Visitor Count Palindrome!

This week we noticed that the Visitor Count number was a palindrome!

pal • in• drome (noun)

a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward, e.g., madam or nurses run.

Do you see any palindromes in your life? 

Please share a palindrome or two in the comment section!

Remember, look to see if your palindrome has already been mentioned!

When do you think the blog will hit 100,000?

Bamboo: A Global Game!

Mrs. Yollis' class is part of a global project called
Our World, Our Stories. 

One week was devoted to recess activities. Mrs. Yollis' class shared a video of a popular game called Bamboo:

Mrs. Watson's class, in Canada, liked the game and wanted to play. However, their bars were too tall. :-( That did not stop the Canadians! They adapted the game and renamed it Switch! Check it out!

A class at 2KM and 2KJ's school saw the video, realized they had the parallel bars at their school, and started playing. What is fabulous about this video is that the teacher, Mrs. deVries, joined in the fun! Way to go!

Bamboo 1 from Deb de Vries on Vimeo.



Inspired by Mrs. deVries, Mrs. Yollis took the bars for the first time! See how she did as she competes against one of her students! Sadly, Mrs. Yollis had to shout...Bamboo and the game was over.

Mrs. deVries will remain World Bamboo Champion 
~ Teacher Division ~


Thank you, Alexandra, for being a great videographer.  The video is very still and easy to watch!

Then the kids had fun playing.

Go!

Wait, who is that waiting her turn in line?

Go, Beverly, go!

Keep going, Beverly! You can win!

She tagged him! Beverly is victorious!

Do you play Bamboo?

Does your teacher?

Do you have any advice for new players, like Mrs. Yollis?

My Edublog Nomination 2011

The 2011 Edublog Awards are now open for nominations. It is very difficult to choose just one entry per category because there are so many inspirational people and quality projects to choose from. After much thought, here are my nominations:

Best class blog    2KM and2KJ

Best student blog     Miriam’s Magical Moments

Best teacher blog   Integrating Technology in the Primary Classroom by Kathleen Morris 

 

 Best new blog   wwwatanabe by Mrs. Wantanabe 

  

Best twitter hashtag      #comments4kids by @wmchamberlain

  

Best individual blog   Teaching Literacy in the Early Years by  Kelly Jordan

  

Best librarian / library blog    The Bulldog Readers Blog by Mrs. Hembree

 

Most influential blog post    Top 10 Twitter Tips   by Kathleen Morris 

Best individual tweeter   @ozge

 Best free web tool    Twitter

Best ed tech / resource sharing blog    Langwitches Blog     By Mrs. Tolisano 

Best educational use of audio / video / visual / podcast     Mr. Avery's Blog

Lifetime achievement     Sue Wyatt

Who are you nominating for Edublog Awards? 

Happy Thanksgiving ~ 2011!

For Thanksgiving, Mrs. Yollis' class baked delicious pumpkin bread! 

Happy Thanksgiving - 2011 on PhotoPeach

In addition, Mrs. Yollis read the class a funny story about a slow-thinking turkey called Thomas T. Turkey. 

In the story, Thomas was invited to not one, not two, but three Thanksgiving dinners. Benjamin Bobcat, Fanny Fox, and Henry Hawk all told him they wanted to have him for Thanksgiving dinner and that the day wouldn't be the same without him! In the end, Thomas T. Turkey decided he did not want to hurt anyone's feelings, so he declined all the invitations! He ended up staying home alone for Thanksgiving dinner.

  We learned that it is better to eat alone than to be eaten!

After listening to the story, we created our own invitations for Thomas T. Turkey.  He must have been overwhelmed by his sudden popularity this year!

Happy Thanksgiving, one and all!

What are you thankful for?

Family Blogging Month: When I Was Young...

Family Blogging Month has been a terrific success so far. Quality comments have been pouring in from parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even some pets!

One recent comment from Kelly's grandmother and great-aunt caught Mrs. Yollis' eye. These ladies composed a fabulous comment sharing about their life growing up in Louisiana.

Below is their wonderful comment!

 (Click the comments to enlarge.)

 

 Like a good blogger, Kelly, responded back. 

Then Kelly's mom joined in the fun!

 Many families will be traveling over the Thanksgiving vacation and spending time with special family members and friends. 

Mrs. Yollis is hoping that other relatives and friends will share about their life. 

What was life like for you growing up?

What sorts of chores did you have? 

What did you do for fun?

Happy Birthday, Ross Mannell!

Mr. Mannell is a retired teacher form New South Wales, Australia! He is a regular reader of Mrs. Yollis' blog and the class appreciates his support! He always leaves such interesting comments, and  he is a teacher in our global classroom!

Happy Birthday, Ross Mannell!

Follow Mr. Mannell on Twitter!  @RossMannell

What have you learned from Mr. Mannell?

Which comment was your favorite?

Learn to Write a Compound Sentences

Mrs. Yollis' students are always trying to improve their writing skills.

*       *       *       *       *

 A compound sentence:

1. Combines two shorter sentences (so has TWO subjects)
2. Joins the two sentences with  a conjunction (and, or, but, so)
3. The comma goes BEFORE the conjunction.

*       *       *       *       *

 Here are some sample compound sentences, and they are all about Thanksgiving!

(Hey, that's a compound sentence!) 

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, and many families gather for a traditional feast. 

In 1620, the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, but they had really planned a trip to Virginia. 

 

 The Massachusetts winter was extremely cold and  harsh, so everyone had to work together to survive. 

The Wampanoag Indians helped the struggling Pilgrims, so they were able to harvest crops for their first feast. 

Modern Americans dine on turkey and stuffing at home, or they make a reservation at a local restaurant.

Challenge!

In the comment section tell about your plans for Thanksgiving. Be sure to include at least two COMPOUND SENTENCES.  

 

 

Thank You, Veterans!

Today is Veterans Day in America. It is a national holiday and is the day we celebrate and honor the men and women who have served in one of the branches of the military. 

Here is a video made by the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Here is a link to some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Veterans Day.

Do you know any veterans?

Please contact them today and thank them for their service!

If you are a veteran, please share your story!

Skyping With Australia!

Mrs. Yollis' class is great friends with 2KM and 2KJ in Victoria, Australia. Today they met to learn about each other and about the countries they each hail from. 

2KM and 2KJ came to school 20 minutes early, and Mrs. Yollis' class stayed 20 minutes after school so the blogging buddies could meet. It was Tuesday afternoon in California, and it was Wednesday morning in Victoria, Australia. 

Sarah and Ellie were our greeters and they lead the Skype exchange.

 When 2KM and 2KJ learned that it was Sarah's birthday, they sang a lovely round of Happy Birthday!

Miss Jordan and Mrs. Morris are two terrific teachers and the classes enjoyed meeting for the first time! Because of the time zones, the classes can only meet when Daylight Saving is over in the United States, but starting in Australia.

 The classes started with a Share & Compare session about America and Australia. 

Australia is 2,941,299 square miles and America is 3,794,101 square miles. About how much larger is America?

Australia's population is 22,756,782. 
About 23 million.

America's population is 312,577,000.
About 313 million.

About how many more Americans are there than Australians? 

Next students shared about some famous places in their countries.

Ayers Rock is one of the oldest and biggest rocks in the world. The Aboriginal people think it is a symbol of creation.

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco opened in 1937.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France and stands in New York.

 It was interesting to look at the Australian bills, or notes as they like to call them. We noticed they were very colorful and pretty. Then Mrs. Morris tried to rip it in half! We were surprised, but then we learned that Australian money is plastic! Clever! What is American money made of?

Speaking of money, Sammy impressed everyone with his green million dollar bill!  Ha Ha!

Ellie shared her beautiful purple amethyst.

Royce and Jarrod got a chance to see each other again. They had Skyped together on their own a few weeks ago!

Ryley from 2KM and Rexon from Mrs. Yollis' class both brought in boomerangs. It was noted that throwing a boomerang is difficult. Well, it's not difficult to throw...it's difficult to get it to return! 

Kelly brought in a cute giraffe that her mother got on a trip to Africa.

Even though Trey and Alyssa are new typists, they did a fantastic job taking notes on TodaysMeet! Here is the transcript!

Thank you, Sammy, for the fabulous photos! 

Please visit 2KM and 2KJ's post about the call. Here is a link!

What did you learn about Australia? 

How did you like the Skype call with our blogging buddies? 

How many miles apart are the two classes?

Uniting for UNICEF

Every Halloween, many chldren collect  money for UNICEF .

 UNICEF is the United Nations Children's Fund.

It was founded in 1946 to help children after World War II.
It now operates in over 150 countries all over the world and has saved
many lives!

The tradition of "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" began in 1950

in the United States.

This year our school carried on that tradition!

First, we dumped all the coins and bills into a pile.

Next, we sorted the pennies. A penny has Abraham Lincoln on the front and his monument on the back. Stacks of 10 made on dime. Rather than counting every stack, we made a master stack of ten and all the others were measured against it. It really moved things along. Another word for a penny is a cent.

Ten stacks of ten pennies equals one dollar!

Would you rather have 100 cents or a one dollar bill?

We sorted the pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and stacked them in one dollar increments. Finally it was time to get a grand total.


We had set a class goal of $25.

We actually collected
$227.75!

How does it feel to give to others?

What will UNICEF do with our donation of  $227.75?