Bugs, Globes and Books

I started the week with the stomach bug that is swarming through our building. It is fast and furious. Thankfully, it only lasts about 24 hours. We have scrubbed every surface in the room to hopefully keep everyone else bug free. The rest of the week was packed with activity.

The children finished their Monsters in a Jar narratives and designs. They are very clever. Don't you love how this one is posing? The children had a great time sharing their pieces and getting constructive feedback from classmates. It's so wonderful to see how my second grade authors are gracious in accepting "you need to read with more fluency" or "you need to add more details to the ending" types of feedback. It's more powerful than the gentlest comments I might make. 

The monster writing was fun. Pumpkin globes, not so much. I asked my kiddos if they knew the Taylor Swift song about never, ever getting back together. Amid a chorus of "Yes!", one little voice said, "Please, don't sing that song!" I told them that we are never, ever, ever making pumpkin globes in my room again. Talk about a headache! The acrylic paint wouldn't stick. Some children brought huge pumpkins, which made it tough to get the right scale of continent shapes to cut and glue on them.   Lesson learned. Next year, we'll go back to the flat, construction paper maps. 

Another piece of good news is that we had our school book fair. It's always fun to shop the books and see the children's excitement about books. I am blessed with generous children and parents, so our classroom library grew by about two dozen books. I always like to read the first few pages of a new book that has been donated, so that the children are tempted to read the book.I think it honors the child who took the time to pick out the book for our class. I call these teasers. One book that is really cute is, Jeff Mack's Good News, Bad News. It is perfect for teaching inference! 

It's time for some housework to make my house ready for company this weekend. I'm sure I'll be shopping with my sister-in-law while my brother, niece and nephew go to the Titan's game on Sunday. At some point this weekend, I have to prep for an observation. Yikes!

I also have to wrap up planning for the upcoming weeks before Thanksgiving break. We're going to be studying states of matter in science, so I'll pull out my We're in a Thanksgiving State of Matter activity. It's a neat science + art activity that makes an adorable hallway display.

Have a great weekend! Stay warm!