Collage

Last week Mrs. Peterson asked you to research what a collage is and who invented the process.  It is your job to locate reliable resources to use in order to answer that very question.  Remember that Wikipedia is not always the most reliable resource to use when you are looking up information.  Once you find one or two reliable sources write down your answer into a word document and post it as a comment into this blog post.

Morning Rain Showers

Buddy Class

Today our first grade buddy class came to visit and work on a poster that we are going to hang up when they are finished.

More students need a laptop computer for the classroom - USATODAY.com

More students need a laptop computer for the classroom - USATODAY.com

This article is talking about students owning laptops for use in the classroom. Between the laptops, iPods and iPads out in the world is this too unreasonable to think about? I think that within the realm of 21st century skills, if we are to be teaching children about collaboration and technology they should have access to the tools. Not to say that some of them will have access to these tools, but at sometime in the future each and everyone of my students will need to use a computer. They come by the skills so naturally that it seems logical to give them access to these tools at an early age in order to incorporate it into their lifestyle. Being able to use a computer appropriately along with Internet access can be powerfully motivating to a student not to mention empowering when the complete something using it. I think that it should be mandated by law that everyone in the United States has access to the Internet, there are other countries around the world that have started this trend and it speaks towards their vision for accessing information. How are we going to get these tools for our kids? They are expensive and I don't expect all of my parents to have to pony up the money for a laptop. What are some of your thoughts and options for more computers and media device tools for children to have access to in the classrooms?

Band and Orchestra Demonstration

Multiplication baseball

Happy Birthday Tucson

Happy Birthday Tucson

Here is a whole list of things that are happening in celebration of Tucson's Birthday!

Walker Pit Fire: 2010-2011 Pit Crew

Walker Pit Fire: 2010-2011 Pit Crew: "Hello and welcome to the 2010-2011 school year. We are looking forward to meeting and working with you to make this years Walker Pit Fire a..."

Letterboxing

Yesterday Mrs. Wright, one of our wonderful 3rd grade teachers brought to my attention something that is called Letterboxing.   This is similar to Geocaching, it is a mix between treasure and scavenger hunting.  I LOVE to go geocaching on the weekends with my wife but it requires that you have some sort of GPS locator device.  Not everybody has access to one of these.  is based off of a set of clues and navigational directions to geographical landmarks.  The whole idea behind it is to get people to explore their surroundings and discover something new.  I am thinking about setting up some Letterboxing discovery landmarks here at our school.  I think it would Letterboxing d be a wonderful activity for kids to participate in both in and outside of school.  What do you think about this?  Do any of you Geocache or Letterbox in your spare time?  

Math Introduction

Today we got a chance to look through our Everyday Math books. We also cut out some addition and subtraction triangles to help us practice our math facts?.

This is a wonderful example of the beauty that Arizona has to offer Lulu Walker. This was taken from our playground!

Jeffrey the caterpillar

This morning we had a new student trying to join us for the day. Luckily we found him before any damage was done and was able to relocate him to a safer environment.

Parent Information

Hello parents and students of the 2010 - 2011 school year.  I have already met some of you and am looking forward to meeting the rest of you on Wednesday when school starts up.  If you (parents) could take the time to fill out the information form I have created it would be much appreciated.  This gives me some important contact information about you and your young learner.  If you have already filled this form out once there is no need to do it again.  Thank you for your help and I will see you all very soon!

Parent Survey Form

Summer Must-Read for Kids? Any Book - Well Blog - NYTimes.com

Summer Must-Read for Kids? Any Book - Well Blog - NYTimes.com

Here is an interesting article that says kids should be reading throughout the summer time. I have always told parents to let kids read whatever they are interested in, the goal is to keep them reading!

Teacher Meeting

Today a handful of teachers came together at school to work on this year's schedule. Life around the school is starting to pick up more and more as the first day of school draws near. Looking forward to seeing and meeting my new students!