How do you manage 35 4th graders with a mess of balloons? Matthew did it just fine!

Matthew, a former Room 8'er, has become an EXPERT on balloon art. I mean, even his clothes and his Dr. Seuss hat look an expert! Fortunately for Room 8, Matthew came and shared his love of balloon art with us. Each one of us got to make a hat...now this wasn't just any sort of hat, no, it's a balloon hat.

Watch this video of us working...I don't think Kade is totally enjoying himself!



Here is another video of us working away...

Barter Day in Room 8

In the gold fields of California, people often bartered to get what they wanted or needed. So in keeping with our academics, we had BARTER DAY in room 8.
Hopefully everyone felt a little richer...some may have felt a little poorer. You could just never tell about those miners.

We read, and read, and read some more

June 11th was Room 8's readathon. We didn't do it to raise any money, we just did it for the ultimate pleasure of reading.

Bean bags, sleeping bags, pillows, stuffed animals...they were all brought in to make us totally comfortable while we read, read, and read some more!

Our last day with Courtney...at least for this school year

Courtney came into Room 8 today...only she didn't read to us, we read to her! All the wonderful Room 8'ers picked out a poem. Some read/recited alone, and some read with a partner. They were wonderful both ways.

This group of 4th - almost to be 5th - graders, LOVES to be read outloud to. Of course, Courtney is such a great 'reader-alouder' that she makes it that much more special.

Here we are reading to Courtney...

Cole was my hero today

Cole is normally a good guy...a very astute guy. But today...he was my hero. Cole FOUND MY COFFEE CUP!

Now this isn't just any coffee cup...it's a Starbucks cup I've had about 12 years - at least. I bought it in San Francisco when I had gone to a National Math Conference. I've carried that cup all over the country.

This weekend I didn't need it so I didn't notice it was MISSING. This morning as I was making some hot tea to bring to school - uh oh..I couldn't find it. Panic set in...I KNEW it MUST be at school. I used Ron's mug, although it doesn't keep it as hot. When I got to school - it WASN'T there. I was not a happy-camper.

Enter Cole: He comes in and I tell him and the others in the room that I am DISTRESSED. Cole asks why. I told him my saga and then he thought for a minute and said, "Mrs. Johnston, I think I saw it in the library."

I told him I didn't think it would be in there...but he insisted that he thought he'd seen it sitting on the table.

Off WE went to the library...and guess what?

KoKo

This week in ExCel, we read the story, "Koko's Kitten."

Many Room 8'ers were telling me they wanted to get a gorilla. So I decided I best inform all the parents where this new-found interest was coming from.

In case you don't know, Koko is a gorilla who has had at least 2 cats...the first one she named All Ball and the second one she named Lipstick. The most amazing thing about Koko is the fact that she uses sign language to communicate with people. I looked up information about her on the internet and found out that Koko is now 35 years old and knows over 1,000 words in sign language...and she has a boyfriend named Ndume.