What a great first day! I had a wonderful day meeting all of you and seeing how well you worked together. I think we had a great time learning classroom procedures. Who would have ever thought that, huh? And the days will continue to get better as we move toward content and books.
   Please remember a few important things: first, we need five binders with paper in them by Friday. Three for my class and two for Mrs. Lukomski's class. You will also need to have PE clothes with you (or on order) by Friday as well.
  I want to say thank you so much for all of the generous donations made to the classroom! I may never need to buy hand sanitizer again! LOL! You are all so very kind. I have lots of great things planned for the construction paper and the other items you donated. Thank you again.
  I think one fun activity that we did today was the Marshmallow Challenge. It was so very interesting to see how students decided as groups to build a structure out of just 20 pieces of spaghetti, 1 yard of string, 1 yard of masking tape in only 18 minutes that could support the weight of a regular marshmallow. Everyone worked together, exchanging ideas, and testing their prototypes. It's interesting to note that those who perform best on this challenge are kindergarteners, while the worst performers are college graduates of business school. I have some pictures below of student creations.
   Lastly, I would like to apologize for the parent pick up mishaps today. We had a meeting after all parents were through and believe that we have come up with a better solution. You should have received an email at the email address you have on file with the school. Please check that and let me know if I can answer any questions for you. Thank you for your continued patience and I'll see you tomorrow!
 
I don't normally like to link to outside websites, but I just had to this time. The Huffington Post, an online news outlet, posted the funniest set of pictures today. Each one shows a particular math "problem" that if you didn't pay attention might end up costing you more in the long run. They do point out most of the problems in the captions, but see if you can figure them out on your own. Take a look here, but as always, ask your parents permission. Ask your parents if they can help you find the mistakes! Let me know what you come up with! 
 
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What do you like to do when it's either too hot or won't stop raining during these Florida summers? 
I like to explore the online universe! One of my favorite hobbies is technology. I am always looking for great new ways to make learning fun and exciting. 
When the school year starts we will talk about a few ways to utilize technology in our classroom, and out of it, that will help us communicate for success. I am spending my days researching more ways and  look forward to sharing all that I have found during our first few meetings. 
In the meantime, why not use the internet to play some games? If you look around on our website you will see that I have added some game sites that many teachers are recommending because their students loved them so much. 
However, you should always follow a few rules when going online.
  1. Always ask your parent's permission. You should let them know what you are wanting to view.
  2. Never click on any ads or commercials. Be cautious as you navigate the web. When in doubt, log out!
  3. Never give any private information about yourself to anyone. If you want to use a site that asks you to create an account, ask your parent's to help you out. Don't chat with people you don't know.
As thoroughly as I evaluate websites, I have no control over the ones that display advertisements. If it were up to me, there would be no ads at all! 
And why can playing games help you over he summer? Well, most of them require you to read, which is always a good thing. Many of them make you think critically about what you need to do next. And some of them can help keep your other skills sharp as well, like your math skills and science vocabulary skills. 
Have fun playing games and keep cool!