Jayden

 Meet Jayden!

Jayden started off by showing us this baseball.  He got it at a baseball game in Hawaii!  The pitcher signed it, although he doesn't remember the name of the team.

 This is a little skateboard.  He had this in his bag because he likes to skateboard.

 This is a survivor bracelet.  In case of an emergency, you can untie it and then you'll have a rope!  His cousin made it for him.   He also had a skeleton bracelet.  It had wooden carved skeleton heads on it. 

Jayden also had an hourglass.  He uses it when he brushes his teeth because it takes 2 minutes for the sand to empty from one side to the other.  Great idea, Jayden!

He also showed us a string with a piece of jade on it.  His grandma found it at her house and gave to him.  He told us he really likes it!

A Rubiks Cube was also in Jayden's bag.  He got it at Target...but he told us he likes to do puzzles. He also showed us a hand buzzer.  You wind it up and it buzzes.  He also likes jokes.

He had one Euro...which is a coin.  His grandpa gave it to him when he (Grandpa) went to Europe.  He gave it to Jayden as a souvenir.

A bouncy ball was included.  He told us he has a lot of them, but the one he brought is his favorite.

This is a fake pirate map.  It is really small, as you can tell.  Jayden said he's never been able to get it out.

He showed us a WWII little plane that had the wheels broken off.  He's had it a couple of years, but he really likes army planes.

For his last item, Jayden showed us a bent penny.  It said he got it from one of those machines where you turn it and it makes an imprint on the penny.

Wow! We all learned a LOT about Jayden!

Makenzie

 Meet Makenzie!

Makenzie started by showing us this "hair thing" from her sister. As you can see, she not only showed it to us, but demonstrated how you wear it!

 These metal pins are from her favorite band, One Direction

She also shared a cute little pony...I think it was pink.  She has two...just alike...one from her mom and one from her grandma.

 This is a Zooble...If you put it on something magnetic, it transforms.  She also demonstrated this.

A horse calendar from 2011 was the next item.  She said it was kind of ripped because she's had it awhile.  She loves horses which is why it's in her bag.  She has a horse she rides named Cowboy!

Makenzie showed us a piece of paper she had gotten one year that said, "I have filled someone's bucket today."  She actually has a bunch of these because she saved them.  She also has a note from her kindergarten teacher she's saved:)

This is a figurine of Niall, one of the members of her favorite band...One Direction!

Makenzie showed us a horse figurine that she got when she was 7 years old from her Mom.
Next she showed us a little horse that looks like "Magic", a horse they had that used to rip down fences.  It was a hard horse to ride.

Next she showed us another little horse that reminds her of Cowboy.
Then...another little horse...just because she found it!

Makenzie only has one horse now and it stays in a pasture that's on the same road as our school. They're getting another horse...a gelding, which is a 'boy horse'.  She told us girl horses are called mares.

We all realized that Makenzie definitely loves horses...and we really enjoyed learning so much about her!

Fingerprints

 Room 5 is getting ready to do an investigation into fingerprints. You'll definitely be hearing about it next week!  Our little sleuths will be taking some fingerprints of family members.

 

Cody and Aarin

 Today, we practiced taking our own.  Students worked with a partner.  Each person made a dark patch of graphite...pencil lead...on a piece of tagboard.  Then they rubbed a finger over it.  Their partner took a piece of scotch tape and placed it over the middle of their finger where the prints are.  Then it was transferred to a piece of scratch paper...and labeled. 

 Kathryn and Jaya

 Kai and Lacie

 John and Lucas

 

Makenzie

 Jayce

 Elias

 Kai and Lacie...again!

Athena and Veronica

 I asked everyone to do their thumb...and then however many other fingers they had time for.  They were to label them.

 Our investigation will continue....

Ryan

 Meet Ryan!

Ryan started with this medal from his dad's girlfriend.  She walks for breast cancer.  This medal will be Ryan's if he finishes a half-marathon.  His dad's girlfriend custom made these medals!  Wow!

 This map has to do with the Civil War.  Ryan told us he really likes studying the army.

He shared a plastic army man.  He likes to play with his whole bag of them.

He also had a glow-in-the-dark vampire duck.  (yes, I wrote that correctly)  Ryan included that in his bag because he likes Halloween!

 This book, "What's the Call" was in his bag because he likes sports...and once he grows up, he wants to be a ref.

He also had a picture of himself when he was 2 or 3 years old.  (I told him he hadn't changed at all...just looks a little older!)

This is a peanut bag that Ryan got at his very first A's game.  He was going to bring his A's hat, but since it wouldn't fit in the bag, he brought this instead. 

Along with the baseball theme, Ryan had a picture of him in his 3rd year of playing baseball.  He also had his first baseball after his first baseball year.  It was one his dad gave him. 

He had a trophy from his 2nd year of football.  Lucas, from our class, was on his team both years. 

Ryan had a fireman's sticker from his dad's work.  He told us that after he's a referee, maybe he'll be a firefighter.

Last but not least, Ryan had a sock monkey given to him by his dad and his girlfriend last football season.  He told us he had a life or death injury..that he was almost killed.  So this sock monkey was given to him them.  He doesn't know if he'll play football again.

Wow, Ryan!  We were all so interested in all you had to share about yourself!
 

Bevin

 Meet Bevin!

 Bevin started with this book, telling us how she loves to read.

She had a picture of her baby sister sitting in their backyard smiling!

She also had a photo of herself with her cat, Mr. Nicholas.  Mr. Nicholas has on a red shirt and acccording to Bevin, "He's adorable!"
She also had a statue of a cat...a 'good luck cat statue.'

 This is a can of fish food.  She has lots of guppies who are doing really good.

Bevin had a pencil in her bag because she loves to write songs and stories!
A statue of a horse was in her bag because she LOVES horses.  She said she'd like to ride one someday.
However, the next item was a picture of her on a horse.  She said she's only done it once.

A camera was in her bag because she said she "LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to take pictures and stuff!

Bevin would 'LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to be a marine biologist someday.  To illustrate this, she brought in a little dolphin, telling us how she loves marine animals.

A paintbrush was also in her bag.  She loves to paint.  She told us that in her home, are a lot of pictures hanging that she painted!

This CD was in her bag because she loves to listen to music!

She also had a crystal.  She just found it one day when she was looking for dinosaur bones!  Now, she LOVES crystals...a LOT!

Bevin brought a bead and told us it was an ancient fossil bead.  She got this at a gift shop.

She also had a seashell...one that you can put up to your ear and hear the ocean.

A scarf was included in her bag.  Her dad got it for her.  She really likes it because it has zebra and leopard stripes.

Last but not least, Bevin had a "really beautiful bracelet that my dad got me one day...and it's really cool!"  She told us she was really into jewelry.  One thing she really likes about this bracelet is how it jingles.  She told us her cat likes it too! 

Wow!  Bevin had a lot of fun things to share.  What fun it was to learn more about her!

David

 Meet David!

David started with this wooden statue of a toad.  His Aunt Pon gave it to him...and she got it in Taiwan.  You rub the stick over the toad and it's used to call in toads!  Interesting!!!

 David showed us a picture of him as a baby.  This picture was taken while his family was camping...his first time camping.  He told us "I mostly slept."  David has two brothers:  Toby Joseph, Jr. is 16 and Thomas Samuel is 14. 

He had another photo of him playing soccer.

His aunt...not Aunt Pon, but Aunt Robbie, gave him this rabbit skin.  She also gave him a weasel skin, but he left that at home.  Aunt Robbie moved to Arizona for awhile, like 10 weeks, but moved back because it was too hot.  She gave him this skin before she went to Arizona.

David told us about his name.  He's named David after the David in the Bible...the one who killed Goliath.  His middle name is Matthew, and he doesn't know why he's named that. 

Last but not least, he showed us a plastic lizard.  He likes to play with it, but mostly, he likes to play with his army guys.

What fun it was to learn more about David!

Breanna

Meet Breanna!

Breanna started by sharing this heart.  Her sister, Heather, made it in class.  She gave it to Breanna because she loves her! 

Breanna also shared a photograph of her dog who died last year....

Now look at this smile!  This is a trophy from a dance recital.  This makes me think that she really loves dance?

Last but not least was this little jar of honey. 
Breanna told us that her grandpa, who lives in Oregon, has boxes of bee hives.  She actually helped him with pouring this honey!

We all enjoyed hearing a little more about Breanna!

Kate

Meet Kate!

Kate started her 'bag' by showing us a ball of yarn and crochet hook.  She told us she likes to crochet!

An origami frog was her next item.  Her cousin made it for her...but Kate also likes to do origami and she likes frogs!

She had a feather from her grandpa.  They're not sure what kind of bird it's from, but she likes it anyway.

This is a birthday doll.  It has the number of years she is old.

Kate also had a dog (not a live one,of course) from her grandma.  One time when they went to the zoo, her grandma let Kate and her cousins pick out an animal in the gift shop. 

She showed us a rock....that had some dirt on it.  She just really likes it and got it from her Dad.

Kate showed us some chimes...and wiggled them so we could hear the chimes.  This was a gift from her granny for a birthday.

She included a bookmark in her bag because she likes to read.  Sometimes, she doesn't have enough bookmarks!

"Chocolate" is a mustang figurine.  Kate has a lot more figurines at home.  'Chocolate' is a horse (figurine) that she got for Christmas. 

This is a rabbit.  She got it from some friends who are moving.  Her sister got one, too.

The last item Kate shared was a quarter.  She had it in her bag because she collects quarters.  She likes to see the states that are printed on the backs.

Wow!  It was fun learning a lot about Kate!

Ms. G

Meet Ms. G!

Room 5 is fortunate to have 2 student teachers this year.  We have Ms. G for the first half of the year.  After Christmas, she'll move to a different school.  (sniff, sniff)

Thursday, we learned a bit about Ms. G.  She showed us this sandal key chain.  It has a picture of a turtle on it.  The Spanish word for turtle is 'Tortuga' which is her mom's nickname for her.

This coin purse is also a key chain.  It was given to her by her host sister who lives in Italy.  Ms. G lived with her for 2 weeks.

She also showed us a toy that Zoe likes to play with.  Zoe is her roommates dog.  This was a loud...actually, the loudest toy!

This is a magnet from Pisa, Italy!  She saw this while she was living with her host sister.  This magnet is kind of a joke about the leaning tower!

Ms. G also showed us a picture of herself with her parents when she was 9 years old.  She told us she doesn't have a lot of photos because her family moved a lot...and many pictures got lost. 

A cat eraser was another item in her bag.  It was given to her by her little sister, Makenzie.

A copy of a cat painting was also in her bag.  It's a French painting because she studied French in college!

Ms. G is excited to be in Room 5, so included in her bag was a little Panda bear given to her by our very own Aarin!

Ms. G's first name is Stephanie.  She told us her mom named her after Princess Stephanie of Monaco.  It means "crowned one."  Janette is her middle name.  Her mom named her this after a singer her mother really liked.

We so enjoyed getting to know more about Ms. G!

Friday Silent Reading

 Fridays are a bit different in Room 5.  Our usual schedule is a bit off.  For example:  Silent Reading

 We actually haven't even started Silent Reading...but Friday, our first Friday, I did something I don't think I've ever done.

 During the regular school year on Fridays, I usually let Room 5 sit with a partner (not a group, just a partner) and read a non-chapter book.  This could be a comic book, a yearbook, Where's Waldo...etc. 

  However, I never start it the first week of school.  This year was different because this group has been so incredibly well behaved and followed directions so well, that coupled with the absolutely beautiful day it was outside, I decided to let them start. 

 I have carpet squares they are welcome to take outside our room and sit on....or they can use them in the classroom.  They're also welcome to sit at their own desk...or at a table...

 We had students doing all the choices available...

 Some started outside...but the 'beautiful weather' was a bit too warm for some of them, so they came back inside. 

We definitely started this fourth grade year with a super week!

A brand new year! 2013-2014

So here we are in a brand new year!  I hope we have a lot of family and friends who follow our journey through 4th grade this year....

We're definitely off with a great beginning!