September 24th is Punctuation Day! Punctuation Day argues that the correct use of apostrophes, semicolons and other punctuation is critical if you’re to get your (rather than, say, you’re) message across. If you’ve spotted any examples of bad punctuation, take Punctuation Day as an opportunity to share them out and to promote awareness!

These fun books are great reads to help you celebrate Punctuation Day.  

The Exclamation Mark by Amy Rosenthal is great way to express who we are and how we want to leave our mark this year.  “So with his head held high, he went off..to make his mark.” How will you make your mark this year?  Post your comment below with your exclamation!

Extra time? Check out this great punctuation game for kids.

Extra Time? Try these games:

• The Punctuation Game
• Punctuation Speed Mark
• Punctuation Paintball

Cooperation is teamwork.  Check out this video on how to be a good team member.

The golf ball challenge was loads of fun! Let’s start being creative. What would you do to this challenge to make it more difficult or fun?

Welcome back to an exciting school year!  This year’s character education is bursting with color.

September is scarlet red for COURAGE.  Starting a new year with new teachers, new classmates and new expectations takes courage.  Being brave, making sacrifices, facing fears, admitting mistakes are all ways to show courage.

At our assembly, we learned how ordinary people found the courage to do extraordinary things. Welles Crowther, The Man in the Red Bandanna, was one of many amazing people who were courageous on September 11, 2001.

We all might not be able to be as courageous as Welles, but we can practice small acts of courage. Remember Mrs. King’s warrior words, “I have the power and the courage to be a positive, proactive upstander.”  Will you stand up for yourself, stand up for others, make a new friend, try out for a team, develop a skill, audition for a play, speak in front of an audience, ask for help, treat failures as opportunities to grow, etc.?

Post a comment to our class blog on how you will show courage this year.

Venn Diagrams are not just for comparing and contrasting. Venn Perplexors are a series of word problems to solve math problems. It’s an unusual way to do algebraic thinking that is great for students who need a challenge.

Here’s an interactive one on PBS Cyberchase game.  Try this interactive board possibility for even, prime and square numbers.

Swish is a fun game that develops thinking skills like logical reasoning and visual perception.

Sudoku is a number placement puzzle. The objective is to fill a 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the 3×3 boxes contain all of the digits from 1 to 9.

Try to complete the easy, medium and hard puzzles from class. Or go online for a daily puzzle…

SUDOKU of the day!

This month’s superpower is Patriotism.  The Poppy Lady by Barbara Walsh is our book of the month. It is About Moina Belle Michael who helped establish the red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for veterans. The following video is the the famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ by John McCrae written in May 1915. This video is in remembrance of all those who have lost their lives during war.

A Poppy is to Remember is another tribute to our American service men and women, as well as to those from other nations who have fought side by side with them to restore peace and freedom in troubled regions of the world. Even as they fought and died together, let us also remember them together.

As a tribute from you to all the soldiers who lost their lives fighting for freedom try these activities:

1. Write a cinquain and post your poem to this post.
2. Participate in this month’s challenge – THE POPPY CHALLENGE

The tangram is a puzzle consisting of seven flat shapes, called tans, which are put together to form shapes. The objective of the puzzle is to form a specific shape (given only an outline or silhouette) using all seven pieces, which may not overlap. It is one of the most popular puzzles in the world. Tangrams are an excellent way to increase mental and visual skills. Using imagination, geometrical shapes, letters, numbers, figures, boats, animals and objects can bring great fun along with a challenge.

Now try these shapes…Four Piece Tangram Puzzles

How to make your own…

Try these tangram puzzles online.

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