Lego club tomorrow

Hello,

Okay, I admit it.  I didn't get the Lego Club permission slip out in time.  We are definitely going to start tomorrow.  It will run until 5:00.  We'll get homework done first.  You just need to write a quick note letting me know that they have your permission.  In my defense, there was no time to run out and make copies today because of my recess duty and lunchtime team meeting.  Okay, that just made me sound like a kid trying to explain why they don't have their homework.  I'm guilty.

We tried a little descriptive writing this afternoon.  Students were supposed to describe a character in their book.  Most finished the assignment, and now have to draw the character as best they can.  It was funny how half the class cheered this assignment and the other half moaned.  In general, the half that liked doing the writing portion is less enthused about the drawing.  I told them not to worry.  I'm not expecting them to be Michaelangelo. 

We filled in a blank map of the world this afternoon with the correct oceans and continents.  The class definitely knows the continent song.  I'm sure your child will sing you a version if you request it.  You may not want to.  I'm going to have that song in my head until Christmas.  Students are responsible for knowing the continents, oceans, equator, and the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.  They will need to place them on a blank map.  I'm currently blending geography with our geology unit.  We've been talking about plate tectonics and about how the surface of the planet moves.  Most tectonic plates move at about the same speed that our fingernails grow.  Unfortunately they move in jerks, which we feel as earthquakes. We also talked more about the tilt of the Earth today.  These subjects really lead into one another.  It was hard to discuss the Tropics without getting into the seasons and our relation to the sun.  Good stuff really.

I've got to run to dinner.  I'm going out to eat with my wife, which is a bit of an occasion on a school night.  I can't be late, so good night.

Mr. Shea