Rachel writes a note (and shares an Audioboo)

Rachel wrote the following note today as a marketing flyer for the “spa treatment business” she was offering with her sister.

Rachel's note today

I asked her to read the words as an Audioboo:

Listen!

Rachel is just 5 and is finishing up pre-K. It is VERY exciting to see and help her make the reading/writing connection! 🙂

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Behold, The Snack Leader! (Dad’s lyrics included)

This was a hoot tonight: Rachel and I created a five minute podcast I published on my main blog titled, “Behold the Glory and Honor of the Snack Leader!”

Here is the script I wrote and read for the first three minutes of the podcast.

In the hallowed halls of government, academica, and scientific research institutions, you may have heard of awards such as these:

The Nobel Prize.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Congressional Medal of Honor.

To a five year old preschool student, however, these awards are nothing compared to the honor, the prestige, and the glory of one hallowed title…

The right to be… the honor to be… for a single day… the one and only

Snackleader!

[Star Wars Throne Room Theme music]

Yes, the glorious snackleader!

As the chosen snackleader, it is your duty and privilege to be the unquestioned student leader of the day.

Yours is the privilege to select and bring the snack of the day. The snack everyone in your class will eat. The snack you truly love, and want to share with others.

As the snackleader, YOU are the designated line leader of the day. This means EVERYWHERE the class goes, YOU are the leader. You are the one in front. You are the one all other students look to for guidance and direction. Where YOU go, the class will follow. This is the weighty responsibility, as well as JOY, of the class SNACKLEADER.

The obligations of the Snackleader do not end there, however. For it is to the Snackleader ALONE which falls the privilege of SHOW AND TELL for that day. The Snackleader is permitted, and the Snackleader ONLY, to bring something from home– a prized possession, a work of original art, a family pet, or a favored toy, to show and explain to the ENTIRE class. It is the duty of the SNACKLEADER to uncover the mysteries of this item, to reveal to everyone the meaning and significance which this single object holds in the mind of the Snackleader.

As other children in the class sit quietly and listen to the moving stories of the Snackleader, the spotlight of the educational world falls to this one individual. In the spotlight. On the stage.

Honored and recognized. Hailed and hallowed. Behold her in all her glory: The Snackleader!

Rachel (since she can’t read very much yet) didn’t read a script, she just recorded her section impromptu. It seriously IS a huge thrill for her to be the snack leader in her class starting on Thursday. I think it is great her teachers provide students with this opportunity to be in the spotlight and be able to make so many important choices in their classroom for the day.

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Mother’s Day Podcasts 2009

We recorded short, 3-5 minute Mother’s Day Podcasts for our mothers today for Mother’s Day, which is coming up this Sunday. These podcasts were inspired by Carol Anne McGuire and her wonderful students. These were the questions we used for our interviews.

1.Tell me your favorite thing about your mother.
2. What does your mother do every day when you are away at school?
3. What does your mommy look like? (How would you describe her to someone who has never seen her before?)
4. What does your mom like to do when she is not working?
5. What does your mom like to eat?
6. How do you show your mother that you love her?
7. How does your mother show you that she loves you?
8. If you could give your mom anything in the whole world, what would you give her?
9. What makes your mom smile really big?
10. What have you learned from your mother?

These audio podcasts are published to a special page created with iWeb on MobileMe, and were also uploaded to EduBlogs.tv (for free) so they could be embedded here and on other websites.

Rachel:

Sarah:

Alexander:

Wesley:

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Essay

This is a essay I wrote for school.

Choosing Friends

I came to Chisholm in the third grade so I don’t have as many memories as others. My best memory is the first day of school in Mrs. Fitzgerald’s class (or Mrs. Fitz. As I like to call her.) I was in a school three times bigger than my old one and did not know a single person in it. All I could think was, “Wow!”

I got to know a couple of people the first day. I know you aren’t supposed to judge books by their cover, but I couldn’t help eyeing a couple of people for friends. I mostly looked at how they acted around the teacher and other kids. Looking at kids I found two, Hadley and Landon.

Lunch was weird and at recess I took a big breath, plucked up some courage and thought, “I have to make a friend sometime so it might as well be now.”

I walked up to him, he wasn’t with anyone; perfect. We said “hello” and then I started to see if we had anything in common. First I asked him if he liked Star Wars. He did, so we started talking. Soon we also learned that we both liked Legos too. Hearing the bell ring we went to go line up. We talked a little more inside but the next day at recess we went and played soccer. The field wasn’t fancy, just two goals and a field with a ball.

That is when I became friends with Landon, he always played soccer. Hadley and Landon knew each other but weren’t really friends. Landon is more into sports and Hadley is more into academics. I am kind of the merging point between them.

We all got to be friends and now almost three years after that we are still friends. Over the years new people have joined our little “club” but we were the first people to join it: Hadley, Landon, and me.