Our Stories

Hi ho Silver, away!

Continuing our look at Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini, Mrs. James's class yesterday traveled to The Baldwin Project where I read William Tell and his Great Shot to the class. What a grand tale it is! (I had forgotten the reason Tell sheathed the first arrow in his belt before loading a second arrow onto his crossbow. Do you remember?) Terrific drama - the kids sucked it all in. Now the fires were stoked for them to listen to the musical underpinnings of Rossini's William Tell Overture. (The Classics for Kids website is simply outstanding in every way.)

Here's a good site which illuminates the origin of Christmas traditions. Perfect for our class - I can project it on the big screen and let students take turns reading.

Our kids scored an overall 82.6 percent on last week's Mars/Jupiter SpaceQuest test. That means we owe them a pizza party (for scoring 80 percent or above). I think we're going to have it today.

Gobble gobble redux (um, make that Quack quack!)

Plan ahead. Be prepared. I was.

Mrs. James was out Tuesday with the stomach flu. (She'd been sick all day Monday and advised me she would stay home on Tuesday.)

Knowing the sub situation, I figured on running the class by my lonesome. So when I got to school Tuesday I rustled up Scholastic's history of Thanksgiving. Teachers, just so you know, BOOKMARK THIS SITE FOR NEXT YEAR. Using the InFocus projector, the class and I went back in time and witnessed the pilgrim's 65-day ocean voyage to the new land. (I had to chuckle when I asked the class what a chamber pot was. Julian volunteered, "Something you drink out of?") Once we made it to America, history unfolded before our eyes.

This site is a must! You have the option of having the text read to you, or you can have the class take turns reading. There's a timeline, loads of pictures... oy! Just so much goodness here. Sites like this one is (are?) what makes the internet a super valuable teaching tool. So take advantage already.

Gobble Gobble!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Students (and their teachers) should check out these Thanksgiving Resources for Kids and Teachers in advance.