Afterschool Special [Shameless self-promotion]

I hope you're all enjoying your break... and are staying safe and warm in the blizzard. :)

I'm very excited to be running my first afterschool program! Starting in late January, Wednesdays after school will be CRAFT TIME. We'll be making stuffed animals, cross-stitching our (or borrowed) witticisms into fabric and upcycling a variety of materials to create unique crafts. If you're interested, be on the look-out for the winter session afterschool program guide.

Below are some sample crafts I've made through the years.

See you next Monday!
♥, Karen

❆ Holiday Cheer, 5-316 Style! ❆

On the first day of our winter break, it already seems like a distant dream.

{Que the flashback harp}


Students decorated cupcakes with an assortment of candies and gumdrops...

...while others promoted their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Cupcake art by Jada.

Ethan S.'s gingerbread men, sans heads.

Jose smears on the frosting; the animated Grinch plays on the Smartboard.

Gabby shows off her gorgeous cupcake.

In the forecast: a chance of sprinkles.

The treats were a-plenty.

Candy cane time!

Cielo's cupcake creation.

Yannique gets in the spirit...

Striped shirt #3 and more candy cane fun!

Justina takes a break from cupcaking.

Zander tries out the camera.

Merry Christmas! Happy Break! And a wonderful New Year!

See you in 2011!!

5-316 Takes Manhattan!

Today we went to the Museum of Modern Art! Spending the day in bustling Manhattan, we visited the MoMA on a day it wasn't even open to the public. Though there is no photography in the exhibit space there was plenty of fun to catch in our reserved dining room!

We saw many artistic interpretations of line and got to make our own with pencil and paper, pliable wire and wikki sticks. Here is Ethan and his line portrait.

Issy's wire sculpture stays warm with his gloves.

Andres and Anna wear their art!

Yannique and Justina make art in the great activity books we received. Our very special thanks to Wendy who helped us learn that there are no mistakes in art, only opportunities!

We want to thank Wendy so much for helping us visit this amazing museum. Thank you!!!!

On our way to the MoMA we made a quick stop at the world-famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree!

America: The Story of Us

Attention 5th Grade Social Studies History Buffs!

The History Channel's series America, The Story of Us is a great introduction to many of the topics we will cover this year in Social Studies. Get a sneak peak! Check your t.v. listings or ask an adult to click here to purchase the dvd set.

This Day is all Nika's

Visiting a Wastewater Treatment Facility: CHECK

Another thing to check off our list! Mr. Wynne's awesome new blog has a posting about our trip. To take a looksie, click here. Here's a preview. What a nice day to walk along the water!

We're Going to the MoMA!

A math fieldtrip! To celebrate the end of our geography unit, we will be seeing an exhibit about line and its role in art through the 20th century. Permission slips will be going out tomorrow. The trip will be Tuesday, December 21.

Please see link to the exhibit for more information.

Left: Sophie Taeuber-Arp’s Mouvement de Lignes en Couleurs, 1940; right: Atsuko Tanaka’s Drawing After Electric Dress, 1956 (Photo: From left, Wolfgang Morell/© 2010 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn; © 2010 Ryoji Ito)

Left: Sophie Taeuber-Arp’s Mouvement de Lignes en Couleurs, 1940; right: Atsuko Tanaka’s Drawing After Electric Dress, 1956

(Photo: From left, Wolfgang Morell/© 2010 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn; © 2010 Ryoji Ito)

{A Feast of Lights and Latkes}

On December 1st we celebrated Chanukah in room 316! What a wonderful time we all had participating in the traditions of the holiday! Some of us were part of exciting dreidel games; others peeled, grated and squeezed potatoes, while others read Chanukah books.  All of us enjoyed delicious potato latkes with dollops of sour cream and apple sauce. A very special thank you to Cathy and Sharon for organizing this spectacular celebration and to Monica for all her help through the lovely morning.

Solva and Olive cut some potatoes.

Ewan and Yannique peeling potatoes.

Cathy guiding us through making the latkes...

Cutting onions makes us cry. Wah!

...while the dreidel spins on. Gimel!

Exploring the traditions of the holiday.

Angela guards the hot oil.

In the fryer the latkes go!

The oil-blotting station.

While we wait, we dance!

Latkes distributed, Sharon prepares for the blessing.

Scrumptious potato latkes, vegan-style, with a pinch of fresh parsley, Tofutti sour cream and applesauce.

Lighting the Chanukah menorah.

We love you too!

Happy Chanukah to all who celebrate!!!

Realistic Fiction Partner Share: Wednesday December 1!

It's time to share our writing once again! With the end of Realistic Fiction writing unit, we will be celebrating publishing with our partners. Please feel free to drop in!

Today is Steele's Special Day!

A Tessellation of Our Tessellations

What wonderful tessellations we received!
Here is a tessellation of our tessellation. If you are interested in creating your own tessellation online, check out this site. It lists several great interactive tessellation-creation websites. Thanks to Aileen (Ewan's mom) for passing it on.

Best of luck on your assessment tomorrow!

Now Available On Our Blog!

Ewan, Dasha, Jose & Ethan M.'s ground-breaking social studies video on Verrazzanno is now on our class blog! Scroll down or click here to take a look!

Thanksgiving Feast! {A Pictorial}

What a delicious spread! Thanks to all who fed us.

The guys of 5-316 wait on the long line for food.

Ethan S. sketches to pass the time in line.

After 2 servings, the gals are ready to smile.

Anna and a pumpkin cupcake.

5-316 Limbo!

Waiting for the raffle results.

The many versions of "unstructured time".

Mr. Rhombus (Steele's creation) wishes you and your family a happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks to the entire 5th grade community for a wonderful event!