Reading Buddy Class

Here are a few snapshots of our class enjoying an afternoon of reading with Mrs. Wold's class.

Room 12 Happenings!

October always means a visit from our amazing Corbett Volunteer Fire Department. The firemen presented a film on the importance of designating a meeting area for the family and checking smoke detectors.

The past five weeks Ms. Hume has been presenting a new artist each Monday. So far we have learned a bit about Frida Kahlo, Frank Gehry, Alexander Caulder, Faith Ringgold, and Leonardo DaVinci. I have posted a few pictures of the art that has been inspired by these artists.

We have now met with our buddies from Mrs. Wold's class twice! Each time the kids have enjoy sharing stories with each other. This is a great time for each child to enjoy a wonderful story and share their love of literature.

We Are Back!

The past two weeks have just flown by. During the our first eight days we have been working on getting the basic routines down. In addition, we have been very busy beginning our exploration of elements of design, learning about geography, brushing up on our math, sharing books with one another, improving our writing and learning about two of our featured artists. Next week we will be adding geology to our classroom too!

Our first artist was Frida Kahlo, an artist from Mexico. We learned a bit about her life, looked at the paintings she created, and thought a bit about why she painted what she did. We then created are own self-portraits that are now hanging in our classroom.

Our next artist is actually an architect. His name is Frank Gehry. Mr. Gehry is famous for his buildings that are very much out of the ordinary. It was so exciting to watch Ms. Hume present this artist and the reaction that each child had. They are very excited to begin their own buildings, but we will need your help!

Children were asked to sketch and then create their building much like Frank Gehry does. We have some supplies to make this happen, but the future architects decided that they would like to bring more materials.

Our list included: paper or plastic bowls, wooden skewers, pipe cleaners, aluminum foil, wax paper, heavy cloth, special papers (the heavier the better). Wire that is flexible and easy to cut, cardboard (like cereal boxes are made of), natural materials (rocks, wood, etc.). We are also hoping to borrow low temperature glue guns (I have a couple).

State Projects...

After a lot of research and preparation our projects were complete. The books were filled with lots of interesting information. The tri-fold boards gave a quick look at the motto, state bird, flower, tree, animal, and a state map. The speeches were well crafted and packed full of history, politics, and fun facts. There were a wide variety of 3-D models representing each state that really captured a lot of our attention.

Rowena Spring Trip May 2010

Rowena Spring Trip 2010

Our class visited Rowena Plateau to observe the changes from fall to spring and to view the differences between the west and east.

The LIberty Project

As a wonderful way to conclude our study of early U.S. history and government we had two special visitors. Sara Grigsby and Joe Schneider came into ur classroom to share The Liberty Project. Joe is making a float for the Corbett Fourth of July parade that will feature the head of the Statue of Liberty. Surrounding the head will be flags created created by Mrs. Handy's, Ms. Steichen's, and our classroom.

Each classroom discussed what liberty and freedom meant to each of us and then we took those thoughts and ideas and design flag. The creativity and ideas they came up with were amazing. Be sure to look for the float in the Fourth of July parade and it will also be displayed in Portland at the Waterfront Park sometime in September.

Enjoy the slideshow!

Columbia River Gorge

Lose yourself in nature and find peace...

The final five weeks of our time together will be doing just that! We will be exploring the beauty of the Gorge. Comparing how it changes from fall to spring, looking at the beauty of the wildflowers that grow, helping to paint a mural in the grade school, and doing our part to help it remain the amazing place that it is.

To begin our classroom has been asked to paint important places and things found in the Gorge from Wahkeena Falls to Cascade Locks. From the historic stonework to the many falls and parks, our paintings have been done with lots of thought and care.

On May 10th and 11th we will be traveling up the Gorge to revisit Rowena Plateau and Larch Mountain to experience the changes that have taking place. We will also have the opportunity to see the beautiful wildflowers that are so abundant.

We recently joined with all of the members of the intermediate pod to help in the fight against garlic mustard. This very invasive plant is endangering many areas in the western part of the Gorge. Together we were able to pull over 80 bags of this plant near Guy Talbot State Park.