Extra Special Day!

The day before the vacation was quite the event!  Some students chose to wear pajamas and/or holiday hats. We had our final session of Mix-up Math for the term.  Today all students learned Close to 20 and they have been instructed to teach you over the vacation. Hope you have fun playing!

Later in morning we had our first Room 210 Jokefest.  Several students came prepared with some very funny jokes. Even Santa did a bit of a stand-up routine!

During Music class, the students were invited to share some musical talents, from playing the piano, the ukulele, to singing, whistling, and even some hip hop dancing.

The afternoon included our flight home from Antarctica and a game show to see how much we've learned about the continents. 

The whole school came together at the end of the day for a holiday sing-a-long!

Enjoy the break and Happy New Year!

To the Bottom of the World!

Today we flew to McMurdo Station in Antarctica.  We learned that there are no permanent human residents on this continent, just the many scientists who spend time doing research on the weather, the animals and global warming.  Many students chose to wear their outerwear on the plane, assuming it would be quite cold when we arrived.  But then we remembered it is summertime there now, so the weather was not as cold as we expected: just 27 degrees.  In any normal winter, it might have been that cold here in Arlington!

Upon arrival, we were greeted by Mr. Morse, our customs agent, in full winter gear.  

Our Globes

We had a great time creating the globes that your child brought home today.

First we covered the balloons with a goopy paper mâché mixture.  Some kids really didn't like the texture!

Then we created the oceans by using a tissue paper decoupage technique.

Finally we invited our Fifth Grade buddies to come and help us glue the continents on the globe- in approximately the right places!

Worldfest!

This morning we held Worldfest 2015.  Thanks to all parents who could stop by and see the wonderful posters created by the students.  Some children sported magnificent traditional dress as well!

Special visitor

Yesterday Skyler's grandfather came to visit wearing his traditional Scottish outfit.  He told us what parts of it are called and when people are likely to wear such clothing (not every day!).  We had the chance to touch some of the tartans and we learned that different family clans have different colors and designs on the tartans.  We also got to touch some thistle- a common plant in Scotland.  

G'day mate!

On Friday we traveled down under to Australia.  To Leon's surprise, we met his mother, Jessica, at the customs desk.

We talked about whether we thought Australia was a small country....

.... or a big one.

We will learn about some of the animals that are unique to Australia and why we think these animals don't live anywhere else in the world.

 

Ms. Glassman's last day

Today our Lesley University student teacher, Ms. Glassman, celebrated her last day with us.  She read the thoughtful book that the kids made for her and she serenaded us with a couple of songs, accompanying herself on the ukulele!

Buddies

On Friday we met with our Fifth Grade Buddies.  They led us in a rousing rendition of the "Shark Song!"

Ni Hao

On Monday we flew to Asia and arrived in Beijing, China.  We were met here by our customs agent, Mrs. Donato. 

The following morning we had a visit from Nina's dad, Andrew, who spoke to us about China.  Nina's family lived there for a year and a half a couple of years ago!  Her dad said a lot of people wanted to meet her and take her picture because she looked so different from all the Chinese children. 

Yesterday we watched some video about the Himilayas and Mt.  Everest.  We know that it is the tallest mountain in the world and we learned that it is still growing!!  We talked about whether we would or would not want to climb it. (Most of us would not!)

And today we celebrated Jesse's birthday with a visit from his mom, Cathy, who read us stories, including The Stinky Cheese Man, always a favorite!