A Moon Snail!

One of our students brought in a moon snail to show the class to show to our class. In our novel, Sarah, Plain and Tall, the main character moves from the seaside to the prairie to live with a new family. She brings gifts that remind her of the sea for the two children, Anna and Caleb. To Caleb she gives a moon snail. Since we don't live anywhere near the Maine sea shore, one of our students brought a moon snail to help the class imagine what Sarah brought for the children.

He also brought in research from the internet about this interesting creature. Thanks so much!

"Sarah, Plain and Tall" Charcoal Sketches

As a class we are reading the novel Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLauchlan - and we are LOVING it! In one of the chapters, the main character, Sarah, sketches the prairie using charcoal. I decided to recreate this experience for the students by allowing them to draw using artist's charcoal. We created sketch books and we drew the things that Sarah may have seen on the farm.

Drawing a windmill...
And a sheep...

And the prairie that rolls like the waves of the sea...

The kids worked so hard on their work and they enjoyed practicing different techniques with the charcoal.

Some of the techniques were rather, well, unique, but all of the art turned out beautifully!

Perhaps their favorite part was that it was allowed to be messy! Our hands were filthy afterwards and we looked like chimney sweeps! : )

Even better was the fact that today was our class picture day and the kids were wearing their best fancy clothes - yikes! But it just happened that picture day and chapter 5 coincided perfectly, so we had to be brave and go where most teachers dare not go- messy art work!

Next week we hope to take our charcoal sketchbooks outside to draw our own surroundings here at Coulson Tough.

We're Movie Stars!

This week our kids lead the entire school in the pledges on our school-wide announcements, KTUF. They did a fantastic job! I was so proud of them for showing courage and confidence in front of their peers. Way to go Bates' kids!

Jumprope Spelling!

I am always looking for new and exciting ways for the kids to practice our spelling words. Writing them three times each can get old and boring! This week we borrowed long ropes from the PE department and the kids worked in teams to "jump" their words. Each child chose 2 or 3 particularly difficult words and wrote each on a manila sheet of paper in large letters. I taught the kids how to turn the ropes and work cooperatively to help the jumper/speller do their best!

Some kids worked in partners to spell their words. One jump = one letter! keep going until you finish the word!

Research shows that when we add a song or beat to spelling, it helps our brains remember the letters and transfer the spelling of the word into long term memory. Jump rpoing is not only a "heart healthy" skill, but it's a rhythmic way to practice spelling.

The kids are already begging to try this activity again sometime soon! : )