Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Today was full of interesting facts.  Did you know that to make snake antivenin, they take a snake's venom, inject it into a horse, and then use the horse's blood?  (Of course, no horses are harmed in the process.)  Do you know why, on some Christmas light strands, pulling out one bulb will make all the other lights go out?  Your child should be able to answer this question after our stirring discussion today.  Time for a dinner table quiz...

Congrats to our Student of the Month winners! 

Today's 'Mazing Message:

Today was an awesome day at Freeman!  And I would have to say my favorite part of today was science plus I had fun at recess, too.

-Trinity

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The kids worked hard today.  I keep meaning to send home a flyer about the Craft Night that is coming up on Friday, December 2nd, but I keep forgetting.  So... there is a Freeman Craft Night coming up on Friday, December 2nd!  It is from 5:30 to 7:30 in our K-8 Multipurpose room.  (I will try to send the flyers home tomorrow)

Today's Magical Mutter:

Today we played kickball in PE.  We had graham crackers for snack today.  Be sure to bring in snacks because we are all out.  It is very close to Christmas!

-Maddie

Monday, November 28, 2011

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  This week's spelling and homework information has been updated for you.  We were so busy today that I forgot to have a student blog about their day.  To make up for it, I will provide the Wisdom Nugget for today.  So, ahem, here we go...

Today's Wisdom Nugget:

For science today, the students created their own "light bulbs" using batteries, clay, copper wires, and 32-gauge nichrome wire for the filament.  When the connections were made, the nichrome wire heated up a bit, even smelled funny, but, unfortunately, no light was created.  When asked by one of my students why their light bulbs weren't working, I honestly replied, "I have no idea."  To this, the student responded, "Wait, aren't you the teacher?  How do you not know?"  I cried for hours. 

But then I remembered one of my favorite quotes:  "An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know.  It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't."  -Anatole France

So, it turns out I am a genius.  Thanks, Anatole!

-Mr. V

 Have a great night everybody!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

During this Thanksgiving season, I am reminded how incredibly lucky I am.  I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends.  I am thankful for my health and the health of my loved ones.  I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the Freeman family and for the role I get to play in the lives of my students.  Thank you, parents, for all that you do, and for trusting me with your most-prized possessions.  On this Thanksgiving, I hope that all of you are with those you love, that your house is warm, and that your meal is delicious.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Mark this day on a calendar........ for today, Mr. V's class did some arts and crafts.  This doesn't happen very often.  In fact, the picture below is proof that we did indeed use our scissors, colored pencils, and other artsy-type materials!  Let creativity reign...

Today's Ultimate Utterance:

Today we did some shares.  We got to pet and hold two puppies.  After lunch we went outside to play in the snow.  After that we did math.  Then we went outside again to play in the snow.  Then we came in and went to PE, and then we got on the bus.

-Deakon

Monday, November 21, 2011

Due to the shortness of the week, there are no spelling words or homework to worry about.  Have a great evening!

Today's Genius Jabber:

Today we had shares, then we fixed our math test.  After that we wrote our Veterans letters on a nice sheet of paper and colored it.  We had snack and then went over lockdown rules and snow rules.  Mr. V read before lunch and after!  We had lunch, it was yummy!  After lunch we had recess.  There was a lot of snow to play with!  Some people were building snow slides and forts.  After reading we did math.  Then we went to recess and after that we went to library.  Then we went home!

-Hailey

Friday, November 18, 2011

The snow fell and the kids had fun.  Happy Friday, everybody!

Today's Eternal Wisdom:

Hello, so far today has been awesome.  We changed things up for spelling tests.  Instead of doing all the tests at different times, we did all of them at the same time.  I want to complement Thomas. On the 8th grade words, he got a 105% perfect.  Thank you for reading the blog.

-Liam

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Another great day in our world.  We learned a lot and Ryan gave a great ASB report to the class about the meeting today.  Great job, Ryan!

Did you know that the first person to make the first call on the first cell phone was Alexander Graham Bell's grandson?  Pretty cool, right?

Today's Blog Business:

First in the morning I did some music.  Then I did some reading.  It was a good day!

-Thomas

 

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Today we learned a variety of amazing things.  For example:

1. Tesla coils are more than just magical lightning spheres, and the kids loved the one Lexi brought in.
2. If you rub your back on your chair and then walk over and touch the faucet, you will get shocked.  (just one test wasn't enough for the boys; they needed at least ten repetitions to confirm the frying power...)
3. Thomas' coat might actually be a tesla coil.  (You could literally feel all your arm hair standing straight up when you walked by it.)
4. And finally, Jace has discovered that his mouth isn't just a mouth.  It's a handy hotdog hole.  And his head?  That's his handy hot dog hole holder.

With that, it's time for today's Genius Chatter:

What a wonderful day to play four square!  It's a very popular game.  We had rotations and share and that was crazy because Lexi brough in this thing (tesla coil).  It's a circle thing where you put your hand on it and it does a beam of light and if you touch someone you get shocked.

-Marley

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Today we learned about Ben Franklin (did you know he started the first postal service?  Or that he was a newspaper owner?  Or that he invented the odometer and that he came up with daylight savings time?  Or that he helped start a hospital, a school, and a fire department?  This dude got things done!).  We also did some scientific testing into the world of condutors and insulators.  Definitely a good day to be a Freeman Raider!

Today's Words of Wow:

Today was great!  Everyone loves ultimate foursquare; it is fun!  Most boys play football and everyone talks too much and science is awesome.  So that's the whole day.  Awesome!

-Jace 

Monday, November 14, 2011

Wow!  Today was so much fun and so full of learning that I forgot to have a student write something for the blog!  Tomorrow's will be an extra good one:)

Today we worked on our spelling and vocabulary words, we edited our letters to some WWII Veterans, we worked more on elapsed time and using a calendar, and we set up a sweet science experiment that we will do tomorrow.  4th grade is the place to be! (unless you are a 5th grader or something like that)

This week's spelling lists and nightly homework information is updated and ready for you to click.

Have a great night!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

A huge thank you to all of our Veterans out there.  The district-wide assembly this morning was very moving, and it was an honor to have so many Veterans in attendance for us to recognize and celebrate.  Thank you for your service and for defending our freedom.

Friday folders were sent home today.  I had the students fill out their Friday Conversation Sheets this morning, and then I proceeded to forget to put them inside the folders.  Whoops.  Sorry 'bout that.

FYI - the food drive has been extended through next week.  If you haven't had a chance to donate some saltine crackers, it turns out there is still time!

Today's Thoughtful Thought:

Today was our Veteran's Assembly.  Happy Veteran's Day!  We also had our tests and cleaned our desks.

-Kendall 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

More boxes of saltine crackers made their way into the 4th grade today!  Thank you all so much.  We have been working hard on elapsed time; ask your child to share their knowledge. 

Reminder:  All students need to have an extra pair of shoes at school to wear for PE.  Due to the cold weather, PE will be held in the high school.  The de-icer, dirt, and rocks on the kids' shoes is very bad on the beautiful new gym floor.  Having PE shoes at school for your child will help keep the floor looking great.  Thank you so much for your help on this.

Today's Window into Wow:

Today we wrote a letter to a veteran.  After lunch, we drew awesome pictures of light bulbs.  They turned out awesome.  For P.E. we are playing four square volleyball!  It's going to be awesome!

-Jaxon

Awesome!

Monday, November 7, 2011 (Part 2)

Today we had the pleasure of watching some amazing Chinese acrobats come and perform for us.  The talent and precision of these incredible folks was mesmerizing.  I know the kids loved it.

Thanks to those have donated saltine crackers for the food drive.  I believe the deadline is the end of this week. 

Have a great night!

Today's Learning Lore:

Today we had math.  It was about elapsed time but it is really hard.

-Ada

Monday, November 7, 2011 (Part 1)

Happy Monday!  I totally forgot to post anything on Friday; my apologies.  I have updated this week's spelling and homework information.  Look for another amazing post this afternoon with the eternal wisdom of a current 4th grader, future leader.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Thanks to all of you parents out there that met with me during conferences.  It was great to sit down and talk about the high quality Freeman students. 

Reminders:

1. Flashcards are cool.  We will start using them soon.
2. We need boxes of saltine crackers for the food drive.  Please help us out if you can.

Today's Intellectual Treasure:

Today was the BOMB DOT COM!  We had a blast!  Book Fair to music to cupcakes to lunch!  Congrats to the people who participated in our poster contest!

-Lexi

(I promise I tried to teach your child some academics between cupcakes and lunch.)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Happy Wednesday!  Today we learned about primary sources, correctly creating plural nouns, and the different ways to say what time it is (5:15, quarter past five, etc.).  Ask your child about the new knowledge living in his/her brain.

Random Reminders:

1. We are collecting boxes of saltine crackers for the food drive.
2. If you can purchase some multiplication flashcards for your child to review at home, that would be amazing!

Today's Genius Gem:

Today we moved desks. I used to sit by Kaleb, Bailey, Marley, Dylan, and Ryan.  Now I sit by Hailey, Thomas, and Jaxon.  Have a nice day!

-Seth

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The kids filled out some amazing wishlists today when we visited the book fair.  Way too many good titles to choose from.  Try to swing by if you can when you come out for conferences.

Parents, if you are willing and able, it would be hugely helpful if you could purchase some multiplication flashcards for your kids to work with at home.  I would like the students to begin practicing on a nightly basis to hone their skills.  I will send more information about this in the coming days and weeks. 

A few days ago, our nutrition specialist came in and introduced the kids to some delicious eats.  Many students were interested in the recipe for crispy kale.  I have placed the recipe on the blog; you can access it by clicking on the "Crispy Kale Recipe" link below the spelling and homework information on the right side of the page.

Also, remember that we are collecting boxes of saltine crackers for the food drive. 


Today's Intelligence Pearl:

Hello parents and students!  I hope everyone will have great conferences and I hope you're enjoying the half days.  We had a great day for the most part but are still working on the talking.  I hope we will have a fabulous day tomorrow.  Have a nice evening!

-Bailey