Kacey

While Kacey was sharing his bag today, Ms. V came up and whispered in my ear, "He should get the Outdoor Kid of the Year award!" I had to agree!

Kacey started by telling us about his baseball. He's on the A-League this year (a big thing for a 4th grader!) and just loves baseball. He even had a baseball to show us, besides this picture of him batting.

Next came the horse picture. This is his Dad's horse. He told us his mom and sister also had a horse....um? I asked him if he also had a horse. "No." "Well, geez, Kacey, do you feel left out?" I asked him. The answer to that question came from Room 8. They started telling me about his 4-wheelers and bikes... as if that was much better than a horse. That led into Kacey telling us about his BMX experiences. He started BMX racing about 1 1/2 years ago - he thinks. He told us you don't race by your age, but by how good you are. Kacey is GOOD. The first time he raced, he got 2nd place! He races with a Redline GT bike. The mom in me asked him if he wore safety equipment. Never fear, he does. He said he wears a helmet, gloves, and pants. Whew!!!

Speaking of awards, Kacey brought SOME of his medals and one of his ribbons. He has medals for baseball All-Stars, BMX, and soccer. He also had a blue ribbon for BMX. I knew this was definitely a blog photo.In keeping with his outdoor theme, Kacey started telling us about fishing. He brought this ... well, I think it's something to weigh the fish with. You can also pull part of it out to measure the fish. Kacey demonstrated this for his un-outdoorsy teacher.
There's more of the 'outdoor Kacey'... he also likes to snowboard... and he had a picture of him with his first bow and arrow. I think these were in Montana and Wyoming.

Wow! Kacey, we definitely should give you another award for being the best outdoorsman in Room 8!

Hailey

Hailey was our second person to share their bag today. She started off with lots of pictures of her family. She told us about each one. She told us her dad is a firefighter, even saving a little child's life one time. About her dad, Hailey said, "I'm lucky to have him." I thought that was incredibly sweet!Hailey told us that when she was turning 9 years old, she got to eat at Hometown Buffet. Her mom bought her this ring (in the above picture.) I asked her if it was a diamond, but Hailey told us it was her birthstone. It's a beautiful ring!Hailey brought this 'purse' to share. In it, she had eight little dogs. She showed us how you can turn the purse and it becomes a house - with a pool! She likes to keep her dog collection in this. Hailey showed and told us about every single one of the dogs she brought. She told us she likes to collect them because she loves real dogs. She has a dog named Boden.This is not Boden. It's one of the toy dogs Hailey brought.

Hailey also likes jewelry. She brought a bracelet...and a necklace. She told she loves it when other people make her things.

The last thing Hailey showed us was her smelly pencil. Now this isn't smelly in a bad way... it smelled good - like bubble gum. She brought the pencil to illustrate to us how she likes to draw and write stories.

Nice job, Hailey!

Faith

WAIT! Who is this taking pictures?

It's Faith.

Faith is new to our school this year. She's a perfect fit for Room 8...and we're so glad she came to our school and our classroom inparticular! Faith and her family moved here from Missouri.

As you can probably tell, Faith shared her digital camera - a PINK digital camera - while she was doing her 'bag.' We took a picture of each other taking a picture. Actually, that's not completely true. This was a 'staged' picture. Faith didn't have any batteries. She told us she likes to take pictures, which is why her camera was in her bag.

We learned that Faith likes to collect things. One thing she collects is shells. She showed us this one in the picture below. She also told us she likes to collect sand dollars, even though she only has three.
Snowglobes is something else Faith collects. She has about 20 of them and she keeps them on shelves in her room. She used to keep them in her windowsill, but then her blinds wouldn't completely shut. This snowglobe is probably her favorite. She told us it was the only kind made in the USA. I had no idea! This one came from Colorado. Her grandpa got it for her when he was there. Faith told us he travels all over.
Faith also loves to read. She showed us this by bringing one of her favorite books - Junie B. Jones. Faith also brought some pictures of her family... she told us she loves them very much.

Like I said, we're so happy to have Faith in Room 8. We enjoyed learning a little more about her.

Stylin' in Room 8

It was time for recess today.

I saw these three girls getting their sunglasses... and I knew it was a picture for the blog!

Do you know who they are? Here's a hint:They were definitely stylin'!

Searching some more on our scavenger hunt

Today was our second day of the "Scavenger Hunt through the Books." I love walking around and listening to the groups work together and decide what book to look in for a particular question. Look at all the books:
Wasey decided to check the science book to find what "solar energy" was...
Kaia was trying to find where the 'Yazoo River' was located. Have you ever heard of the Yazoo River? Just ask Kaia to show you where to find it.
Vanessa was looking at an experiment or activity in the science book.
Austin was pretty excited over this whole scavenger hunt experience. Unfortuantely, he had to attend a SF 49ers football game last week instead of being in Room 8 scavenger hunting! :)
Here's a better picture of Austin J. See that grin on his face? He would much rather be in room 8 than any ole football game!
Here's Faith... who looks so much like my granddaughter, Thalia. Faith also missed our scavenger hunt last week, only she wasn't watching football instead.
Look at this last photo. I just love it. Friends helping friends.... Orion and Abby were working together...
I absolutely love the students in Room 8!

Danny

Danny is what I would call "all boy!" He is an outdoor guy. Look at some of the things he shared:

A SHARK... yes, you read that correctly, a SHARK. He told us his grandfather bought it for him in Wyoming. Many Room 8ers were wondering what kind of shark it was. I believe some of them decided it was a leopard shark. Kobe seemed positive about that.
Ok, don't faint. Danny also brought a CROCODILE...at least just the head. Oh my! Someone asked him if the teeth were sharp. Danny looked at them and said, "If you mash down on them they are." I was curious if maybe Danny had been to Australia, but he said No, his grandma got it for him in Minnesota! I had no idea you could find crocodiles in Minnesota!Danny also told us he loves dogs...and he has some dogs... some to the number of 13. Yep, that's right. Danny has 10 hound dogs, 1 rat terrier, 1 'wierd kind of dog', and 1 bloodhound. I thought a bloodhound would be a hound dog, but Danny made a distinction between the two. He told us a little about the bloodhound. Apparently it was run over when it was just a puppy and had to have surgery.

Now Danny may look like your average guy, but look at this next picture:
Doesn't he remind you of Michael Phelps in the Olympics with all the medals around his neck? Danny just brought these, but there are SO MANY MORE at home. He had mostly 1st place medals. They are all for WRESTLING! We all learned a lot and were impressed with Danny - and all his medals!

Brittany

Brittany shared her bag today. What a soft, sweet voice she has... we kept having to remind her to speak a little louder so we could hear her.

Brittany started by showing us this dog. She loves dogs and has 2 chihuahuas - Allie and Niko. Now we know this statue isn't a chihuahua, but Brittany just used it to represent the fact that she loves dogs!

She also loves to play cards. I don't think she mentioned any particular card games she liked, just that she loves to play.

She also loves jewelry. (Yep, me too, Brittany!) Look at this beautiful necklace she modeled for us.
Now this isn't just any necklace. No siree, it was made for Brittany by Wasey's grandma! I think it's just beautiful.

See this box below? Well, that's a Nintendo DS, which she also likes to play.
Brittany also loves to write, especially stories. She brought one she had typed, but didn't really want to read it to us. That's Ok. She did tell us it was about 3 girls and a huge blizzard! Along with writing, Brittany loves to read. She brought a Cam Jamsen book to illustrate the series she has read.

We definitely learned a lot about Brittany!

Caryn

Room 8 is extremely fortunate to have Caryn as part of our 'family'! Today Caryn told us a little more about herself.

We knew she was in the right room when she held up this chocolate bar! We did notice that it was milk chocolate...while Mrs. Johnston's absolute favorite is dark chocolate.Now Caryn didn't actually start off with the chocolate... she started off showing us her KEYS. She told Room 8 that it was awesome once you got your driver's license. She said she loves to drive...and she has an Audi.Caryn also loves volleyball, being on the varsity squad for 3 years... well, THIS is her 3rd year. She is a setter. Now, that caused a little discussion in Room 8 about what a setter was...and about volleyball in the Olympics.
Caryn shared her jersey... she's #2 - at least she's number 2 on the volleyball squad. She's #1 in Room 8's eyes!

She has her first game tomorrow evening at 6:30!

Friday Silent Reading

Kacey and Orion

Friday afternoons in Room 8 may find students buddied up on carpet squares, sitting outside, and looking at photo albums, Where's Waldo type books, or just comparing books. I don't usually start this the first week of school, but it was such a beautiful afternoon, I changed my mind.
Shelby and Hailey

Summer
Trever
Wasey and Kaia
Max
Nathan and Joel
Nicole and Vanessa
Parker
Sam and Rocky
Brittany
Danny

Katy and Abby
Kobe and Spegi

Yep, it was a beautiful day to start 'Friday Silent Reading!'

Max

Here's Max. Max is a wealth of knowledge...he actually sat with me for a lot of today's Friday Silent Reading to ask me questions from .... um? I think it was a book on records. For example, he asked me, "What country drinks the most soda?" I guessed correctly. (The United States)

Max wasn't originally suppose to share his bag today... Austin J was. Yesterday, when I was reminding Room 8 of their homework and called off both the Austins' names for bag sharing, Austin J remembered he wasn't going to be at school today. Max quickly volunteered to switch days with him. Max was ready!

He loves baseball... and the bat in the picture above is actually not even his - it's Sam's...and it's lighter than Max's wooden bat.

Max also likes to draw, illustrated by this picture he shared. He also likes to collect erasers, showing us an eraser that he found on the ground. He also loves to read, especially enjoying the book called 'Gregor the Overlander.'
Now Max has been carrying around this pin... he had told me what it was, but I still wasn't sure. Max does a form of martial arts, and that's what this pin is from. When he held it up to show Room 8, he said, "I think it's a little too small for a picture, Mrs. J."

"Rats!" was my reply.

But, never fear... Max had a solution to being able to see it through the camera:
I love it! I told the class my mom would say, "That's using your head for something besides a hat rack!"

Max also had a small little blue case that he said was the carrier for his Nintendo DS games. Now, I had no earthly idea what this was. This prompted a big discussion in Room 8 on all the games these kids have. I was surprised. There are Nintendo DS, PSP, Wii, Playstation 1, 2, and 3, X Box, X Box 360, Game Cube, ... they even informed me the prices of them all.

My question was: What's the difference...and why do you pick the ones you do? Max told me the main difference was the size, the controls, and the kind of games.

Thanks, Max!

Austin V

We have two students named 'Austin' in Room 8... so I designate them as Austin V and Austin J. This is Austin V.

Austin shared his bag, starting off with some antlers. He told us he likes to hunt, actually going hunting with his grandpa on a four-wheeler. Unfortunately, they didn't get anything. These antlers are from his grandpa on a previous trip. Maybe next time, Austin! Austin told us he couldn't actually hunt until he was 12 years old.

Austin V also likes to wrestle. He just started year before last, but he loves it. Look at the medal he won!
Austin V shared some pictures of his family. I particularly liked the one of his grandma sitting in 'HER CHAIR'. He said that's what she calls it and... well, his grandpa just has to sit on the couch!

He brought a spur because he likes to ride horses. He told us he used to have a horse when he was 6 years old, but they had to sell it. He then showed us this bell and said it was for PBR. I asked him what PBR was. He just looked at me like I was a little crazy and said, "PBR!" Well, I had to explain I had no idea what PBR stood for... then he informed us it stood for Professional Bull Racing, which is something he wants to do when he grows up. After riding, he wants to go into the Marines!

These goggles were the last thing Austin V showed us. He said he wished he had taken them hunting!

Maybe he would have had another pair of antlers???

Ashley

Meet Ashley.

Ashley was our second student to share their 'bag.' Ashley started out telling us how she loves soccer... then she told us how she loves baseball...then basketball... and football. After she was finished sharing her bag, I asked Room 8 what were some things they learned about Ashley. They immediately said, 'She LOVES SPORTS!" Absolutely!

Ashley also likes to ride dirt bikes. She actually has a Suzuki 110. This picture above illustrates this love of hers.

In addition to all this, she likes to skateboard. She wants to learn how to do a kick flip. Ashley also collects sports cards. She talked about going to a 49ers game when they played the Philadelphia Eagles. That sounds fun!

Another thing Ashley enjoys is playing her PSP, but she told us her mom only lets her play it after she does her homework... YEAH MOM! (Mrs. J's feelings!)
Ashley also shared her Puka bead necklace. We had a debate about how you spell Puka...some thought it was Pooka... but then the majority decided it was Puka. Regardless, it's a great necklace and we enjoyed seeing it and hearing all about Ashley!