Our First Recorder Performance

One of the highlights of being a third grader at Elmwood School is playing your recorder at the Meeting of the Eagles. Here is a video of our class in their first public performance playing the all time favorite "Pepperoni Pizza" at the November Meeting of the Eagles last Wednesday. Take a bow boys and girls!

Mystery Reader Double Header

Caroline C. and her Dad

The day before Thanksgiving, the class had the fun surprise of not one, but two mystery readers! Caroline C.'s dad and Allison's father read us favorite family picture books before our holiday break.

Allison and her Dad

Thank You Mr. Kilduff !

Today was Community Reading Day at Elmwood School! This special event is a fall tradition at our school when Mrs. Silver invites community leaders to join each classroom to share a specially chosen picture book. This year our class was delighted to welcome Mr. Tim Kilduff, President of the Hopkinton Athletic Association, who read along with the boys and girls. This year's selection was Mary Higgins Clark's first children's book entitled Ghost Ship. What happens when the main character, Thomas, finds an old silver belt buckle on his grandmother's beach on Cape Cod? Ask your child about how Thomas saved the Ghost Ship ... and when we will see Mr. Kilduff again. Here's a hint -- it will be another special day at Elmwood School this spring!

Native American Legends

This week in Reading, we have been learning about legends and the author, Tomie dePaola. Legends were historically stories developed by native cultures to explain why certain things occurred in nature. In the dePaola books The Legend of Blue Bonnet and the Legend of Indian Paintbrush, dePaola weaves heartwarming stories about how these two wildflowers came to be named.

When Native Americans reached young adulthood and realized their talents, they received their true name which highlighted their best characteristic or talent. In the Legend of Blue Bonnet, a little girl receives the name "She-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People" when she sacrificed her beloved doll to bring rain to end the famine. In their writing journals, the children thoughtfully created a name and symbol which they felt best described their finest traits. Here are some of the "new" names in our class:

She-Who-Is-Creative

She-Who-Loves-To-Read

He-Who-Is-Helpful

He-Who-Is-Loyal

She-Who-Is-Responsible

He-Who-Is-Determined

and ...

She-Who-Is-Energetic !

Mystery Reader ... Emily's Mom

Our mystery reader read us ... a mystery! Last Friday, Emily's mom read us a new library book called What Really Happened to Humpty? Did Humpty fall off the wall or was he really pushed?! Was Miss Muffet involved? Or the Big Bad Wolf? Ask your third grader how the plight of Humpty Dumpty is solved in this fractured fairy tale.

Mrs. Oldach heard about this book , Nubs, the True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle and bought a copy for our classroom to read this week of Veterans Day. From the publisher:

"Nubs, an Iraqi dog of war, never had a home or a person of his own. He was the leader of a pack of wild dogs living off the land and barely surviving. But Nubs's life changed when he met Marine Major Brian Dennis. The two formed a fast friendship, made stronger by Dennis's willingness to share his meals, offer a warm place to sleep, and give Nubs the kind of care and attention he had never received before. Nubs became part of Dennis's human "pack" until duty required the Marines to relocate a full 70 miles away--without him.

Nubs had no way of knowing that Marines were not allowed to have pets.So began an incredible journey that would take Nubs through a freezing desert, filled with danger tofind his friend and would lead Dennis on a mission that would touch the hearts of people all over the world. Nubs and Dennis will remind readers that friendship has the power to cross deserts, continents, and even species. Brian Dennis is the major in the Marines. He and Nubs now live in San Diego."

First "Lunch Bunch" with Mrs. Silver

Jacob, Patrick and John were our class representatives at Mrs. Silver's first Lunch Bunch this past Tuesday. Every third grader gets to have lunch with our principal, Mrs. Silver, which is a highlight of the students' "senior" year at Elmwood School. We send 2 or 3 students to each Lunch Bunch with Mrs. Silver who has lunch with each and every third grader by the end of our school year.

Mystery Reader - Grace's Mom

Thank you to Grace's mom for being our mystery reader on October 30th. She surprised us in the Library after the Pumpkin Blowout with one of Grace's favorite Amelia Bedelia stories.

Pumpkin Blowout

Last Friday we had our annual Pumpkin Blowout! The Blowout is a math and science exploration that incorporates concepts of measurement (girth, height, weight),estimation and calculation along with scientific prediction, deductive reasoning and observation ...all while using our very own pumpkin! Thank you to the parent volunteers for guiding the student groups through their activities and diving into the goopey insides with us too!

During the "Sink or Float" activity the children predicted whether or not their pumpkin would sink or float prior to going to the tub of water to investigate. Listen to these students discuss their beginning understanding of concepts such as density, buoyancy, displacement and mass while they hypothesize about how and why their pumpkins floated in the tub. Bravo!