Learning about the Dunes...

Does this look like any sand dunes you've ever seen?

Probably not...it looks like about six room 8ers sitting on the floor...but wait...
They're being covered up...to play the part of sand dunes in a skit... a skit to prepare us for our field trip tomorrow to the dunes!
Good-bye room 8ers, and hello to the dunes!
Seeing as we were in a skit, the dunes needed their hands free...
They were reaching for their flowers... the flowers that once grew on the dunes... a variety of types...
Here came our flowers....
Just pretend they naturally grew there... (remember this is a skit!)

Ahhh, the wind (aka, Jimi) started blowing... and it blew the beautiful flowers on the dunes AND blew the sand of the dunes... as it is suppose to!

Uh-oh....people came over and planted European Beach Grass....
The European Beach Grass took over and stifled out the beautiful flowers...
(Of course, since this is a skit...we simply took the flowers out of the hands of the dunes and replaced them with beach grass...)
Here's the dunes with European Beach grass growing on them...The wind came back...and blew...and blew the beach grass but NOT the sand dunes...which is NOT what is suppose to happen in sand dunes...
Oh happy day...here comes the D.P. Restoration Team...

Looks very similar to Room 8ers!.....
They've come to restore the dunes... to pull out the European Beach grass...
To pull the grass up by the roots....
Oh my! Happy times are here again! With the beach grass gone, the beautiful flowers have come back...
and when the wind blows...
...it blows the flowers... and it blows the sand dunes... just like it's suppose to do!
The dunes are happy.... so happy... that they're throwing off their acting costumes...
and reminding us that this was a skit from Room 8, but a demonstration of what we've learned about the dunes... and to prepare us for our field trip tomorrow!

I Am

I am a ten year old boy who is smart...
I am a 9 year old girl who wants to be an ice skater...
I am a 10 year old girl who wants to be a doctor and specialize in facial expressions and work for the FBI...
I am a fourth grade girl who wants to play pro softball...
I am a girl with a confusing life...

We write poetry in room 8...sometimes funny, sometimes personal...

This poem, called "I Am", could be anything. Some wrote about their dreams of wanting to play professional sports...some wrote about things they already like to do, like surf....some were very personal... but they are all wonderful!

At the end of the year, we'll be making poetry books...so you will get to see all their wonderful poems!

Ms. C

I haven't been updating the blog as much...because I didn't think anyone was reading it anymore. Some people commented about the blog during conferences, which made me realize maybe some were still reading!

I need to introduce Ms. C to you. Ms. C is our student teacher for the spring semester. She is absolutely wonderful...and Room 8 is thrilled to have her with us!
Ms. C has been teaching us about Rocks and Minerals...starting with the layers of the earth. When Sequoyah had a question, she was right over there to help.
Ms. C is from Washington...She has one younger brother who still lives at home...actually, he's still in high school!

Ms. C... we're so glad you're part of Room 8!

Sharing on Tuesday

I always love it when Room 8ers bring things from home that have to do with what we're studying. Today, Kaylee brought a book on rocks and minerals!
It's a great book....and Kaylee shared the parts of it that related to the parts we have started learning about.
Going along with our study of Native Americans, Charlie brought a book about the Chickasaw tribe, of which he is a part.

Not only did Charlie show us the book, but he explained some of the pictures...
Then he read us some information about the tribe he got from the internet.

Good job, Charlie and Kaylee!!!

World Shelters

I want to thank all of you again for all the baked goods donated for our Help Haiti Bake Sale. As was previously posted, the bake sale raised $501.42...amazing for one lunch hour! Between other monies donated in room 8, plus $32 from Mrs. K's 4th grade and $58 from Mrs. W/Mr. K 4th & 5th grade, we ended up with $702.

I had said we were donating it to Humboldt Helps Haiti...but that didn't end up happening. For whatever reason, they stopped answering my emails. After 3 weeks, I read about World Shelters and contacted them. They are based in this area...take out no adminstrative cost...and have a team leaving this month. As their name implies, they make shelters!
This past week, Jason came from World Shelters and talked to us about what they are doing in Haiti....along with showing us what and how the shelters are made. He was wonderful! I appreciated how he commended Room 8 for their hard work, for their effort at helping the Haitians.
Mrs. W/Mr. K's 4th & 5th graders joined us to hear Jason...and then Mrs. W took a photo of all of us with Jason. Dallin had the honors of presenting a check for $702 to Jason.
We learned so much...we learned that for $350, World Shelters can completely build a shelter to house a family of 5...so our $702 could house 2 families of 5! That was an eye-opener for Room 8 - for me, too!

On their first trip to Haiti, the main focus is on building medical facilities...four buildings will be built... and one home structure. This will be a model for other homes to come to Haiti.
This is a model of the U-Dome...

I was so impressed with Room 8...for their compassion, for their dedication and excitement to help those less fortunate. I hope they learned that one person can make a difference...especially when we all work together!

Artline

This is probably my absolute favorite project Room 8 does in Artline. Mrs. O comes in once a week, for 8 weeks, to teach art to Room 8. We, unfortunately, have only 2 left! This project, is one I want to do myself...to frame and hang in my home!

Room 8 loved it!
Serenity and Jarrin
Noah
Liam
Dallin
Keith
Abby
Logan T
Aleia
Blayke
Kaylee
Sami
Charlie
Shelby
AJ
Tucker
Terra
David
Jimi
Sequoyah
Joseph
Logan B
Kaylin
Bryce
AJ

Keith