How would you spend $100 if you could shop with a cop?

I saw this story on the news today and was really touched by how sweet and generous this young man was. Check it out...

Valentine Box Ideas

Hi Kids!
I'm sorry that we missed out on the rest of last week and didn't get a chance to make our castles for Valentine's Day. :( I hope that you still want to make them and wanted to share some ideas to give you a little inspiration...
:)Ms. Gannon

What is Leap Day?

Here's a great article explaining the whole thing:
http://www.highlightskids.com/stories/year-confusion

And a cool website dedicated just to February 29th:
http://www.leapyearday.com/content/kids-pagehttp://www.leapyearday.com/content/kids-page

AND another cool website for kids:
http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0021B-understanding-time-leap-year.php

This poem is SO helpful when you are trying to remember just how many days each month has...

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
 February has twenty eight alone
All the rest have thirty-one
Except in Leap Year, that's the time
When February's Days are twenty-nine

Night Under the Stars ~ Happy, Happy Kwanzaa

Are you familiar with Kwanzaa? "Based on African harvest festivals, this holiday celebrates African-American people, their culture and their values." During our Night Under the Stars performance, LdVCS students will be singing songs that honor several different holidays celebrated at this time of year and the sense of togetherness that makes this such a special season.

Our class will be singing Happy, Happy Kwanzaa so we've been learning facts about this holiday and discussing how the values that are celebrated during Kwanzaa relate to all of us. We have also been comparing the holiday to other holidays we are familiar with. Here's a link to the interactive website we've been using as a part of our study: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/holidays/kwanzaa/

 
The song we'll be singing can be found on iTunes. Here are the words:

Happy, Happy Kwanzaa

Chorus

Happy, Happy Kwanzaa
Light the candles one by one
Happy, Happy Kwanzaa
Can be celebrated by everyone

The 1st day of Kwanzaa stands for unity
We are one big family

The 2nd day of Kwanzaa
Self-determination
We make our own way under the sun

Chorus

The 3rd day of Kwanzaa
Responsibility
We can do it together
Joyfully

4th day of Kwanzaa
We buy from each other
Sharing with our neighbors
Is helping one another

Chorus

The 5th day of Kwanzaa
Our purpose is to know
Whose shoulders we stand on
And that is how we grow

The 6th day of Kwanzaa
Beautify your world
‘Cause we’ve got special talents
Each and every boy and girl

Chorus

The 7th day of Kwanzaa
Believe with all your heart
If you believe your dreams come true
Each day’s a brand new start

So let’s celebrate this Kwanzaa
Like one big family
We can change the world together
You and me... Everybody

Chorus

Clap your hands, everybody
Stomp your feet, it’s Kwanzaa
Do your dance, be happy
Sing it with me, come one now
Touch your heart, can you feel it
Close your eyes, can you see it
See your dream, make it fun
Now reach for the sky

Happy, Happy Kwanzaa (Pass it on everybody pass it on now)
Light The Candles One By One (Light one everybody light one)
Happy, Happy Kwanzaa (Pass it on everybody pass it on now)
Can be celebrated by everyone

A Nation Remembers: 9/11

Tomorrow I will begin some discussions with the children about 9/11. We will talk a little bit about the events that occurred that day but will focus more on the outpouring of support and patriotism that followed. We will talk about what makes us feel better during difficult times and the importance of providing a helping hand to those in need after a crisis. We will also reach out to heroes in our community so if you have any suggestions about people we can contact, please let me know.

Your child may have questions about what we talk about in class or what they see in the media. Here's a great article with some resources and a link to a tip sheet that will help with the conversation.

I have a dream too!

We have been talking a lot about heroes in the past couple of months. The Dr. King holiday this week gave us another opportunity to talk about how heroes can inspire us to be great. We watched a video version of the book Martin's Big Words and will be using an online template to create our own books.


Kids: When you are ready to print out your own Big Words book, click here to type it up. Remember that you will not be able to save it - work quickly!



Martin Luther King Jr. from Online Bucket on Vimeo.

Here are the historical photographs we looked at in class: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/mlk/photogallery/1956-62/thumbs.html

Veterans Day

In honor of Veterans Day, we will be learning a little bit about Veterans and the reason this legal holiday was created.




A website created just for kids is available thanks to The Department of Veterans Affairs.

Please note that although we will not have school on Thursday, November 11, we will have school on Friday the 12th. If you are planning to take the day off for a long weekend with the family, please let me know ahead of time so that we can prepare an independent study contract.