Christmas for Critters 2009!

A big "thank you" to everyone for showing some love for the animals and making this years collection so fantastic. With the change in the economy this past year, it was great to see that generosity is still alive and well.

Also, a huge "thank you" to everyone for the cards and gifts. They are truly appreciated. While gifts may be unnecessary, it is always nice to be thought of around the holidays, so thank you again. My sweet tooth definitely thanks you as well!

Please have a very safe and happy holiday. Enjoy your time with loved ones and friends alike. Make the most of your time together and remember to be thankful!

See you next year,

Mr. Fletcher

Twenty Questions for Hassan Basagic

Through Hassan's webpage and online photo albums, the kids have come up with some great questions for Hassan about his work and life experiences (there were actually about a hundred questions, but we narrowed them down to twenty)!

We are hopeful that if Hassan comes back to this area for a vist, he will be able to stop in for a visit and share some information about his work and travels with us in person!

Thank you Hassan!


1. How did you become a scientist?

2. What college did you go to?

3. How do you "measure" a glacier?

Antarctica Questions:

4. How long does it take you to get to Antarctica from where you live?

5. Have you ever seen any penguins there?

6. What is the coldest it has ever been while you were there?

7. Do you have to sleep in your jacket and snowpants?

8. Do you drive any vehicles there?

9. Were you nervous the first time you went to Antarctica?

10. How many times have you gone?

11. How much stuff are you allowed to bring with you?

Mount Kilimanjaro Questions:

12. How long did it take for you to reach the top?

13. How many people did you go with?

14. What kinds of animals did you see?

15. Was it hard to breathe at the top?

16. How cold was it at the top?

Kite Questions:

17. How do you take pictures with the camera on the kite?

18. Is your kite hard to fly?

19. How high can the kite fly?

And finally....

20. What is your favorite place you have ever been?

Good Luck Michelle! We'll Miss You!!

Today is Michelle's last day....for a little while. The classroom definitely won't be the same without her! We wish her all the best and anxiously await her return in the spring! Good Luck to you Michelle....hopefully your new teacher will teach you two digit times two digit multiplication....I'm glad I won't have to! (just kidding)

With a sad face,

Mr. Fletcher

Wants vs. Wishes

Since it is the holiday season I'll pose this question to you:

If you could have one thing for Christmas or Hanukkah this year, what would it be?

It could be something you wish for, or something you simply want. You decide. Just be sure to give us all your reasons or explanation for your choice.

I can't wait to read your posts!

Be creative,
Mr. Fletcher

Have a "GREEN" Christmas!

I came across this while reading a blog that I subscribe to. With all the attention our class has been giving to protecting the planet and environmental issues, I thought it was something worth sharing with all of you. Enjoy!

Mr. Fletcher



This year, I encourage you to spend as little money as possible while giving more than you ever gave! Don’t panic, here are some ideas to jumpstart your great big generous brain.

1. The best present is your presence! Be a helper – Spend time with loved ones. Maybe commit yourself to cleaning out their junk drawers. Assist someone in proper waste management. Such as, recycle their old cell phones and unwanted electronics to ensure it doesn’t hit the landfill. The good people at Electronic Recyclers can help make this easy. The green goal is to reduce your addiction to clutter. Ban the Phonebook for example. Unless your 80, I doubt there’s a need for a new one every season.

1.a – Help Mom and Dad, your teachers or boss to improve efficiency by living and thinker greener. Spend time demonstrating how easy it is to set up recycling in the home or office. Establish a community water source that eliminates the use of buying water bottles. Make sure Mom and Grandma are fully committed to using reusable canvas bags when shopping for anything. Have your home computer and company switch to eco friendly font! This is a font we use on tour. It’s clever “holy” design allows for printer cartridges to last 20% longer. Check it out here:
http://www.ecofont.eu/ecofont_en.html

2. Shop from your friends! In every community there are people who make things that could use the boost this season. In my community, I have a friend who bakes, a friend who manufactures hula-hoops, a friend who makes custom guitar straps and bags, a friend who makes musical instruments, a team who serves gratitude, and a sister who works for American Heart Association. Whether I’m sharing crafts or donating time and treasure in the spirit of giving, you are going above and beyond.

3. Re-Gift. A little spit shine on an old item, something you no longer relish, could be of great service to someone else. By re-gifting you’re contributing to the easing up of unnecessary material clutter. Welcome to a new decade that will best be defined by our doing more with less.Thank you for considering the creative alternatives this year. Your credit card thanks you too. So do the kids you may not have had yet. And all the yummy fish in the sea. etc.-J

Try This Fun Activity!

Hi Everyone!

Dora's mom was kind enough to share this project that she and Dora did together. It is a really fun way to add some personal touches to flowers.


From Dora's mom, Hara:

There is this great science experiment that the kids might like.

Materials:
White carnation flowers
Food coloring
cups or glasses

Mix food coloring (blue) or any color and a little bit of water in a cup or glass
Take the white carnation flower and put the stem in the cup or glass of food coloring
Color will start to show in 20-30min but let it sit for about 1hr.or more to get a richer color.

Result the white carnation top will turn blue.

To get real creative, you can take the stem and split it half way up the stem. Take one part of the stem and put it in a cup of blue color and take the other stem and put it in a cup of red color. The result: Half the carnation flower will turn blue and half will turn red. It is so cool!! I have even split it three ways and it worked with three colors.

You can also do this with celery stalk and the students can see how the dye goes up the tube!


Give it a try! You could make some beautiful flower center pieces for your holiday celebrations.

The Best Cure for Stress....A Holiday Concert!

Unfortunately I had to dash out of the concert to pick up my boys so I didn't get the chance to tell all of you how proud I am of the AWESOME job you did in the concert tonight. You were absolutely fantastic. You looked good, you sounded good, and most of all you were good (behaved)! I will admit that I was a little nervous at the dress rehearsal this morning....I was expecting a disaster set to music tonight! But, as usual, you pulled together and pulled through when it mattered the most! Much like you do in the classroom. That is something that I am trying to keep in mind and remember. While the voyage can sometimes be bumpy...it is usually terrific when we finally get there. Once again, great job tonight. Be extremely proud of yourselves, you deserve to be. I'm sure your families join me in congratulating you on a job very well done! I can't wait until the Spring concert!

Special thanks to Mrs. Haines for giving me the pictures to post!

Happy Holidays,

Mr. Fletcher

Has It Really Been a Month?

That is the question I was forced to ask myself as I sat down to share some thoughts with all of you. Unfortunately the answer is "yes" and I am faced with the realization that in the past month I have become one of those people who gets so busy and frantic that they never take the time to enjoy the simple things around them. I made a promise to myself years ago to never become that person......ouch! I guess its time to keep promises and start working harder to not work so hard that I become a lunatic! Ask the students...they can probably vouch for the lunatic part. So with that said and my world back in check, let's get caught up on some things!

1. Student Led Conferences
I must start here because I was absolutely thrilled with the turn out and how the conferences ran. I owe a big thank you to everyone who was able to bring their child with them and were willing to try something new. While the conferences had their bumps and awkwardness at times, I think overall the experience was one that the students truly benefited from. I totally enjoyed seeing the interactions between parents and their children and loved the fact that I was able to celebrate their success and make suggestions for improvements with the students sitting right there to hear it first hand. Hopefully this will start a trend for us in fourth grade and now that the "mystery" part of the process is over, everyone will be less nervous the next time...myself included! Can we do it again for the next round of conferences?

2. Thanksgiving
One of the reasons I found myself getting behind and overwhelmed lately is all the changes in my family's personal lives that have recently taken place. To begin, my parents retired back in the spring and have begun fulfilling their lifetime dream of traveling around the country. They sold my childhood home, purchased a new truck and fifth wheel and hit the road! I have to say they are loving every minute of it, but it has forced me to realize how different things will be for my family for the years to come. This was the first Thanksgiving with my parents being away and while I usually hate the chaos of trying to visit two families and eat two dinners, Thanksgiving didn't really feel the same. Don't misunderstand me. I talk to my parents every single day and if my computer connection at my house wasn't so slow we would Skype each other more often, but it is not the same as seeing them in person. Especially when you have two young children. And not to say it is easy for my parents either. But, alas, it forces you to evaluate things in a new way....and unfortunately for me, to grow up some as well.

Some of you know already that my mother in law has been diagnosed with breast cancer and has begun treatments recently. This meant for the first time, she was unable to cook Thanksgiving dinner. I was thrilled and honored when she asked me if I would fill in for her and do the cooking. Thanks to my awesome sister-in-law we pulled it off. And, while it was delicious, again, it still wasn't the same. My wife and her mother are extremely close and it hasn't been easy for my wife with how far away we live from our families.

While it may seem like I am dumping a lot of personal stuff on you (I am) it is for a couple of reasons:
1. I truly believe that I won't ever get to know my students and their families until they get to know me. This includes life outside of the classroom. I always tell the kids to take a second and think about what may be going on outside of school before they judge someone. Hopefully they have done this for me when I've been a little snappy from time to time.

2. Take time to appreciate your family and let them know how important they are to you. Make your time together special and meaningful.

I am making an early New Year's Resolution to get back to posting at least once a week. Even if I don't have anything to say....which rarely happens!

Thanks for letting me vent....now I can go back to breathing and get back on track!

Don't ever let your mind stop you from having a good time,


Mr. Fletcher