Charades

6D and 9B played charades last week! Some words acted out included: Batman, cat, dog, and SpongeBob Squarepants. In early March we will hang out again to make friendship bracelets!

Star of the Week!

Our recent Star of the Week brought in a wonderfully decorated poster filled with family photographs! This Star loves cars, spending time at his summer house on the dock, and being with his family. For snack he brought in star cupcakes! What a delicious treat! Thank you, Star of the Week- we had fun learning about you!

Shake, shake, SHAKE!

Today in reading we learned new sight words and reviewed the old in a fun egg carton game. This is an easy game you can even make at home!
I wrote down 12 sight words and taped them inside the egg carton- one inside of each hole. The words were also associated with a number from one to six. A small manipulative, or item, was placed inside of the carton as well. The class was split into three teams, and the first group to reach twenty would win!
With each shake, shake, SHAKE!, each person took turns shaking the the egg carton. When opened, they would take out the manipulative and read the word underneath. An addition problem was then created from this- for example, if a word read- "could- 1", then that person would read the word and begin with one. The next person may read "friends- 6", and then add 6 plus 1 to get 7, which would be the team's new score.
Nice job, friends!

Valentine's Day Graphing

Last week we celebrated Valentine's Day in math with Mrs. DeLorbe's class. We graphed sweet tart candy hearts. First we sorted the hearts by color, and then counted them. We used a bar graph to illustrate our results. Everyone's graph looks a little different! Take a peak...

Shoe Graphing

We have been learning about graphs in math! The mathematicians learned how to make a picture graph using one of their shoes. We began by listening to the story THE SHOEMAKER AND THE ELVES. It prepared our brains for our discussion about different attributes of shoes, which can include color, size, and part (laces or velcro, for example). Then we graphed our shoes by size and later by tongue color. This was a fun, albeit smelly, activity. We like learning about graphs!

Jenga and Battleship

After cooking, cleaning, and the TV began to feel lackluster in the snowstorm, my husband I decided to play a few games! And you thought Jenga and Battleship were just for kids? My husband could not figure out why I was 3 for 3 in Jenga...I think the fact that I play frequently at school has improved my skills. Here are some photos of us enjoying the time together.

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Salsa

Cooking is one of my favorite things to do in a snowstorm! I am famous for baking cakes, making cookies, and even throwing together a last minute batch of chocolate covered strawberries. My husband is also a great cook- and tonight we're making chicken enchiladas! Here is the delicious recipe. The best part is that the enchiladas are great leftover (and I am not normally a huge fan of leftovers in general), and the tomatillo salsa can be used again for dipping with chips or vegetables. Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas with Green Salsa
serves 4

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 small zucchini, diced
1 small red onion, chopped
1 ear of corn, kernals cut off the cob (about 1/2 cup)
1- 2.5 pound rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack
Kosher salt and pepper
12- 6-inch corn tortillas
1 pound tomatillos, husks removed
1 jalapeno, seeded
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, onion, and corn and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the chicken, Monterey Jack, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mix to combine. Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining oil over medium heat. One at a time, cook the tortillas in the oil until softened, 10 to 15 seconds per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas, roll them up, and place them seam-side down in a large baking dish. Bake until heated through, 8 to 10 minutes. In a food processor, pulse the tomatillos, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until finely chopped. Serve the enchiladas with the salsa and sour cream, if using.

Snow Storm!

The past few days have been very exciting! I have had plenty of time to play in the snow, shovel, and catch up on my Zzzs. Some of my Sixth Age friends have been busy, too! Check out these photos!

A 6D friend standing tall! Look at all that snow!

Making a "snow cocktail".

Peeking out from inside of a snow igloo.

Taking a ride...

...and loving every minute!

Enjoying friendships in a snowstorm!

Building a snowman!






A 6D family enjoys the snowstorm together.

A Morning Visit to Beijing!

This morning my reading class and I visited Beijing! I know what you're thinking- how were you able to get there and back with time to spare? Well, with the help of my friend, Derek, of course!
Derek is my brother-in-law and he is a scientist. Part of his job involves traveling to other continents and countries. His most recent trip was to Switzerland and Beijing. Tomorrow he leaves for India. What an exciting profession!
I talked to my class about Derek and told them about his job. We brainstormed questions we could ask Derek. Some ideas were-
What kinds of food do you eat in China?
Did you travel by boat to get there?
Have you seen any other Americans on your trip?
What time is it in China?

We had fun talking to Derek on Skype! He told us that the Olympics were in Beijing a few years ago, and even taught us how to say hello and goodbye in Chinese!

Thank you, Derek! We hope to talk to you again soon!

'Smores Fraction Fun!

Yesterday we made 'smores in math as we furthered our study of fractions! We each received 1 whole graham cracker, 8 mini marshmallows, and 8 mini pieces of chocolate. We were asked to prepare 1 'smore! Some friends broke apart their graham cracker and made a 'smore sandwich, while others used the whole graham cracker as the base. Either way, a delectable treat was waiting for us to enjoy- when....ding dong! The doorbell rang!

Just then another friend appeared. They wanted half of our 'smore. Because we are so generous, we decided to break the smore in half, with equal pieces for the two of us.

Just as we were about to enjoy half of our smore, ding dong! ding dong! The doorball rang! This time, two more friends appeared! Now we needed to split each 'smore half- in HALF! This would equal one fourth (1/4) for each of us.

Luckily we were able to enjoy our 'smore in the end! Nice job, math friends!

Aquarium!

Last Thursday the Sixth Age visited the National Aquarium in Baltimore! We enjoyed learning about dolphins at the dolphin show, and some of us even got splashed! Did you know dolphins are one of the only other mammals that are able to recognize themselves in the mirror? Not even dogs or cats can do that! In the rainforest we saw a sleepy sloth. Later we walked on the windy ramp to see the sharks. Thank you to all parents who attended! Fun was had by all!

dolphin at the dolphin show!



interesting facts in the lobby



the windy ramp near the sharks



a sleepy sloth in the rainforest