Hello my friends!
Make sure you are safe as you are navigating the World Wide Web. Here are some grade appropriate guides. Just click on your grade level. Click on the link below for FBI, Safe Surfing Online.
Grades 3-5: Safe Surfing!
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Author Archives: catkins
Junior Master Gardeners: Week of March 28, 2020
Hello Junior Master Gardeners and Parents!
There is a LOT of information in this blog. There is so much out there, and I am trying to give you and your kids the basics. If we were at school, we would be going hands on step by step, with the working knowledge I have. You are under no obligation to follow through with this at all. I miss your kids. I miss the garden. I am hoping that since most of you are homebound…if you do not already have a vegetable garden, you might like to try this spring. The main ingredients are an appropriate space that receives a lot of sun, soil, seed, fertilizer, water, and a few tools for digging, weeding. You might need to plan for defending garden from mammals and insects.
Last week I started planting. Chris and I made a video, but the sound is very bad because it was very windy. But guess what? We decided that were not going to do it again, because it was too long to re-create. And I had finished planting before I had a chance to look at the video later that evening. So please forgive the sound quality. I’ll do better next time. I planted leafy greens (kale, collards, mustards, lettuce blend), white onions, garlic, and yellow potatoes. You can find starts already to go for the greens. Onions, garlic, and potatoes, you might have to shop around. Peas can also be planted now.Do not use the potatoes in the grocery store. They have been sprayed with a chemical to prevent the “eyes” from growing. You have to use what’s called a seed potato.
*PLEASE TURN ON CLOSED CAPTIONING FOR THIS VIDEO. I went back and subtitled it because of the wind.
Places like Walmart, Home Depot, Tractor Supply Co., and Lowes have basic gardening supplies, seeds, plants, and tools. Below are a few local places to find garden and vegetable supplies. Don’t forget the garden soil. As far as I know all of these places are currently open, but you will have to call ahead to see if they open to the public or just offering curbside pickup.
http://www.ashlandfeedstore.com/
http://www.homesteadhardwarellc.com/index.html
Anybody can start a garden. If you do not already have a garden space and your parents want you to start a garden this year, all you need is containers! As long as the container has a way for the water to drain from the soil and its sturdy enough you can use it. Please do not use cinder blocks for a vegetable garden. Raised beds and container gardens are probably your best bet. When you plant vegetables directly in the ground, you have to make sure your soil is healthy enough for a garden. When you use containers or a raised bed (above the ground), you are using garden soil or top soil from the garden store that is already prepared to grow vegetables.
Here are some ideas for container gardens:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/containers/designing-your-container-vegetable-garden.htm
Sometimes at school, especially when we start JMG in the fall, we start with an activity called “The Hamburger Plant”. If you want a fun activity, get a piece of paper, pencil, and crayons and work on your own hamburger plant. The purpose of this activity is to get you guys to realize that EVERYTHING comes from a plant. Think about what goes into what you get when you eat a hamburger meal from your local fast food place. It starts with a plant!
http://jmgkids.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/JMG-CH1-Hamburger-Plant-1.pdf
5th Grade Library: Week of April 5, 2020
Good Morning 5th Grade!
How are you guys doing? I am still at home. My husband, Christopher, Fluffy, and I are all here at home. I started planting last week and hope to do some more this evening. I am running a couple of times a week and taking online exercise courses twice a week. Fluffy goes with me when I walk everyday after lunch for a quick walk. I am going to have to try to add something else, because I am still not moving enough during the school day. I hope you all are coming up with creative ways to keep moving at home.
While I am thinking about it, I am going to give a plug for next year’s fall sports season…Cross Country! If we were still having classes at FA right now, we would start training for the Great Train Race and talk about spring running and fitness. That usually gives Mr. Steinberger and I time to talk about encouraging those of you who do like to run long distances to think about giving Cross Country a try next year. In case you are wondering, the sports offered here for fall are Cross Country (6-12), MS Boys Soccer, MS Girls Tennis, and MS Girls Field Hockey.
ASSIGNMENT:
Please complete the research assignment given last week, using Encyclopedia Britannica and Discovery Education about a favorite place. All that information is further down on the blog. Once you have done that, please do 30 minutes of silent reading, book of your choice. Please come back later in the week for “Story Time” to be included in this post. My plans were to have it ready to go by posting time, but it takes HOURS for my videos to upload, and I have not figured out exactly how many hours, because it seems to vary, even though the videos are similar in length. Some things about this distance learning, I am still working on. I’ll “see you” later in the week!
P.S. I just discovered on Discovery Education a few audio books that might be of interest. They have some “Goosebumps”, Anne of Green Gables, Alice in Wonderland, and The Hunger Games. I am assuming they will add more content later.
2nd Grade Library: Week of March 28, 2020
Hello Mrs. Grabfelder’s Class!
As promised, more fractured fairy tales! The first two stories from The Stinky Cheeseman and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka; illustrated by Lane Smith await you for Library Class at your convenience. Although the book is very silly, there are a few teaching points about parts of the book, like the table of contents, and the title page. Enjoy!
4th Grade Library: Week of March 28, 2020
Hello 4th Grade!
This week, I went to the Beaverdam Depot to set the stage for this week’s installment of Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run. Although the setting of the book is actually Manassas, Virginia and does not take place in Hanover County, where I live, lots of Civil War action took place throughout Virginia. My “hometown” of Beaverdam is one of those places. Below the pictures is this week’s chapter. I said in the video that I would send you a link for more information about the Depot, but I did not find the site I was looking for. I guess I need the local library, which unfortunately is closed.
The Beaverdam Depot was very pivotal for transporting troops and supplies.
JK Computer: Week of March 28, 2020
Hello JK!
I hope you all are learning new things and getting lots of time with your families.
Today’s lesson is actually an old one from ABCYA.com. I would like for you to work on putting things in ABC order, just like we did in the computer lab the last time we were together. The video below shows you and your parents how to get there on your home computer. Remember about using the scrolling button on your mouse to move the page up and down!
We need to keep moving and exercising. It is very important to play and move around. I try to walk after lunch everyday with my dog, Fluffy. After school, I exercise or run. I was in a 4th grade class this morning and I found another cool website you and family might like. Below is a short dancing video. Dance and pop the bubbles!
5th Grade, Week of March 28, 2020
Hello 5th Grade! I miss you all! For the past week, I have been pondering how to finish out 5th grade, now that we are online for the duration of the school year. So here is my plan as of right now. We are scratching the project we were working on because some of you may not have home access to the public library databases. But I will assign you short research assignments so you continue to use some of the databases we have been working with and you will probably use in middle school. I went to school last week and picked up a chapter book to read as well. That will be revealed next week! In the meantime, here is this week’s assignment. You will need your “Online Research Tools” Google Doc!
- Decide on a famous place you would like to visit or have already visited (some of you were doing this already). Look it up using Encyclopedia Britannica and Discovery Education. Make sure you use the appropriate grade level. If you cannot find an article or video, choose another location.
- Like last time, write down 5 facts using complete sentences
- Locate the (MLA) citation, copy and paste it at the end.
- Don’t forget to add a title
- Pictures are optional
Example 1:
Hawaii
- Hawaii is made up of 8 different islands.
- The name of the different islands are Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Niihau, and Kahoolawe.
- The estimated population of the Hawaiin islands is 1,415,872.
- There are over 1,700 different flowering plants and trees, many of them native to the islands.
- The original settlers to the islands were from Polynesia as early as 300AD
“Hawaii.” Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 28 Sep. 2011. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/Hawaii/274793. Accessed 30 Mar. 2020.
Example 2:
Hawaii
1.Hawaii is a string of volcanic islands located 2500 miles from mainland of America.
- Hawaii is the 8th smallest state in America.
- Hawaii is known for tourism because of its natural surroundings
- The islands have active volcanoes and rainforests.
- Captain James Cook was the first European explorer to come across the Islands.
“The Pacific Region: Hawaii.” Discovery Education, Ancient Lights, 2019, app.discoveryeducation.com/learn/videos/1aeb54f5-1b5f-457d-9d4e-4a43d2bfaaa2.
“See” you all next week!
Junior Master Gardener: Week of March 22, 2020
Hello Junior Master Gardeners!
The bees are buzzing. The grass is growing. The birds are singing. Its time to get outside and work!
First things first. The grass and weeds are beginning to grow. Your parents may have already started to cut the grass in your yard. But what do you do when you have more than a yard to cut?
This video shows where I will start our garden.
Last time, we were together, we talked about pollinators. Pollinators are animals that can transfer pollen from flower to flower. If the flower is part of a fruit or vegetable plant, this is where the food portion comes from. Pollination is very important to us because a lot of our foods come from plants. Usually when we think of pollinators, we think of bees. The video below is me in front of a honeysuckle vine. I think this is a Japanese Honeysuckle, but should not be here, because it can cause problems. But today, its a good day to be a pollinator!
Included here, is link for a neat story, called Please, Please, the Bees by Gerald Kelley I found while looking for read aloud stories online. Click here!
See you next week.
2nd Grade Library: Week of March 22, 2020
Hello Mrs. Grabfelder’s Class!
I miss you all, and our lively discussions. It is very strange to be “talking” to you from my picnic table and not having any feedback. I am grateful that I have a way to still read to you, (almost) like in the library. I hope you enjoy the final story from Shaq and the Beanstalk by Shaquille O’Neal this week. While I am reading, think about the ways Shaquille’s version is similar to the traditional version and how it is different. “See you” next week!
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress has public domain books available to read online. Please go to read.gov.