Career Day at HLES

We had a great morning talking to doctors, a talk radio host, and a make-up artist from The Walking Dead. The picture are of Dr. Jones, a surgeon from Grady Medical Center, Daryl Killian (Sydney's dad) from WAOK 1380AM, and Mrs. Lin from TWD. She got me pretty good! By the time she got finished with me, I had a black eye! Oh My!! As one of my kids said "#ouch!" 

Before...

During...

After! #ouch! 

Science Understandings 2016

We are in the middle of our Moon and Stars Unit. The kids need to be able to identify the phases of the moon, and track the moon for an entire month. Those of you who have been helping your child keep up with the Observation booklet have almost finished! I know many of the kids need to "re-commit" to tracking the changes of the shadows and reflection of the Sun off the moon. We are close to a new moon again! 

Today we tracked the changes of the sun's position by drawing our shadows. It was a perfect day for it! If only you could have heard the groans from the kids when the sun would duck behind the clouds! We worked on making this anchor chart:

And here are some random photos of the kids work throughout the process.

Ms G is now Mrs. werner!

As all of you know, my students are a huge part of my life. We talked about public speaking and wishing others well then we had a mini wedding reception to share with the joy that they have been anticipating since October! I brought my bouquet, Mrs. smith's bouquet,  some leftover wedding cake and the sparkling juice from the reception at the museum to the class. Here are some pictures from today's continuation of my wedding!

An awesome article I found on pintrest, now that I'm a mom too!

4 Things Your Children Absolutely Do Not Need (and What to Give Them Instead)

There’s a big difference between what current pop culture says we need to give our children and what they actually need, and we kinda love this clarification.

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We’ve all seen long lists of what it takes (and what the cost might be) to raise children. Those lists can be overwhelming. And then we throw in the holiday season, with the never-ending advertisements, catalogs and shopping. We start to wonder what our children need and whether we’re actually providing those things.

Here are a few things I think children do NOT need:

1. They absolutely do not need hundreds of toys that light up, play “music” or require batteries.

2. They do not need the latest gadget, just because you know someone else (“everyone” else?) who has one.

3. They do not need many different pricey outfits, all color-coordinated from charming boutiques with French names.

4. They do not need expensive “enrichment” activities every night of the week.

So, what do I think a kid might need?

—They need physical nourishment. This means different things for different people, of course (especially around the world), but here in the U.S. it might mean lots of yummy fruits and veggies, some macaroni and cheese every now and then, some chocolate chip cookies for a treat, your favorite meal that your grandma used to make, and dinners inspired by different places around the world. It does not mean mom needs to be a short-order cook and make every child only their favorite foods every meal.

—They need classic, open-ended toys: wooden blocks, Legos, paper and colored pencils (markers, if you’re feeling brave), a stuffed lovey, a baby doll, and the encouragement to use their imaginations and play with anything. (Leaves for outside tea-party plates. A cardboard box can be anything. Old egg cartons and wrapping paper tubes seem to be especially prized.) They need a safe place to keep collections (buttons, rocks, leaves, shells, foreign coins, stamps, etc. Some children will try to collect all of the above.)

—They need clothes they’re allowed to get dirty. They need an outfit or two for dressing up on special occasions (this seems to be especially important for some little girls). They need aprons to wear so they can help you in the kitchen. They need your old dresses and old hats and scarves to play dress up.

—They need time with their parents and siblings. They need to play outside. They need to go to a zoo. They need to visit a farm (if they’re city kids) or the city (if they’re rural). They should visit an art museum or two. They need to see a great body of water. They need to get messy. They need to go swimming. They need to walk quietly on a nature trail. They need cuddling and tickling, joking and gentle teasing. They need to be around many different kinds, types and ages of people. They need grandparents or great-grandparents or an older family friend to spend time with.

—They need to ask questions. They need you to teach them how to find the answers in a book or by observation, and not just by “asking Siri.” They need to hear you say, “I don’t know. Let’s find out.” They need you to say, “That’s a great question, I’m glad you asked.” They need you to ask them silly questions like, “If you were an animal, what would you be?” or “If you were a color, what would you be?” or “If you could spend the night on the moon, what would you do?”

—They need to explore. They need to climb too high. They need to swing so hard the swingset rocks. They need to poke things with sticks and lift up rocks. They need to splash in some water. They need to ride something (a bike, a horse) that intimidates them at first. They need to be out of your sight part of the day. They need to solve their own conflicts. They might need to wrestle or jump on a trampoline. They need to run until they’re out of breath. They need to try a small business like selling lemonade or something they’ve made. They need to spend their own money, sometimes unwisely. They need to give to someone less fortunate. They need to take some object apart (an old radio? a clock?) and try to put it back together.

—They need sleep. They need to go to bed in time to be rested for the next morning. They need time with no screens flickering in their faces. They need to build a pillow fort. They might need to pitch a tent outside and sleep under the stars. They need to stay up late for a special occasion and then sleep in the next morning. They need a quiet time, when they can hear their own thoughts. They need the chance to be noisy, with drums and marching and exuberant singing (this should probably happen outside, for mom’s sanity).

—They need books. They need adults to read to them. They need to read to each other. They need gorgeous books to admire and funny books to laugh at. They need rhymes to jingle in their minds. They need familiar characters who are just like family (Frances, Harry, Angus, Stuart Little, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle) and historical figures who inspire (Laura and Mary Ingalls, George Washington, Florence Nightingale). They need tall tales (Paul Bunyan) and small creatures who make a big difference (Charlotte). They need to thrill over heroes and mourn over martyrs lost too soon.

So, if you’re looking at a list longer than your arm of the toys the child thinks she needs for Christmas, or you’re watching your friends buy their kids the latest gadget but your family budget won’t stretch to that this year, or you’re feeling guilty because you didn’t sign your kid up for the children’s choir so they could sing a miniature version of Handel’s Messiah while their grandparents oohed and ahhed over them … well, you have my permission to stop feeling guilty.

There are only a few things kids really need, and most of them don’t cost too much money. They may cost more of our time, or some of our sense of safety, but in the end those things may be a small price to pay.

What would you add to my list of things children need?

By Karen duBarry

Math Blog Challenge #6

Remember to solve and explain in complete sentences, and answer on Blog! 

Miss G is getting married.  and she Mrs Smith and the other 3 ladies are making their own flowers. If Rose's bouquet has 7 flowers, and Kylie's boquet has 11 flowers, and the pattern continues so that Jayme's bouquet has 15 flowers... How many flowers should Mrs Smith's and Miss G's bouquets each have? What is the pattern? Solve and explain the steps you used to answer the problem. 

1st correct answer earns 5 points!

All other correct answers earn 3 points.

Any incorrect attempts earn 1 point! 

Math Blog Challenge Day 5 (a little late! Oops!)

Remember to solve and explain in complete sentences, and answer on Blog! 

Miss G is getting married and she couted the number of kids sitting in each pew at the wedding. If the first pew had 5 kids and the 2nd pew had 7 kids and the 3rd pew had 9 kids. If the pattern were to continue, how many kids would fit on the 6th pew? Solve and explain how you got your answer in complete sentences! 

1st correct answer earns 5 points!

All other correct answers earn 3 points.

Any incorrect attempts earn 1 point!