March 28

Bloggin’ Frogs Challenge Update

So, farewell then British Summer Time
Photo Credit: Tristan Martin via Compfight

We are busy trying to keep up with all the challenges. Many of us are working on posts–some from last week and some from the first few weeks. Even though we are bit late in posting, we are still working hard and promise to publish all of our posts very soon.

We are learning a lot about blogging and starting to bloom as frequent bloggers. Writing great comments is still a bit of a challenge for us.We love Miss W’s suggestion of adding Compfright to our blog. It is so much easier to find and add images…and give credit.

Finding time to visit everyone is also a challenge. We are a bit disappointed because we haven’t really connected with one or two classes in particular. So if anyone out there wants to be our regular blog buddy, please get in touch. We’d be happy to visit your blog every week and comment on your posts.

We’re off now for spring break now! To those who celebrate Easter, “Happy Easter!” What are you up to for your spring vacation?

March 28

Minecraft is fun

Minecraft
Google/images/Minecraft

Minecraft is fun. What is Minecraft? Minecraft is a video game and the entire game is made of blocks or made up of block stuff. The object of the game is to survive and get better gear and stuff. So you can fight monsters and get stuff in caves.

There is a creative mode so you can do and get any thing and do anything. There is also a survival mode and you have to mine and craft stuff. Also if you want when you’re in survival you can play on peaceful mode so there are no monsters and your hunger won’t go down.

Minecraft is very popular and many kids play it. You can also meet your friends if you play online.

March 28

Ballet

De Notenkraker

Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Maurice via Compfight

I love dancing but my favorite type of dancing is ballet. Ballet can tell stories and show your emotions. For example Swan Lake is a sad story but with a happy ending. Swan Lake is about a princess named Odet and she gets turned into a Swan by an evil man, and at sunset she turns into herself. I am going to be Odet this year in Swan Lake.

In ballet you start with flat looking shoes and when you are about 10 you get point shoes. You always in Ballet start on the right foot. All the steps have a meanings. For example Padisha means step of the cat. Ballet makes you calm and it is really hard. But at the end you become very strong and you can be in plays like me.

In Ballet you dance to classical music. Ballet is really fun and you might be able to do it some day.
 

March 28

Who loves soccer?

Soccer is a popular sport. Why? It’s good exercise and fun. It’s also fun to watch your favorite team. Lots of people play soccer and soon if they keep playing they can become a really good or maybe even a famous soccer player!

Soccer is a good way to exercise because you sweat in soccer, and you run back and forth. That means you need lots of water. Before a game people drink water, eat a good healthy snack, and get a good night’s sleep to be prepared for their game.

If you ever are going to play soccer you have to wear the right gear. You need cleats, long socks, and shin guards to protect yourself when something hits you hard.

A lot of people do soccer for fun. Especially famous soccer players. I am going to show you two soccer teams. The one on the bottom is called  LA  Galaxy. The one on the top is called Mexico.

Qué les dirîa?
Photo Credit: Celso FLORES via Compfight

People in for Mexico cheer for the team Mexico because they are from Mexico but not always. They can cheer for different teams too. People in Los Angeles like to watch and cheer for LA Galaxy.

Lots of famous soccer players use the ball called a jabulani because that ball does not have patches or hexagons. We can use many different type of soccer balls. Here are some balls that we were talking about that have no patches.

Do you like soccer? Why?

March 24

One Old Sock

So if I had one old sock with lots of holes what are ten things I would do with it? Of course the first thing I would do with it is make it a slingshot. Now that would be amazing. I think the next thing I would do is use it as a flower pot, and just think about it. The flowers could even grow out of the holes. I could use it as a rubber band. Also a glove. Maybe a mask. I could just use it as a sock. A whiteboard eraser. I could use it as a lock. A cat toy and a dog toy. That is what I would do with that odd sock.

March 24

Santa Catalina Island

Avalon Catalina Photo D Ramey Logan
Catalina is off the coast of California and it is very sunny and hot. A lot of people come to Catalina on vacation but there are a lot of islanders too. Catalina is the third largest island of 8 California’s channel island group. In 2010 there was a population of 4,000 people.

My mom and dad named me after the town of Avalon in Catalina. They met in the city of Avalon and when they had me they were not going to name me Avalon but then my grandma thought of Avalon.

I love Catalina. My favorite part of Catalina is when I am on the beach eating a caramel apple. I go out to swim to a float they have in the water. I also like the beach house but I have to share with 20 people.

Attribution: By Claudio Elias (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

 

March 22

Surftastic Surfing

Surfing is lots of fun! I have been surfing since I was 5 years old, and now I am 8 years old! Can you believe that! My favorite beaches are La Jolla Shores and Mission Beach in San Diego, California. I have actually surfed in Hawaii before.

I have two surfboards, one is a BIG long board I call, Blue Hawaiian, and my short board I call, Surf Diva. I call Blue Hawaiian, Blue Hawaiian because, it is blue and says Hawaiian on it. I call Surf Diva, Surf Diva because we spray painted it and we put a sticker on it that says, Surf Diva.

I caught my first wave when I was 6 years old. I was very exited when I stood up, that is actually how I got my short board, Surf Diva. I love surfing and surfing is my passion.

March 21

About dogs

A cocker spaniel puppy.

Do you know about dogs? I love dogs. Here is about dogs. There are many kinds of dogs like beagle, poodle, cocker spaniels, rottweilers, German shepherds,  chihuahuas, and St. Bernards.

Greyhounds can run very fast, terriers are brave, retrievers are great swimmers.

Dogs wag their tails when they are happy. If a dog’s tail is down between back legs, it is scared or unhappy.

Why do dogs lick people? Dogs like people’s salty skin. Licking people can help dogs find out who people and other dogs are.

My favorite kind of dog is cocker spaniel. What is your favorite kind of dog?

Photo attribution: By Deskana at en.wikipedia [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons

March 19

Exploding Glove

Our class in B12 did a chemical reaction. It was awesome! I’m not going to tell you about it now. I’m going to show you the video first. Enjoy the video!

Now that you saw the video I’ll tell you how we did it. In the video the glove inflated because the vinegar and baking soda mixed and there was a chemical reaction. It brought CO2 or carbon dioxide.We thought the glove was going to explode as it grew bigger. There was a glove over the bottle and the gas was so strong it popped the glove!

How did we do it? First, we put 10 ml of baking soda in a rubber glove. After, we put 200 ml of vinegar in a empty water bottle. Next,we put a rubber band around where the cap is supposed to be, then tucked the opening of the glove under the rubber band. After we shook the water bottle and the glove started to get bigger as it filled with gas…and then it POPPED! Finally, the glove got all the C02 (carbon dioxide) out of the bottle.

We want to try this again with five times as much baking soda and vinegar and a large balloon. What do you think?

March 17

Week 3 Updates

What have we been up to? This week we chose to write posts about our passions. Mrs. McKelvey wrote about her passion frogs! Boy does she ever love frogs. Pierce wrote about sailing because that’s something he really loves. We also checked out the Earth Hour website and joined as a class. We’ll be writing about our plans for Earth Hour this week. Caitlyn also posted about a upcoming special event at our school called Multicultural Fair. She’ll be sure to report on this week’s fair too since it’s this Friday. We are also visiting other class blogs and we’ve started adding them to our Blog Roll. Hopefully, we write a post about our favorite blogs this week too.

We posted some more work from week 1. Mackenzie and Nya wrote about cleaning up the beaches in San Diego. We have still have quite a few posts in the works too and will post them as they are finished.

March 15

10 People Questions

If I were to ask 5 famous people one question each, it would be what was your dream. The people I would ask are Taylor Swift, Gorge Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Carly  Rae Jepson, and Martin Luther King. What I would ask Taylor Swift is, What was your dream when you were a kid. I would ask Gorge Washington what were you trying to accomplish when you were president. I would ask Benjamin Franklin why were you trying so many new experiments?

If I were to ask 5 people dead or alive one question each I would choose, my great grandmother, Sacajawea, Abraham Lincoln, John Hancock, and Albert Einstein. First I would ask my great grandmother, “What was it like when you were a kid?” Then I would ask Sacajawea If there was popcorn in her time, Then I would ask Abraham Lincoln why he became president. Then I would ask John Hancock what did you do for fun when you were a kid? Finally,  I would ask Albert Einstein how did you become so smart?

Those are the questions we would ask.

March 15

Multicultural Fair

The Multicultural Fair comes once a year, and every year the whole school goes to the auditorium, from K-2 then 3-5. There are lots of countries that you can visit like Laos, Germany, Indian, and Turkey. What you do at the multicultural fair is you get to eat food from all over the world like where you live and it might be Germany, Laos, or Turkey and there’s other stuff you can do.

We do the multicultural fair because we want to share and learn about other cultures, like what kind of foods other people eat in their country.

Do you do Multicultural Day where you live? If so, how do you like it?
March 15

Sailing is my passion

Have you ever been on a boat? It’s very fun right? I own a boat called a sabot and a lazar. My sabot is a boat I use for training. Now I ride a lazar more than a sabot. I love sailing.

Sailing is actually pretty simple. I can teach you how to steer a boat with a tiller. When you turn it left, it goes right. If you turn right, it goes left, and no matter what you have to stay on the other side of the boom.

When I grow up I want to participate in the America’s Cup. The America’s Cup is a award for a sailing race of the United States. People from every state vote for a sailing team to go in and race.

Photo attribution: Topory at the Polish language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons

March 15

Cleaning up San Diego

Welcome from San Diego! We are writing a post about the San Diego beaches and how dirty they can get. Pollution, including trash, is killing or hurting animals in the ocean. That’s why we need to help to clean it up!

Guess how much trash we find on the beach each year? Fifteen thousand pounds worth of trash! If people keep trashing our beaches, it will harm the environment and animals. The most common trash we find are cigarette buds. Can you believe that!  We don’t want trash to get into the ocean and hurt animals. We want our ocean and beaches clean. Don’t you agree?
We have lots of organizations that organize beach clean ups in San Diego. They organize these clean ups to make our beaches cleaner and safer. I Love a Clean San Diego is an organization that, “Provides environmental educational events and programs for local residents.” They are hosting the Creek to Bay Cleanup  Saturday, April 27th. Volunteers will remove trash from San Diego’s beaches, waterways, canyons, and parks. Here’s a video another event called Coastal Clean Up. So, what are you waiting for? Go and help the beach! It does not matter how old or how young you are. We do this for the people and animals at the beach. Kids have fun cleaning the beach. So come and help!!! 
March 10

What we’ve been up to Week 1

How can we make our blog better? That was our goal for week 1. We split into groups and focused on different tasks.

We noticed we have many visitors to our blog from different countries. We decided to add a translator widget. Connor’s group work on finding just the right translator widget. They added Google Translator to the sidebar on our blog. We hope  it will be very useful for our visitors.

Ryan’s group updated our About Us page. They wandered around school and took photos. Next, they created a slideshow in Animoto.

We noticed that making great comments is a challenge for most kids…even parents don’t always follow good commenting guidelines. We already have a video and so we wanted to add something else. Devon’s group decided to create a Glog with quick tips to help kids make great blog comments. (And we’ll post this as soon as they’ve finished the final touches.)

Finally, many of us visited different class blogs, read posts, and left comments. We’re in the process of making a list of our favorites and then we’ll add them to our blog roll this week.

It was a busy first week. We learned a lot about working together this week and what is necessary to do a good job.