Sarah had two more great months of school. November and December seem to have flown by... Sarah completed the Candy Corn Tower Challenge along with the other students in her class. They had to work as a group to build a tower with toothpicks and Candy Corn in 15 minutes. The tower had to be the tallest and stand the longest to win the challenge. They gave a good effort but their tower did not do too well. I think it was hard to poke the Candy Corns into the toothpicks without breaking the Candy Corns and then if they didn't break hard to build tall.
How did your team's tower do?
Sarah: "It did bad. It was not built strongly. It was hard to build. The Candy Corns broke when we poked them. We got only 4 Candy Corns and 4 toothpicks on the bottom (to make a base) and 1 toothpick with 1 Candy Corn sticking straight up...then starting to lean over and over....then it fell. My group started laughing really hard and our faces turned red. No groups could build a tall tower."
During November Sarah learned about our government, the elections, Kansas, and our country.
"If I were elected president... I would let my mom give a tour of my house that I used to live in. And I would also get to throw the first pitch of the baseball game." ~Sarah
What have you been learning in math?
Sarah: "fractions, angles, liquid measurements, and decimals"
Have you enjoyed playing the Recorder? What did you like the most/least about playing the Recorder? What were your favorite songs to play on your Recorder?
Sarah: "Yes. I liked taking Recorder tests in music, That is where I had to play a song in front of my whole class. I liked showing people how good I could play it. I liked playing Up On The Housetop, and Jolly Old St. Nicolas, and Ode To Joy."
Tell me about your state report.
Sarah: "I picked Louisiana to do my state report on. I had to find out information about my state, decorate a sack with information about Louisiana and pick out some items to represent Louisiana. I had to give my report in front of my reading class."
Below, you can see Sarah's decorated Louisiana state sack.
On November 13th Sarah and I ran in the Girls On The Run 5k event. All fall she had been practicing with her school's GOTR team and coaches, leading up to this 5k event. All girls must have a running buddy for the event who will complete the 5k with them. Sarah and I ran together, with me talking to Sarah and encouraging her to "keep going", "try to speed up", "look ahead", "you're doing good", "let's go catch that girl", and so on the entire race. There were over 1200 runners in the race, and the start was very crowded. It was tough to get out and around people at the beginning. Once we got around a LOT of people I was able to get her moving and into a pace, she did well. We both liked running around a lady who had music playing from her phone for all to hear. (I need to get one of those armband phone holders so that I can play music and help motivate us when we run.) And, it was fun to hear lots of her peers, teachers, and coaches cheering her on throughout the race.
She finished first for her school's GOTR team. It was a surprisingly warm run, but she did well, and had a GREAT running season!
Below GOTR team members: Top row, left to right - ?, Savannah, Sarah, Jenna, Abby, Allie, Sara, Brooke, Tricia - Bottom row, left to right - Reese, Alyssa, Emily, Gracyn, Nereli, Ivory, Chloe, Nena
What were some of your favorite things about Thanksgiving break this past November?
Sarah: "Seeing family and eating yummy foods."
Haiku Poem Sarah wrote....
Leaves
Yellow, red, and orange
brittle, pointy, and little
jump in a fall pile.
Below is a drawing by Sarah....
Sarah earned two more medals from the Mighty Milers program. The 1st was for completing 26.2 miles and the 2nd was for completing 52.4 miles. She has really put the miles on her feet this past fall!
Did your class take a field trip in December? Where to? Did you have fun?
Sarah: "We went to the Shocker Ladies Basketball Game. I had fun with my friends. We took our lunches and ate at the game."
Sarah got called to the office, by the Principal, on December 8th for a Positive Office Referral. The day before she had shown great self-control, integrity, and respect for others when she was asked by a teacher to keep an eye on a classroom of her peers and to report back on their behavior in the classroom with a substitute teacher. This was not an easy task, as her peers where aware that she had been singled out for this job. She was met with a lot of "don't write my name down and write a good report" comments, and had to observe (and report) her friends acting in negative ways and treating an adult very poorly. Her teacher wrote on the Positive Office Referral, "I asked Sarah to be the rater for following our social contract with substitute. She was very sad to report - not good, yet she had the integrity to let me know, even though she felt the pressure from her peers." Her Principal wrote, "Sarah demonstrated excellent leadership skills when she chose to stand up to her peers to do the right thing That is often hard to do. Keep up the good job!"
The week before Christmas break, the girls' school had themed days... wear red to school, wear your favorite Christmas outfit, wear crazy socks, and hat day.
Tell me about your class and group economics project.
Sarah: "We had to get into groups of three and pick something make and sell. We sold our products to other 4th and 5th graders. My group made bracelets. We used beads and stretchy cord/twine. I was in charge of production. Maddy was in charge of advertising. And, Lauren was in charge of sales. It went good. We sold all of our products during the 4th grade sale and had to make more for the 5th grade sale. We didn't sell much when 5th grade came. My group made $26.50 total. Others groups made and sold stockings filled with candy, lemonade, grab bags, joke books, painted Popsicle sticks, and fuzzy fabric stuff."
Daddy, Popee, Nanee, Silas, and I all attended the all-school Christmas sing-a-long. It was a fun time for the adults and kids who were there. There was a variety of songs to sing-a-long with, some even had fun actions. We were excited to see the 4th graders play their Recorders during a special part of the sing-a-long. Sarah had been practicing a lot at home in the days leading up to the sing-a-long in preparation for the Christmas songs she would be playing with her peers in front of the large audience.
What songs did you and your classmates play on your Recorders for the Sing-A-Long?
Sarah: "Up On The Housetop, Ode To Joy, and Jingle Bells, and Jolly Old St. Nicolas"
How was your classroom Christmas party? What treats did you have to eat?
Sarah: "My class played Christmas BINGO. We had cheese and crackers, summer sausage, a popcorn treat that my teacher made that had popcorn M&M's and Rice Krispies. There was also juice. My favorite was the treat from my teacher."
