in Oregon. She loves taking underwater photographs of salmon and trout swimming upstream.

http://www.npr.org/multimedia/2008/09/river/index.html

The Sixth Sense, acc to 7th Age

What are the five senses?

I asked my 7's scientists this question today. Hands flew up ready to respond. Seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling- right?

Another student's hand shot in the air, giggling. "Mrs. Armstrong!" she yelled, "You forgot one sense!"

Hmm...

(After a quick brain recap) Nope, no senses missing here.

Then coyly laughing she responded, "Your sense of humor!" :)

Hand What?

Today in science we talked about a special tool called a handlens, which we will use throughout the year during various experiments. The girls learned a few basic facts about the handlens:

• The handlens we use in class has two lenses. The lenses help us to magnify an object. The lower lens has a higher magnification.


• We hold a handlens with (duh!) our hands. Please refrain from using the lens around your mouth so you do not spread germs!

We then used the handlens to observe animals in our room. These included a frog, two turtles, two gerbils, and a hamster. The girls recorded their observations in their journals. Here are two groups observing both a hamster and gerbil!