eSchool Magazine: EDGE

Hello!

I wanted to thank you all for working so hard and being supportive this past school year. Below is a sample of some of our own student's work. Flip through it and enjoy!

Dr. Seuss's Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

I grew up reading his stories and have continued on with my son. All of his books are fun and easy to read and have great messages to share. Since it is his birthday I wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes by him. Hopefully they will inspire and lift you up :)

Kevin Delaney Playing with Gas.

Science is so cool!

Scales & Tails Field Trip

Last Friday we were fortunate enough to have Shane and Tyson from Scales & Tails come and show us some of their reptiles and birds. It was so much fun! Many of your classmates were able to volunteer and hold the animals while they talked about them. Some of my favorites were ,Zoro, the Coo Coo Burra, Green Winged Macaw, and Nanners, the Albino Burmese Python.

Feel free to share any videos or photos you took in the comments below or emailed them to me so I can share with the rest of the class :)

Say hello to, Zoro!

Where Do I Start?

Ok, you sit down at your desk and you have to write a paper for school. Usually your mind is running a mile a minute with so many ideas on what to write about, but once you pick up your pencil to write something your mind goes...BLANK...Then the question comes to mind, "Where do I even start?"

Well, I'm here to help! There are tons of ways to brainstorm when it comes to writing. Here are a few helpful ideas.

1. Write from a photograph

When I was in middle school my teacher would post a picture of the ocean, forrest, a speedway or pretty much anything and tell us to observe the picture for a few minutes and just take it all in. After a few minutes he would have us go back to our seats and write down everything we saw in the picture. Then we would take that picture and write a story about it. 

2. Start with a phrase.

Any phrase will do when it come to starting a story. I learned this method when I was in college and had a blast! A lot of the times my professor would have a picture to go along with the phrase, but you don't always need one. Here are some examples of phrases we used.

In the dark of the night...

I looked out the window and saw smoke under the house and...

It's the most wonderful time...

3. Find story prompt generators! 

I found this awesome story starter by scholastic. It comes up with the goofiest prompts and would be really fun to help kids get used to writing. Click on the picture to get to the site!

What have you found successful? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

Let's Get Movin'!

Our PE challenge started this month! If student's spend at least 15 hours a month (roughly 30 minutes a day) they will be entered in to win a monthly prize! We have some really cool prizes and gift cards from Sports Authority, Dick's Sporting Goods, Hang Time trampoline gym, etc.

Mrs. Houlin found these fun little videos for your student to watch and do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpdkqVIsNPY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYWycl8vR5c&list=PL7C7A407F160F3C68&spfreload=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DLPSU3PTNA&index=8&list=PLK54Ld-IFOBK4OsSB_qzi42mVogwNYMPR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hn61z3FlMQ&list=PLK54Ld-IFOBK4OsSB_qzi42mVogwNYMPR&index=13

eSchool Kick-Off Picnic!

Hello!

This past week we had our beginning-of-the-year kick-off picnic! (say that 5x's fast!)

I had such a fun time seeing everyone and getting to meet so many of you! It's so nice to put a face to the names that I see on emails and on blackboard during Class Connect meetings. I hope you all had  fun time coming to the park and meeting parents and students who you will see during the school year when we have field trips. It was fun to see kids play tug-of-war and create games with the parachute.

Thank you for choosing eSchool and for wanting to be a part of our wonderful program. Here's to a fun and new school year!