Magnets

I just found a website that let's you play a "cheap" version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" with questions about magnets.  I didn't want to lose it, and wanted you guys to have fun at home playing with it!  There is a part 2 of this site as well.  Click here to get to it.

Gamequarium

I have been showing the students some of the fun math games found on Gamequarium, and have heard that some of you are having difficulty deciding what is appropriate for your kids to play.  Web over to http://www.gamequarium.org/dir/Gamequarium/Math/, and you will find an "index" of math skills.  Addition is always a winner!  Under that tab, you will find a game called "jet ski addition".  Students can play against others on the internet, or you can help them set up a private game, call friends with the password, and they can play each other from their own homes.  You will also find "Tom and Jerry Addition", "Outer Space Addition" and there are many more pages of addition games.  Click on Number Sense to get to the Odd/Even games called "Jelly Diving" and "The Dragon's Eggs" that I also demonstrated in class.  Need practice with subtraction?  Click on Subtraction, and find "Minus Mission".  It plays similiar to "Outer Space Addition".  Go to the place value area, and find "Place Value Mystery Picture" to match word names with 3-digit numbers.  "Base Ten" has the player making the given number with the base 10 blocks that we use in class.  Students should also be able to play several of the games under the Probability link.

Play around with some of the other choices, and create a comment about what game you liked best!

Mike Artell

In September we had the pleasure of listening to a talented author, illustrator and musician named Mike Artell.  He hails from Louisiana, and has written some retellings of some familiar stories in "Cajunese".  Look for Petite Rouge in the FWE library!  The Cajun Three Little Pigs (Mrs. Mallette's personal favorite) and Jaques and the Beanstalk can be found at the public library.  He has also written some nonfiction books about creepy backyard bugs, as well as some books giving advice as to how to draw.  You can find out more by visiting his website:  http://www.mikeartell.com/

Here is the picture that Mrs. Mallette took at the end of the presentation!  As you can see by the smiles, a good time was had by all!

Picture coming soon...

Stuff From Here and There

Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer break so far!  I enjoyed my five days of practically no responsibility---well, loaded up on doctor appointments for Monday and Tuesday so I could get them out of the way.  Turns out I had an eye infection (Hello glasses for a couple of weeks...blech), and low on my vitamin D3, so whoo hooo!  Hudson has one more chemo treatment, and he is still looking and acting good!  I find it amusing that the most frequently asked question about my dog having chemo is "Do dogs lose their hair like people do?"  The answer is yes, dogs can lose their fur as a side effect, but that has not happened for us.  The main thing we have noticed is the increase in the amount of food that he wants to eat.  We have to constantly put some kibble in his dish throughout the day to keep him happy! 

This summer I am taking a class that has to do with selection of library materials, and while researching library policies, I came across this interesting site.  It has links to all sorts of things to do with reading/reasearching and I thought if you were needing some inspiration as to something to check out from your library, you might want to take some time to browse through some of the suggestions. 

I've read 3 books from the Bluebonnet list for this upcoming year:  The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (2 stars), Out of My Mind (5 stars...read it with your child, it can spark some great discussions about empathy!), and The Shadows (4 stars).  You can find the list of Bluebonnet books here.  Now that you all will be Third Graders---you'll have a chance to vote for your favorite from this list.  Remember, you have to read several books from this list in order to be eligible to vote!  I have found that my HPL has a shelf dedicated to the Bluebonnet books, so they are easy to find.  I also read a graphic novel called The Whole Worlds Crazy, which is a series of books based on a character named Ameila.  This is another one that I recommend reading together.  Pay attention to Pajamaman's PJ's.  The design on his PJs change from time to time.   

Websites We're Using

There are several websites that we have used in class that you may be interested in visiting during the summer.  Two website we frequently visit are bird cams.  This is the link to the Emma the Hummingbird, which earlier this year we got to see her nest with THREE babies fledge (she had two, and because of a storm and some kind people, they put a third hummingbird baby in the nest, and Emma took care of all three.

Emma's Birdcam

Around May 19th, two more hummingbird babies were born.  They usually take about 21 days to fledge, so be watching them grow until around June 8th!

The other is a bald eagle cam located in California.  We have watched the little gray eaglet grow up and change to where it is black like the parents, and almost as big!

Bald Eagle

With weather, we have found this site, Weather Whiz Kids.  Make sure you check out the links on the left! 

For some language fun, visit here!

Of course, there is always FunBrain to keep up and enhance skills during the summer!

Bird Links for Research!

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478
This is the site that has the information about many birds as well as the bird calls.  Type your bird in the top search box.  Make sure you click on the different tabs to see the differnt pieces of information!

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/

Type your bird in the search box near the top.  IF results are found, there will be a list of links.  Read the links and find ones that are most appropriate for you.

SOME students can find their bird on this site:

http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nw4.htm

The birds are listed in alphabetical order, but may have an extra word tacked on.  For example, Diana is researching the puffin.  On this list, there is a HORNED puffin, which is similiar enough that she can research information using this site.

http://www.avianweb.com/

Another great site to find bird information!

If you are going to use Google, use the "advanced search" button to help you find sites that are more likely to be appropriate to your reading level.

Kyeongdo is researching the trumpeter swan.  Here is a great link to find LOTS of information!
http://www.avianweb.com/trumpeterswans.html

Mrs. Mallette's New Places to Visit

One of the first things we are working with is http://www.myavatareditor.com/ 
We are having fun making Wii type avatars that we can insert in some of our technology projects!