Space Day

Hello,

We all learned a lot this morning from our guest speaker from NASA.  I never knew that astronauts get skinny legs and fat faces.  Your child can tell you why.  Why don't astronauts eat bread?  Is outerspace hot or cold?  We learned these and many other very interesting things from the rocket scientist.  I think some kids were surprised at all the health risks that are associated with space travel.  I was fascinated by all of it.  I wish I could have heard from a speaker like that when I was young.  I couldn't help but think that someone in the audience was being inspired enough to make it up there one day. 

We missed math due to the space assembly.  Our P.E. class also got shortchanged a bit and we ended up combining with Mrs. Wilson's fourth graders for a combined P.E. class.  I heard that they did well. 

We wrote some poetry outdoors this afternoon.  I wrote about recess.  I felt like today's afternoon recess did the opposite of what it is designed for.  I felt more stressed after the recess.  I witnessed a lot of selfishness and dishonesty.  I'm glad to report that none of that came from our kids, but it was still very disconcerting.  I think it helps our kids when I get to talk it out with them.  They get to hear the lesson without learning it the hard way. 

I've been thinking about looping and what that might mean as far as summer options.  Would anyone be opposed to a few summer "field trips?"  We'd just choose a few dates and locations (like Morse Mountain) and then meet up at HBS and carpool to a place to spend part of the day together.  I think the kids in the class have made some really strong connections.  I was noticing how many stick together during recesses.  What are your thoughts about summer field trips?  I'm open to your opinions.  They would definitely be optional.  I just thought it might be a nice way to do some of the field trips we used to do when we had more of a budget.  At J.A. we used to take the Squirrel Island Ferry from Boothbay Harbor, went to the Boothbay aquarium, went to Morse Mountain, etc.  It would be nice to touch base a few times this summer and those seemed like some options. 

Harry Potter club is having another after school session on Friday.  We will be making wands and construction House ties.  I've got all the colored duct tape we need to make some nice "clip-ons." 

We're going to tackle our next simple machine tomorrow: the inclined plane.  Back to building!

Have a nice night.

Mr. Shea