Our Stories

We have a new student!

Welcome to Ruben Morales! I spoke with Ruben for a short time yesterday. One thing I know for sure - he is absolutely wild about trucks! (His dad drives one.)

Open wide for multiplication facts

Our class is busy shoveling in the multiplication facts. I've been making worksheets modeled after multiplication with rows. This is helping them see the difference between, say,  5X2 and 2X5, as well as empowering them to figure out any multiplication fact by themselves. Also helpful is this excellent site which features games using a multiplication grid. Yesterday we played the games using the big screen so that the kids will understand what to do when they move to the indvidual computers.

Marry me?

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?
(written by kids)

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming!-- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.-- Kristen, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.-- Camille, age 10

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.--Derrick, age 10

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

Both don't want any more kids.-- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.-- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure?)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough for another date.-- Martin, age 10

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?

I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.-- Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?

When they're rich!-- Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.--Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have  kids with them. It's the right thing to do.-- Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.-- Anita, age 9 (bless you, child)

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?-- Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favorite is........

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.-- Ricky, age 10


"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too dark to read."

Taking a risk for art

The artist Mark Rothko once said, "Art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can be explored only by those willing to take the risks." It is in this spirit that the @rt room was created.

Like art rooms in schools everywhere, this virtual art room is meant to be a "special" place. Within its "walls," kids are offered opportunities to create, to discover, to imagine, to invent, to learn, and to make their thoughts become things. In short, the @rt room is a place for kids to explore their inner and outer worlds.

The @rt room is designed around the idea of "activity" centers that encourage kids to create, to learn and to explore new ideas, places and things on their own.

The primary author of the site is Dr. Craig Roland, Associate Professor of Art Education, at the University of Florida.

All text materials and images available through this site are intended for personal and/or educational use only. Any commercial use of this information is prohibited.

Welcome to the Art Room.

Kid safe searching

Take a look at Ask for Kids, formerly Ask Jeeves for Kids

I test drove Ask for Kids this morning. I typed scorpions in the search box and got this. Then I typed in Iraq and got this.