Throwback Thursday: Ms. Kinsman

Last week, the students were shocked to learn that I had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. as part of a field trip in the 5th grade. It was an extraordinary opportunity, which was made possible by a lot of fundraising, financial support from my friends' parents, and one amazing woman. Technically, the trip happened after fifth grade was over (we went in June, shortly after school was out), but it marked one of the most important years of my life.

The amazing Mrs. Dulaney was both my fourth and fifth grade teacher. I was so fortunate to have this wonderful woman in my life. She was (and still is!) a dedicated educator who provided amazing learning opportunities. She was a friend, a mentor, and the woman who inspired me to become a teacher myself.

As unforgettable as the D.C. trip was, it was only one of the many activities I remember from fifth grade. We read and performed a play from King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. We created news stations and performed newscasts in front of our class (my news station's theme music was a Milli Vanilli song...kids ask your parents). Mrs. Dulaney had "mystery guests", or people from our community with interesting jobs, visit our class so that we could guess their professions by asking yes/no questions. One of my classmates dissected a brain (don't worry, I think it was a sheep brain!). Every day was an adventure in the fifth grade.

I think the most important activity from that year was a very special writing assignment. Mrs. Dulaney had us create autobiographies of our future and mine is still one of my most treasured possessions. For me, this acitvity represented a life map that set me on a course for my future. While I didn't go to Stanford, end world hunger, and then use my money to become a philanthropist (by the age of 25, no less), I did earn two college degrees, become an educator, and try to use my knowledge to help students the way Mrs. Dulaney helped me. More than anything, Mrs. Dulaney showed me a future that I may not have found without her guidance and care.

Fifth grade was amazing. I am so excited that I get to be a part of your child's life during this important year, and look forward to seeing what they make of their futures.

Oh, and here's the picture. Can you figure out which one is Ms. Kinsman?

A special thank you to Joel, who posted this fantastic picture on Facebook and made my life a lot easier!

We Have a Busy Week Ahead of Us!

The last two weeks have been busy, but I think next week might 'take the cake' (that's an idiom fifth graders...see if you can find out what it means!). Here is a brief list of our upcoming events. Parents, we could use some help on Thursday and Friday afternoon. If you are available, please email Ms. Kinsman or Mrs. Harrington. Any additional adults in the room will make for a lot more fun!

See below for volunteer opportunities.

Monday

On Monday afternoon, we will have a presentation from NASA on what it is like working and living aboard the International Space Station! Through our connections with another teacher in our district, we were able to set up this opportunity. This is a perfect "launch" into our next science unit: the solar system.

A beautiful picture of the International Space Station

Wednesday

Every other Wednesday we do not have specials. This year Mrs. Harrington and I have decided to use the open time to incorporate more art into our curriculum. Our students finished beautiful leaf projects, which you will be able to see on display during conferences. On Wednesday, Mrs. Harrington will introduce our next assignment, which I'm positive the students will enjoy. If you would like to check out the project, please visit the Art Projects for Kids website. This is an amazing blog with tons of fantastic ideas.


Thursday

On Thursday afternoon the students will be working to complete their art projects. Ms. Kinsman could use one to two parent helpers from 1:30-2:25 to assist students with the final portion of the project. It will probably get a little messy! Old newspaper donations would also be very helpful to contain the mess. Please send a stack with your student if you have any available.

Friday

Friday afternoon, from 1:30-2:20, we will hold our first Board Game Bonanza! We have asked students to bring in board games that they would enjoy playing with their friends. Choices might include Uno, Jenga, Sorry, Life, etc. We recommend bringing games that take less than an hour to play, and require very little set-up and clean-up. Parent volunteers who are willing to come and help supervise the games are invited, as well. Please send an email if you would like to join us.

Students have asked if they can bring treats to share, and if a family is able to donate cookies, chips, fresh fruit, or individually packaged juices, that would be fine. Please let Mrs. Harrington/Kinsman know if you would like to share treats.

Next week we will post lots of photos documenting all the fun! I also owe Mrs. Harrington a Flash Back Thursday photo of myself from fifth grade, so be sure to check in later in the week!

Two Weeks of Fun

One problem with using a mobile device to store photos and videos for this blog is that it's mobility is limited by my memory. Despite numerous visits to Free orchards on my days off last week, I forgot the iPad each time! With it now firmly in my possession, I can share some highlights from the last two weeks.

The Art of Division

The first is a video featuring Kali explaining how to use an array to solve a division equation. This skill is extremely important, as we do not not teach the kids the old algorithm for division (remember divide, multiply, subtract, bring down?). Watch as she solves 308 divided by 22:

If your family does have an apple device, you can download a new app called Number Pieces, which allows students to use digital versions of the manipulatives we use in class for math. Ask your students if they can tell you the quotient for the problem below:

Healthy Living

Hopefully you had a chance to look over your students' health logs last week. During ELD, we have been studying healthy diets and are now coving a unit on healthy lifestyles during content time. We asked the kids to work in groups to write public service announcements for a healthy diet. They did a great job. They were all very creative and entertaining!

Pictures

And finally, a photo collage of life in our classroom.

 

 

 

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Writing Sparks! Reading Logs! Fox Reports! Oh, My!

It always takes a few weeks for our students to adjust to the homework routines of our classroom. We greatly appreciate the family support in helping to make sure that this work is completed, as well as our students' efforts. Mrs. Harrington and I wanted to share a few writing samples from the first week of school, which we thought were excellent examples of Writing Sparks. The first is from Laura, who wrote about her summer trip to the pool:

Have you ever gone to a pool with a huge slide? Well I have, and I am going to tell you all about it. 

On the Way… 

As I am entering the room, I was almost amazed to see how it looks on the inside. While my dad is paying for us, I look inside only to see that on the side of the place is a big slide. But, I don’t think I will get on that ever! 

I am Getting In! 

And after I get dress, I run to the pool and jump in as soon as I can. My brothers and I want to go to the outside pool. My oldest brother, Ivan, wants to go diving. And, my younger brother, Adrian, wants to go and use the kid slide. And so we travel outside. 

Wow They are Brave! 

After my little brother and I got there he was scared but he got over it after a while. And he went down the slide and kept on doing that for a while. I glanced at my oldest brother, Ivan and he just dived in. I was really impressed that he did that. 

I am Not So Sure… 

And soon after all that, I decide to (with a little help), ride the big slide. Ivan convinced me by saying, “I will wait for you at the end.” I said, “okay.” 

And as I was going up I kept thinking to myself, “Should I got back? Or, keep going?”
When I got to the top I was really nervous. But I got it together and went down. It was awesome!! And I was so glad that I did that. It was fun. As soon as I finished the slide my dad said it was time to go. So we got our stuff and went home. 

I hope you know what it is like to go on a hug slide.

We also have a part of a story from Evelyn, who describes her first days with her new dog:

The next day my mom told us that her church friend had a free dog. At about 9:45pm we left to see the puppy. We got in the car and left. She said she lived in an apartment. In the apartments we got lost. Then we called the lady and found her house. The puppy had fleas and lots of hair. We took him home. 

The next day we got its food, leash, collar, bed and a little house. It slept outside. The next day we took it to the vet. They gave it a rabies shot. The poor dog jumped, he was so scared. She got rid of the nasty fleas. We took him to Petco so they could give him a haircut. At 8:15 he was finished. He was horrifying! He looked like a naked rat. He still has hair, but not that much. He is so cute now. He is our first dog.

It is so fun to read about our students' lives outside of the classroom. Please encourage your children to write at least three paragraphs each week, with about five sentence per paragraph. We know this may be tough for some kids, but we believe they can do it!

In addition to the Writing Sparks, we also ask students to read 30 minutes every evening. Fifth graders are expected to write 2-3 sentence summaries describing their reading for the night. We would like to see kids sticking with the same stories until they are completed. Please make sure these are returned to school on Friday morning for Mrs. Harrington and Ms. Kinsman to look over.

Finally, you have seen a few Fox Reports come your way. These are a great way for us to stay in touch with families. These are sent home almost every Monday night! You are more than welcome to write notes on your child's report before you send it back to school on Tuesday.

If you have any questions or concerns about our weekly homework requirements, please do not hesitate to ask. And, thank you again for helping build successful routines for your learners.