January 5-9, students in 202 will be responsible for reciting the pledge and leading morning announcements.  We will use this opportunity to talk about the pledge and what it means.

One of our favorite activites at the conclusion of Morning Meeting is The Shoe Game.  Each student takes off one shoe and puts it in the pile.  Then, one by one, we take turns picking up a shoe and handing it to its owner (if we can figure that out!).  It’s a fun way to start the day.

Our computer teacher and my worthy technology advisor, Laura Smith, introduced me to this wonderful, creative, new site. It took me several hours to figure it out so that I could introduce it to a few of my students. I introduced it Thursday and my students were off and running in no time.  These days, it seems children have a 6th sense called “technology intuition”.  My students are gobbling up Kerpoof.  I have set up a class page in which students log in, create masterpieces, and then save them for me to view and share in class.  Students just click on the KerPoof logo above, then log in using first initial and last name. The password is ABCD, and the class code is X513.  We will be doing some language arts and social studies projects using Kerpoof, so play around and have some fun.

We love to make cartoons! Here’s a favorite website for creating comics.

Click on “Comment”, and write what you think you see!  I have a BIG surprise for you on Monday!

Drummer Hoff was written back in 1968, during a time of unrest; war and civil rights protests, the assasinations of Dr. King and Robert Kennedy. I told the children that it was written in 1968, during a time when young men from our country had to go to war, when many citizens thought that the war was wrong. I told them that some of these citizens were called Hippies (they loved that word!), and I showed them the peace sign (most had seen it before). This Caldecott Award winning children’s book tells the tale of soldiers setting up a cannon, firing it, and then, well, the ending is interesting. My second graders got the message, and even made the connection to the time of our civil rights movement. Such sharp students!

Thursday morning we talked about this day in history, the day Dr. Martin Luther King gave his I have a Dream speech. We listened to his words and agreed that he spoke some really big, long, complicated words. The children listened and raised their hand when they heard something they had heard before. When I fast forwarded to I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.I have a dream today! All hands were raised.

“Now an African American man is a candidate for president. Do you think Dr. King could have dreamed that back in 1963?” I asked my students. Yes, was the enthusiastic reply. Yes, indeed. My students understand the power of hopes and dreams. It’s going to be a great year.